Influence of Teacher-Related Variables on Competencies in Multiple-Choice Test Construction

The study sought to determine the influence of teacher-related variables on their competencies in multiple-choice test (MCT) construction. A descriptive research design was adopted. The research was conducted in Rivers State, Nigeria. The research population comprised 7142 senior secondary school teachers during the 2021/2022 academic session. A sample size of 400 teachers was drawn for the study. Multi-stage sampling technique was used in the study. The instrument “Teachers` Competencies in Multiple Choice Test Construction (TCMCTC)” was employed to collect data. Three experts in Measurement and Evaluation validated the instrument. Cronbach alpha formula was used to estimate the internal consistency reliability index of .79 for the instrument. Five research questions and five hypotheses informed the study. Mean and standard deviations addressed the research questions while independent t-test and one-way ANOVA tested the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The results showed that teachers` gender, years of teaching experience, qualification, school type and school location all independently and significantly influenced their competencies in the construction of MCT. Based on these findings, recommendations are made that in-service trainings, workshops, seminars and conferences be arranged to help private and public school teachers as well as urban and rural schools among others improve in their competencies of MCT construction.