Philippine E-Journals

Evaluating the Reliability Index of an Entrance Exam Using Item Response Theory

Jeffrey Imer Salim

Discipline: Education

 

Abstract:

Humans, in the conduct of daily activities, have used measurement as a crucial tool. In education, certain measurement tools such as achievement testing is used to assess the psychological capabilities of students. Thus, it is important that correct test constructs are utilized for results to be reliable. This study was done to evaluate the reliability index of the Mindanao State University – Tawi-Tawi College of Technology and Oceanography Senior High School Entrance Examination, which is given annually to prospect students. The examination consists of four subjects: English, Science, Mathematics and Aptitude with 75, 30, 40, and 25 questions each respectively. The study employed the descriptive quantitative research design. Stratified sampling was used on the entire raw scored answer sheets to come up with a sample of 200 examinees of the said exam. To evaluate the reliability index, the Statistical Program from Social Sciences or SPSS was used. The study concluded that the test constructs for the examination was highly reliable with reliability index of 0.968, with a level of significance of 0.1. Reliability per subject were 0.965 for Language or English, 0.983 for Science, 0.967 for Mathematics, and 0.974 for Aptitude. The study recommends that the examination be further evaluated and updated.