AN ITEM RESPONSE THEORY (IRT) BASED ASSESSMENT OF PSYCHOMETRIC PROPERTIES OF BASIC SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY BASIC EDUCATION CERTIFICATE EXAMINATION IN BORNO STATE, NIGERIA.

The study examined the psychometric properties of 2021/2022 Basic Science and Technology (BST) items in the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) administered in Borno State, Nigeria. The study was carried out against the backdrop of persistent underperformance in Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) science subjects. A descriptive survey design was employed, using probability proportion to size sampling technique to sample 3557 students script out of 51946 scripts of students that sat for the 2021/2022 Basic Education Certificate Examination Basic Science and Technology in Borno State, Nigeria. A document consists of question paper and students’ scripts was adopted from Borno State Education board as an instrument for data collection. The students’ responses on each item on the script were analyzed using X-Calibre 4.2 three-parameter Item Response Theory (IRT) model to estimate item difficulty, discrimination and pseudo-guessing indices. Results indicated that a majority of both multiple-choice and essay items were classified as easy, 14 multiple-choice items and 3 essays were moderately difficult; and fewer items fell into the difficult and very difficult categories. Item discrimination analysis revealed that 57.5% of multiple-choice items and all essay questions effectively distinguished between high and low ability examinees (a-value > 0.50), whereas 42.5% of objective items lacked adequate discriminatory power. The pseudo-guessing parameter showed that 88.8% of items minimized correct responses attributable to guessing, underscoring generally robust item construction. However, the presence of overly simplistic questions and a subset of weakly discriminating items signals room for refinement. It is therefore, concluded that BECE BST items for 2021/2022 in Borno State satisfy fundamental psychometric standards for difficulty, discrimination and guessing parameter, but they also highlight specific areas particularly item difficulty balance and discrimination consistency where enhancements are warranted. To address these gaps, the following recommendations were made: federal ministry of education through state education board should in force a compulsory course on development and standardization of test for all those personnel constructing test for BECE BST at state and national level. Such capacity building will strengthen the alignment between BST assessments and the competencies required for success in senior secondary science curricula, thereby improving student placement accuracy and mitigating long-term shortages of qualified science professionals in medicine, engineering, agriculture and education.