Assessing the Potentials of Compurized Adaptive Testing to Enhance Mathematics and Science Student’t Achievement in Secondary Schools

Abstract

This study focuses on Computerized Adaptive Testing (CAT), designed to provide Mathematics and Basic Science teachers in secondary schools with an innovative method of assessment, that can enhance student’s achievement. A descriptive survey design was adopted for the study. Three research questions and two null hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. Using purposive sampling technique, a sample size of four hundred (400) Junior secondary three (JSS3) students and four private schools with computer laboratories in Akwa Ibom State were selected for the study. Each group had 100 members with mixed Mathematical and Basic Science competencies of high, medium, and low. The instrument for data collection was a Mathematics and Basic Science Computerized Adaptive Test (MABSCAT) developed by the researchers, tested, and modified after trial testing.Descriptive statistics, one-way ANOVA was used to analysed the data. Results indicated that: test lengths, testing times, and Mathematical and Basic Science competencies were significantly different at p=0.05 among four groups of stopping criteria (SEE ≤ 0.20, SEE ≤ 0.30, SEE ≤ 0.40 , and SEEm- SEEm-1 ≤ 0.005); test lengths and testing times were significantly different at p=0.05 among the three groups of Mathematical and Basic Science competencies (low, moderately high, and high); and there were 72.25 %, 16.75%, and 8% of the students having a moderately high, low, and high Mathematics and Basic Science achievement respectively. It was recommended among others that, Government should establish item banks, CAT should be introduced in assessment of learning for the actual abilities of the students to be tested with sufficient accuracy.