JAMB & the integrity question
By Peter Ejirika
A cursory glance of the
news media’s account of the management and reporting of the scores of the
recent Jamb Exam is very troubling to any beneficiary of Nigeria’s education
system of pre-war era. Jamb Exam by its very nature is supposed to be a type of
Standardized Test or Examination.
This is a test that is administered and scored in a consistent or
"standard" manner and such tests are designed in such a way that the
questions, conditions for administering, scoring procedures, and
interpretations are consistent and are administered and scored in a
predetermined, standard manner. The last Jamb Exam was a far cry of the forgone
in terms of the administration of the exams, for instance the names of some
bona fide students were missing from the list of candidates, some centers had
mediocre sitting and lighting arrangements and there was
one logistical problem or the other which interfered with the Reliability and
Validity of this test as a measure of either a student’s college readiness or
knowledge, skills and abilities in specific subject areas. In addition the
general atmosphere associated with the administration of this Test, to say the
least, raises some Psychometrics issues.
According to Dr.
Ojerinde’s news release, 80,419 results were withheld for further scrutiny.
Invariably, the additional scrutiny compromises the integrity of the Testing
Standards and invalidates the Scoring system. Also, the additional scrutiny
raise some Testing as well as Scoring issues including the nature of the
Rubrics that will be used for scoring the answer sheets of the latter. In
conjunction with these anomalies, Dr. Ojerinde reported that about 40,612
candidates were not familiar with the shading instructions of the exams.
Undoubtedly, this is a reflection of JAMB’s Field Testing Model not a fault of
the students. In terms of reporting of students’ performance on the Test, Dr.
Ojerinde’s Report as presented in the news media lacked the fundamental element
of Relevance that is usually associated with the reporting of Statistical data
of this nature. In fairness to the Nigerian people the last Jamb Exam was more
of a measure of a Student’s Pre-Test degree of Exposure with the Data
Collection instrument than a measure of Knowledge-base in specific subject
areas.
In view of these
deficiencies, Higher Education should be mindfully reflective of using 2013
JAMB Exam for College Admission, the Education Select Committee of the Legislature
should conduct a hearing on the myriad of irregularities surrounding the 2013
exams and Dr. Ojerinde should honorably resign because he failed the Nigerian
populace. He demonstrated his inability to administer and conduct a secured and
strict examination. No doubt, the leadership of Jamb is a renowned scholar
however there is a world of difference between scholarship and managerial skill
set.
The universities should
conduct research studies on the use of Jamb Examination for college admission
and the students whose results are withheld for whatever reasons are entitled
to refund. In conclusion, the Legislature should be aware that the JAMB exam
candidates of today are the Nigerian workforce of the future.
Dr. Peter Ejirika, (CPA) is a Higher Education Management Consultant, and Ex-student of
Baptist High School, Port Harcourt. He contributed this piece from Mary Hardin
Baylor University, Texas
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