TEACHER TEST CONSTRUCTION COMPETENCY AND THE QUALITY OF JUNIOR SECONDARY MATHEMATICS ASSESSMENT IN SIERRA LEONE'S WESTERN AREA RURAL DISTRICT

High-stakes reforms in many low-income countries assume that classroom tests give a fair picture of what students know, yet surprisingly little is known about how well teachers actually construct these tests. This study examined junior secondary mathematics teachers’ test construction competency (TCC) and the quality of their classroom tests in Sierra Leone’s Western Area Rural district. Using a cross-sectional mixed-methods design, we combined a TCC self-report scale, an audit rubric applied to recent teacher-made mathematics tests, and classical test theory analysis of marked pupil scripts. The sample comprised 30 junior secondary schools, 60 mathematics teachers and about 300 pupils across JSS1–JSS3. Teachers reported that they regularly set school-based tests, but their competencies were uneven. Routine practices such as drafting items and tallying marks were stronger than more specialised practices, including blueprinting, writing higher-order items, piloting tests and conducting item analysis. Item statistics showed clusters of very easy and very difficult items, low discrimination indices and many non-functioning distractors. Regression analyses indicated that higher TCC scores were associated with better item statistics and, indirectly, with higher pupil mathematics scores. These findings suggest that classroom test construction is a critical but under-supported part of Sierra Leone’s assessment system. Strengthening TCC through preservice preparation, targeted in-service professional development and simple moderation structures at school or cluster level could improve both the technical quality and instructional usefulness of junior secondary mathematics assessment.