The conceptualization of validity has evolved over time, from the reign of criterion validity as a prominent type of validity through the phase of the traditional validity trinity concept that considered construct, content, and criterion validity as different kinds or types of validity. The current view among the measurement community is that there are no distinct forms of validity; instead validity is the extent to which the appropriateness of proposed uses and interpretations can be supported by various kinds of validity evidence. National examinations such as the Junior Certificate Examination in Botswana typically assess content and skills defined by national curricula. The extent to which items in examination papers are relevant to important content and cognitive skills espoused by national curricula is critical to the accuracy, appropriateness, and fairness of examinations results. This study investigated content, substantive, reliability, and internal structure validity evidence of the Junior Certificate Mathematics Examination over a period of three years, 2000, 2001, and 2002. Three alignment models were used to investigate content and cognitive skill validity evidence. A correlational analysis and exploratory factor analysis were used to detect the internal structure of the 2000, 2001, and 2002 Junior Certificate Mathematics examination papers and reliability of the objective tests was assessed through Coefficient alpha. The results showed that the sampling of mathematics content fluctuates from year to year, and does not always reflect content emphases in the Mathematics syllabus. Content of items in all three years' examination papers was judged as sufficiently aligned to content expressed in syllabus objectives the items were intended to measure using a liberal alignment criterion. The results of the study also indicated that the 2000, 2001, and 2002 Paper 1 component of the Mathematics examinations were sufficiently reliable albeit minimally so. Results of the exploratory factor analysis indicated that the Paper 1 component of the Mathematics examination assesses a possibly multidimensional construct. The findings of this study highlight the need for more comprehensive and systemic validity studies that would continue to generate information concerning the validity of examinations in Botswana.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:arizona.edu/oai:arizona.openrepository.com:10150/280629 |
| Date | January 2004 |
| Creators | Moahi, Serara |
| Contributors | Nitko, Anthony J. |
| Publisher | The University of Arizona. |
| Source Sets | University of Arizona |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text, Dissertation-Reproduction (electronic) |
| Rights | Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. |
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