CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
During the past few years, technology has significantly reshaped the method of assessment. In many academic domains, educational measurement has been moving towards the use of ComputerBased Testing (CBT), defined as tests or assessments that are administered by computer in either standalone or dedicated network or by other technology devices linked to the internet or worldwide web most of them using multiple choice questions (MCQs). Computer based tests have been used 1960s to test knowledge and problems solving skills. Computer based assessment systems have enabled educator and trainees to author, schedule, deliver and report on surveys, quizzes, tests and exams. There are two main types of computer based testing; the most familiar type is where candidates fill in their responses on a paper form, which is fed into a computer optical mark reader. This reads form, scores, the paper, and may even report on the tests reliability, the second type of computer based testing is where computers provide an assessment interface for students; they input their answers and receive feedbacks via a computer. An effective method of students’ assessments is necessary at all areas and levels of education. Due to increase in student numbers, everescalating work commitments for academic staff and the advancement of internet technology, the use of computer assisted assessment has been an attractive proposition for many higher education institutions. Since their first use, computer assisted test construction system have made a major impact on the design and generation of examinations at many universities and college (Ekiti State University and Emmanuel Alayande College of Education).
Currently in Ekiti State University and Emmanuel Alayande College of Education, the traditional method (a combination of essay examination and practical examination) is most used as evaluation of students knowledge. In the past few years, the number of students increased drastically and the conventional examination method became time consuming in term of the examination time for evaluation and assessment. A solution of examination in large classes of students is an automated testing system and this has been introduced by Ekiti State University and Emmanuel Alayande College of Education primarily to address the concerns and others.
Generally, the advantages of computer based test systems over traditional paper and pencil testing (PPT) have been demonstrated in several comparative works. Computer based test is just an alternative method for delivering examinations; it represents an important qualitative shift away from traditional methods such as paper based test. Despite these advantages available in computerized test administration, it does not mean that computer based tests are intrinsically better than paper and pencil tests. Previous study [( Fyfe,G., Meyer,J., Fyfe, S., Ziman,M., Sanders, K., and Hill,J.(n.d)] have even found that testing format does not affect test scores and as such computer based test(CBT) can be considered a valid and acceptable testing mode. As computer based test began to be used for summative assessment, establishing whether computer based testing performance was comparable to that of paper based testing became important. Researchers have performed large scale reviews of studies examining differences in performances of CBT and paper based version of tests and have generally found that when computer based test is similar in format to pencil and paper tests, it has little if any effects to pencil and paper tests, it has little if any effect on test performance ( Erle, L., Benjamin, Q., Einar, W.S., and Raymond, S. (2006)].