Adopting Item Characteristic Curves (ICC) For Invariant of Item Parameters of Polytomous Geography Items in SSCE in Nigeria
1Rashidat Abdulsalam-Nuhu, 2Rasaq Sulyman, 3Talatu Ibrahim Umar and 4Zulaihat Lawal Bagiwa
1Department of Educational Foundations, Faculty of Education, University of Abuja, Abuja Nigeria
2Department of Arts and Science Education, Faculty of Education Kwara State University, Malete, Ilorin, Nigeria
3Department of Education Faculty of Education Umaru Musa Yar’Adua University Katsina, Nigeria
4Faculty of Education Kampala International University Uganda
Email: Rashidat.omotayo@uniabuja.edu.ng
ABSTRACT
Test stability is an important assessment tool used in assessing of students’ performance. This is because the stability of the test gives an equal level or uniform level of assessment of students’ abilities which resulted into test invariant. item response theory is a measurement framework that possesses the characteristic of test invariance. This study was carried out to illustrate the invariant of polytomous geography items in senior school certificate examination in Nigeria using the item characteristic curve. This is a curve that shows the hidden ability level of an examinee. This study examined the extent of invariance of item difficulty estimates across male and female students; and the extent of invariance of item difficulty estimates across Geography students in rural and urban areas. The study employed the descriptive survey design. The population comprised all senior secondary school students in Nigeria. The target population was all senior secondary schools three (SSS3) students that offered Geography in their final examinations in 2016/2017 academic session. The target population for the study was 14,718 in Imo State, 8,433 in Osun State and 9,348 in Kwara State for 2016/2017 academic session. A sample of 1,546 drawn out of 32,499 students from 876 senior secondary schools in Nigeria were selected. A multi-stage sampling procedure involving stratified random sampling, simple random sampling and proportionate sampling technique were used to select the respondents. The research instruments were questions on Element of Practical and Physical Geography (WASSCE 2016 Geography Paper 3). The data collected were analyzed using generalized partial credit model with Mplus 7.4 The findings of the study revealed that, there was a significant invariant of item parameter estimates across male and female geography students and there was a significant invariant of item parameter estimates across rural and urban geography students.
Keywords: Invariant, Item Characteristic Curves, Polytomous Items, Geography
CITE AS: Rashidat Abdulsalam-Nuhu, Rasaq Sulyman, Talatu Ibrahim Umar and Zulaihat Lawal Bagiwa (2025). Adopting Item Characteristic Curves (ICC) For Invariant of Item Parameters of Polytomous Geography Items in SSCE in Nigeria. IAA JOURNAL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES 11(1):1-22. https://doi.org/10.59298/IAAJSS/2025/111.122.00000