Title:
FRENCH LANGUAGE DIAGNOSTIC WRITING SKILL TEST FOR JUNIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS: CONSTRUCTION AND VALIDATION USING ITEM RESPONSE THEORY

Authors:
Nkechipatricia-mary Esomonu and Ogechukwu Juliet Okeke

Abstract:
The study developed and validated a French language diagnostic writing skill-based test for junior secondary school students using Item Response Theory (IRT). The diagnostic test consisted of 50 multiple choice test items which were constructed using the French language curriculum for junior secondary school students. Five research questions were formulated to guide the study. Preliminary validation was done by two French teachers and three experienced lecturers in French language. The pilot testing was conducted to ensure grammatical checking and compatibility of the test items while trial testing was conducted on 500 junior secondary school students and this yielded the data for item analysis. Analysis was done through the BILOG-MG using Item Response Theory. The data generated from the study were analyzed using smallest likelihood estimation. The empirical reliability of the test score was 0.77. The difficulty and discrimination level of the French language diagnostic writing skillbased test items indicated that 42 items were retained while 8 items were modified. The test was found to be of good quality, valid and reliable. The French language diagnostic writing skill-based test is ready to assess examinees’ writing skill in French language for JSS in Nigeria.

Keywords:
: Diagnostic test, Item Response Theory, French Language test, Validity and Reliability.

DOI:
http://dx.doi.org/10.37500/IJESSR.2021.4227