Assessing Functionality and Roles of Key and Distracters of Students’ Response to Multiple Choice Tests Using an Inspection Approach

Abstract

This paper examined the functionality and the role of keys and distracters of the response of students in multiple choice test constructed by classroom teachers in Mathematics. The population consists of Junior Secondary school students from Delta and Edo states Nigeria. Thirty multiple choice tests constructed by classroom teachers were administered to a sample of 300 jss2 students, 150 in Edo south senatorial districts and 150 from Delta central senatorial districts of Edo and Delta state respectively. The psychometric property of the instrument was not established as the key and distracters of multiple-choice tests affect the psychometric properties which is one of the major reasons why the research was been carried out. The inspection method was used to find out the functionality of the key and distracters, percentage was also used to analyse the data collected. The results obtained was analysed and it was discovered that 50% of the items have some distracters that are not functioning while 24% have keys that are not functioning. The non-functioning key and distracters have implications for the validity, reliability, objectivity and usability of the multiple-choice tests. Conclusions were drawn and the following recommendations were made: the teacher and other test constructors should be well informed on the rudiment of how to construct multiple choice tests, tests constructed by both teachers and public examination bodies should be subject to trial testing where the emphasis should not only be on the difficult-level and discriminative index but also include an analysis of keys and distracters.