Determining the Effect of Guessing on Test Scores

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of guessing on test scores. The population used for this study consists of twenty (20) pupils of a primary school randomly selected from a total of one hundred (100) primary six pupils in Calabar, Nigeria. Ten (10) multiple choice Chemistry test items were constructed and pilot tested on five (5) primary school pupils of the same grade and age. The result of the study fails to agree with the Perfect Guttman Scale rather it tends to agree with the opinion of Lord (1977). The tests were constructed and applied in the classical test theory pattern and the pupils do not possess the ability demanded by the test items. It is suggested that examiners should give appropriate and clear instructions to the examinees to avoid guessing. In order to assign scores to the responses of the examinees, it is recommended that examiners should adopt the correction of guessing formula.

Key Words: Academic Achievement, Classical Test Theory, Electrolysis, Item Difficulty, Item Discrimination, Test score, True Test Theory