Journal of Education and Human Development

Psychometric Properties of Test-Taking Motivation Scale for Nigerian Secondary School Students
Iwintolu, R.O.; Afolabi, E.R.I

Abstract
The study developed a scale and generated items that are capable of measuring the test-taking motivation of subjects, examined the construct validity and the reliability of the scale. The research adopted a descriptive survey design. A total of 600 students participated in the study. They comprised 267 males and 333 females with age range of 12 to 23 years. Further, 17.5% of the samples were senior secondary school students 1, 46.5% were SSS 2 students, and 36% were SSS 3 students. In addition, 45.8% of the respondents were from private schools, while the remaining 54.2% were from public schools. Data collected were analyzed using reliability analysis and exploratory factor analysis. Cronbach’s coefficient Alpha, Spearman Brown’s and Guttmann’s split–half coefficients were used to determine the reliability of the scale. The inter–item correlation of the scale was carried out both on the initial 47 items and the final 25–item scales. Item retention decisions were based on the use of corrected item-total statistics and Cronbach Alpha if - item - deleted approaches. The results showed that after item retention and deletion, a final 25-item scale emerged. Two factors were found to underlie the construct of test-taking motivation; these were Others’ Influence and Extrinsic Goal Orientations. The reliability coefficients were obtained with the 25–item scale than was the case with the initial items, each being significant at p <0.05. The Cronbach alpha, Spearman and Guttman split-half reliability analysis for the 47-item scale were 0.87, 0.82, and 0.82 while that of the final scale were 0.90, 0.86 and 0.86 respectively. These coefficients revealed that there was a considerable improvement in the final scale over the initial 47-item scale. The study concluded that the scale developed was found to be reliable and valid for measuring students’ test-taking motivation of secondary school students in Osun State.

Full Text: PDF     DOI: 10.15640/jehd.v4n4a10