Test item fairness for assessment of male and female students’ achievement in economics

The study was carried out to develop test item fairness for the assessment of male and female students’ achievement in Economics. The study covered the senior secondary school Economics curriculum before the test administration. The study was guided with research question and hypothesis for each item. A sample of 200 (100males and 100females) was randomly selected using balloting and stratified random sampling techniques. The instrument used was a Standardized Economics Achievement Test (SEAT). The test has face and content validities and a reliability coefficient of 0.85 was obtained through Kuder Richardson formula 20 as a measure of internal consistency. It has 50 items. The test was adapted and only 40 items were fair to male and female students when it was revalidated outside the area of study. A test-retest reliability was done to ensure stability of the items. A reliability coefficient of 0.92 was obtained. The data collected were analysed in line with the research question and hypothesis for each item. Percentage was used to analyse the research questions while Z-test was used to test the hypothesis for each item at 0.05 level of significance. The result revealed that the 40 items used showed fairness for male and female students. There was no significant difference between the proportion of male and female students passing each item in Economics. It was recommended among others that any item that discriminate or not fair to testees should be removed from the test before use. The test should be used from time to time for the assessment of male and female students because of the item fairness. An item should be fair to both group of testees before use.