The Use of Rasch Measurement Model in English Testing

This study aimed at determining the quality of the English Paper 1 (EP1) items of UPSR trial examination for six graders in terms of its reliability, validity and items characteristics. It also sought to determine the difficulty levels of 40 multiple-choice items consisting five constructs of vocabulary, language and social expression, grammar, cloze-comprehension and reading comprehension. A number of 525 primary schools students were randomly selected from 3876 students in Kuala Selangor, Malaysia. Using the Rasch measurement model, the validity evidences were shown through the results of Principle Component Analysis (PCA), fit statistics and item distractor analysis. The results from PCA analysis showed the absence of second dimension in the test, which met the assumption of modern testing theory. Fit statistics analyses have identified seven misfit items that are beyond the acceptable range (0.7 - 1.3 logit). Item distractor analysis has identified five problematic items whereby three of them are also misfit items. Summary statistics shows that the reliability indices of Cronbach's Alpha were greater than 0.80 and separation indices were greater than 2. This study would benefit teachers in improving existing assessment practice by spreading out the importance of item analysis in schools, particularly in language testing

Measuring Teacher Profession as Career of Choice Among Top Fully Residential School Students

Fully residential schools (FRS) or boarding schools in Malaysia produce quality candidates with towering personalities. This study seeks to explore the choice of career as well as the parents and gender influences on the career as a teacher among top FRS students in Malaysia. A survey design, which is mainly quantitative in nature, was used in this empirical study. A self-designed questionnaire was used in collecting data from 305 participants from three top FRS in Malaysia. This study revealed that only 6.2% of students selected 'teacher' as a career of choice. Other respondents opted for different professions such as medical doctors, engineers, and scientists. Of the students who chose ‘teacher' as their career of choice, 31.6% have one or both parents from a teaching background. The study also found that the influence of gender on the career as a teacher was not significant with t (303) = 0.446, p = 0.656. Several recommendations were made. This study suggests further increasing the FRS students' exposure to the teaching career with the recommendations proposed