EQUATING 2022 WAEC MAY/JUNE AND NECO JUNE/ JULY MATHEMATICS MULTIPLECHOICE EXAMINATIONS USING LINEAR EQUATING METHOD

Abstract

The equating of educational assessments serves as a crucial component in ensuring fairness and comparability
across different examination boards. This study aimed to equate the 2022 WAEC May/June and NECO June/July
Mathematics multiple-choice examinations using the linear equating method. Specifically, the study establishes a
statistical procedure that aligns the ability parameters, and determined the difficulty and discrimination
parameters of the two examinations. The methodology involves the collection and analysis of item response data
from a representative sample of 1,486 SS3 students in seven (7) selected public secondary schools in Yenagoa
Metropolis, Bayelsa State using multi-stage sampling procedure. Three research questions were answered with
descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation), while two hypotheses were tested using independent
sampled t-test statistics at 0.05 alpha level of significant. The findings of this study revealed that the 2022
WAEC May/June scores is equivalent to the 2022 NECO June/July scores using linear equating method; there is
no significant difference in the item difficulty parameters of the 2022 WAEC May/ June and 2022 NECO June/
July Mathematics multiple choice Examinations; and there is a significant difference in the item discrimination
parameters of the 2022 WAEC May/ June and 2022 NECO June/ July Mathematics multiple choice
Examinations. The study recommends that the examination bodies should implement quality assurance
mechanisms to monitor the consistency and accuracy of discrimination level evaluation across test items.