Validating Visual Art Educators’ Test Construction Skills at the Senior High School in the Sekyere South District of Ashanti Region, Ghana

Abstract

This study assessed visual arts teachers’ test construction skills of examination questions (multiple-choice and essay) in General Knowledge in Art (GKA) at the Senior High School (SHS) in the Sekyere South District of Ashanti Region (SSDAR), Ghana. The survey design method was adopted for the study. A sample of n = 35 Visual arts/GKA teachers was selected from five public Senior High Schools. The 25-item Test Construction Skills Inventory (TCSI) and 32-item Attitude of Teachers towards Test Construction (ATC) questionnaire with internal consistency reliability coefficient of α = 0.73 and α = 0.85 respectively were used in the study for the data collection on test construction skills. GKA teachers’ knowledge of test construction skills was established through Chi-square. As the calculated chi-square test (X2 =106.10) exceeds the critical chi-squared value (X2 = 14.067), the data showed that a significant difference exists between the expected and observed GKA teachers’ knowledge on test construction skills indicating the observed values do not have a ''good-fit'' with the expected values. The level of GKA teachers’ knowledge of test construction skills was, therefore, can be described as limited. The study recommended that conferences/workshops on test construction should be organised to improve teachers' ability on test construction and proper evaluation routine by regional and district directorate to ensure quality GKA test construction.