Measuring teachers’ knowledge of student assessment: Development and validation of an MCQ test

ABSTRACT

To improve the teaching-learning processes, the Government of Pakistan and UNESCO developed professional standards for teachers to standardise student assessments based on assessment types, use of assessment results, measurement theories, and assessment-related issues. Most tools developed for measuring teachers’ knowledge of student assessment do not cover these aspects. Therefore, this study aims to develop and validate an MCQ test for quantifying teachers’ knowledge of these aspects. A test consisting of 34 components was designed and administered to 1624 elementary school teachers. The test’s validity and reliability were measured using a difficulty index, a discrimination index, distractor efficiency, and the Kuder and Richardson Formula 20 (${\rho }_{KR20}$). Per the results, 31 items were found to be appropriate, three items rated poorly on the discrimination index, and, of these, two were rated too difficult according to the difficulty index. The estimated value of ${\rho }_{KR20}$ was 0.75, indicating appropriate reliability of the test.

KEYWORDS:

• Teachers’ knowledge
• student assessment
• difficulty index
• discrimination index
• distractor efficiency

Acknowledgments

This paper is a part of PhD thesis by Zafar Iqbal. The authors are thankful to all of their colleagues and fellows for extending their support in conducting the MCQ test among the elementary school teachers.

Disclosure statement

The authors do not have any conflict of interest.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Zafar Iqbal

Zafar Iqbal is a PhD scholar at the University of Education, Lahore, Okara Campus, Okara, Pakistan. He is working as a primary school teacher in the School Education Department, Punjab, Pakistan.

Khalid Saleem

Dr Khalid Saleem has worked as Director of the University of Education, Lahore (Okara Campus). Currently, he is working as an assistant professor at the Department of Teacher Education, University of Okara, Okara, Pakistan. He has published a number of papers in national and international journals. He is an HEC approved PhD supervisor for doctoral students.

Hafiz Muhammad Arshad

Dr Hafiz Muhammad Arshad has worked as a statistical officer at the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics and as a research associate at the Queen Mary University of London, U.K. Currently, he is working as an assistant professor of Statistics at COMSATS University Islamabad, Sahiwal Campus, Sahiwal, Pakistan. He is an HEC approved PhD supervisor for doctoral students. He is an excellent multidisciplinary researcher and has publications in diversified fields.