Item Types and Upper Basic Education Students’ Performance in Mathematics in the Southern Senatorial District of Cross River State, Nigeria

Joy Dianabasi Eduwem¹, Imo Edet Umoinyang² 
(1. School of Health Information Management, University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, Calabar, Nigeria;
2. Institute of Education, University of Calabar, Calabar, Nigeria)

Abstract: This study was designed to establish the influence of item type on Upper Basic Education students’ academic performance in mathematics. Using an ex-post facto design with a population comprising all Upper Basic Education students in both public and private secondary schools within the Southern Senatorial District of Cross River State, Nigeria, a sample of 886 Upper Basic Education (UBE 3) students in the Senatorial District supplied the needed data. This sample was drawn using the stratified random sampling technique. The same Mathematics achievement test constructed by the researchers was in three different forms, namely: the multiple choice test, the essay test and the completion test. The data were collated and analyzed using the Analysis of Variance repeated measures. The study revealed that there is a significant influence of item type on UBE students’ performance in mathematics. Students performed significantly better in mathematics test presented in multiple choice form than in the completion and the essay form. The study concluded that students’ performance in mathematics at the Upper Basic classes could be influenced by the item type administered during testing. Based on this empirical finding, recommendations were made to the authorities concerned.

Key words: item types, mathematics performance, multiple choice test, essay test, completion test