Building a question bank in mathematics for the ninth grade in the light of the paragraph response theory and verifying the quality of employing a computer program to manage it

Abstract

This study aimed to construct a bank of items in Mathematics for Grade ninth according to Item Response Theory using Three-Parameter Logistic Model, as well as to verify the quality of employing a computer program to manage the paragraphs of the items bank in terms of: storage, recall, and to select items from it to form a new test.

To achieve the first object, the content was analyzed and the target learning outcomes were analyzed, then pool of items was constructed, and a table was formed to represent all learning outcomes with test items. 210 test items were written in the form of multiple-choice questions, and they were distributed into six equivalent test forms, which covered the content math curricula. Each form is made up of 40 items, six of which were repeated in each form. The test was applied to a sample of 1200 students of the 9^th grade of primary education distributed in some educational areas of the ministry of Education-Sana'a for the years (2015/ 2016), where each testing form was applied to 200 students of the sample were chosen randomly using stratified/ cluster sampling method. Answers of the study sample were analyzed after the assumptions of the theory was checked using (Bilog-MG3) program. The results of analysis showed that in regard to items matching 4 of 210 items didn't match the Three-Parameter Logistic Model, while in members matching 4 of 1200 members didn't match the model.

To achieve the second object of the study, a computer program was administered to the items bank designed by researchers, where 206 items were stored with their information, and in a computer language that gives the output as required from the test to be formed. When selecting items from the bank with certain specifications, the program responded to this and provided the items that meet the required conditions along with the information for each item. It was also noted that the selected items were distributed to the units of study in a manner that responds to the user's desire, according to the list of specifications on which the test was constructed.