ASSESSING THE ITEM RESPONSE THEORY KEY PARAMETERS OF 2020 MALAWI SCHOOL CERTIFICATE OF EDUCATION (MSCE) ENGLISH PAPER I

Abstract

The study examined the quality of 2020 MSCE English Paper I, specifically in relation to the three key parameters of Item Response Theory (IRT) by computing and analyzing the item-difficulty parameter, item-discrimination parameter and pseudo-guessing parameter of the test items using the 3 Parametric Logistic Model. In 2020 MSCE examinations, candidates did not perform well in English and subsequently the overall passing rate was also very poor. Social economic factors were attributed to the poor pass rate. Scholars contend that items of poor difficult level, as well as those with a low discrimination index also affects examination results. It was therefore, worthy conducting this study, since these studies help to flag poor quality items. In this study, a descriptive research design and quantitative research approach were employed. The study systematically and randomly sampled Form 4 students. The instrument had dichotomously scored items only. Subject matter experts scored the scripts. The findings indicate that 23% of the items had all three key parameters of IRT while 77% of the items were of poor quality and to some extent contributed to the poor pass rate in 2020. The study recommends the practice of item analysis as a way to enhance examination quality.