Development and Application of Item Response Theory (IRT) in Calibrating Civic Education Test Items among Secondary School Students in Zamfara State, Nigeria
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.58355/dirosat.v4i2.232Keywords:
Assessment, Civic Education, Item Response Theory, Psychometric Properties, Test DevelopmentAbstract
This study focused on the development and application of Item Response Theory (IRT) in calibrating Civic Education test items for secondary school students in Zamfara State, Nigeria. The objectives were to develop a valid test instrument, apply IRT to evaluate item psychometric properties, and assess the effectiveness of the calibrated items. A representative sample of 378 students was selected using stratified random sampling. The test instrument was constructed based on the secondary school Civic Education curriculum and reviewed by experts to ensure content validity. Calibration was performed using the two-parameter logistic IRT model, estimating item difficulty and discrimination while assessing overall reliability. Data analysis included descriptive statistics, t-tests to compare conventional and IRT-based test performance, multiple regression to examine relationships between item parameters and student scores, and item fit evaluation to determine validity. Results indicated that students performed significantly better on the IRT-calibrated test, with item difficulty and discrimination significantly predicting performance. The instrument demonstrated high reliability (α = 0.89) and acceptable fit statistics, confirming its effectiveness and validity in measuring Civic Education knowledge. These findings suggest that IRT-based assessment provides precise, reliable, and equitable evaluation of student ability, offering a valuable tool for educational measurement and instructional planning in Nigerian secondary schools.
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