Diagnostic Analysis of Incorrect Response Patterns in Economics among Senior Secondary School Students in Enugu North Local Government Area of Enugu Education Zone, Enugu State, Nigeria

This study examined incorrect response patterns in Economics among Senior Secondary School students in Enugu North Local Government Area of Enugu Education Zone, Enugu State, Nigeria. The study was guided by three research questions. A descriptive diagnostic research design was adopted. A simple random sampling procedure was used to select 342 Senior Secondary School Economics students from a population of 2,341 students. The instrument was the 30-item Economics Misconception Diagnostic Test (EMDT), developed by the researcher. Three experts, comprising one expert in Economics Education and two experts in Measurement and Evaluation, validated the instrument based on relevance, clarity, appropriateness, adequacy of content coverage, and alignment with the objectives of the study. Internal consistency reliability was determined using the psych package in R statistical software, yielding a reliability coefficient of 0.75. Data were analysed using frequencies and percentages. The findings showed considerable variation in incorrect responses across the 30 EMDT items, with percentages ranging from 23.10% to 88.89%. Item 20 recorded the highest proportion of incorrect responses (88.89%), followed by Items 11 (82.75%), 22 (81.29%), and 29 (80.12%). Twenty-one of the 30 items recorded incorrect responses from at least 50% of the students. Furthermore, six items were classified as very high, 15 as high, five as moderate, and four as low based on the proportion of incorrect responses. The study concluded that students experienced varying levels of difficulty across the economic concepts assessed, with several areas requiring greater instructional attention. However, incorrect responses alone cannot establish specific misconceptions. The study recommends that Economics teachers should use item-level diagnostic information and examine students’ distractor choices to identify possible alternative conceptions and provide appropriate instructional support.