CALIBRATING THE WEIGHING SCALE: TEST ITEM CONSTRUCTION AND ANALYSIS GUIDE FOR MATHEMATICS TEACHERS

All measuring tools require consistent “servicing” or “calibrating” to ensure they are measuring accurately what they are designed to measure. In the same way, assessment instruments within and outside the classroom require calibration and improvement. This vital task of the teacher is done by looking at the data obtained from the instruments. Knowing that tests and examinations measure abstract quantities, also called traits or construct, there remains a lot that can be learned from the results or data that can help the teacher improve the tools for present or future use. This calibration mechanism is what is called Item Analysis. The idea of this Book was conceived in response to the lack of practical treatment of the vital task of test development. Calibrating The Weighing Scale: Test Item Construction and Analysis Guide for Mathematics Teacher avoided the use of screenshot software outputs and adopted a manual, step by step computation of various indices, enriching the presentation with practical interpretations, applications and case scenarios. The point in the style of this textbook is for the mathematics teacher to first understand the procedural mechanisms of the test development cycle before resorting to software deployment for large sample sizes or even for practice. This guide was developed to be a teacher’s companion and to serve as an easily adaptable template for item analysis in schools everywhere