International J. Soc. Sci. & Education
2016 Vol.6 Issue 1, ISSN: 2223-4934 E and 2227-393X Print
Evaluation of the Common Biology Exam Questions for High School
By
Melih Koçakoğlu
Department of Secondary Education, Ministry of National Education, Ankara, TURKEY.
Abstract
The present study has been carried out with the aim of evaluating the questions of the common biology exams
administered at the end of each term, in terms of item analysis, reliability coefficient and objectives. Within this
scope, the questions of the common biology exam administered across all 9th and 11th grade students at the end of
the first term of 2012-2013 education year were analyzed. With the application of the common exam questions for
9th grade to 127 students and those for 11th grade to 129 students in another Anatolian High School, item difficulty
index (P), item discrimination index (D), Spearman Brown and KR-20 reliability coefficients were determined
while the qualities of the questions were assessed within the framework of the curriculum. In conclusion, it was
determined that the exam questions for the 9th grade were of a medium-level difficulty, had distinctive
characteristics, content validity and reliability while the questions for the 11 th grade were easy but not distinctive
though their reliability coefficient was sufficient; the content validity was also not ensured fully. It is considered
that the number of application-oriented questions was unnecessarily more than needed, thus the number of
reasoning questions should be increased.
Keywords: biology, common test, validity, reliability
1. Introduction
Common exams are administered in order to compare the success of students studying in the same
grade across all primary and secondary education institutions affiliated to the Ministry of National
Education on school level.
In the Article 36 titled „Exams‟ in the Regulation on Primary Education Institutions, the following
statement is given: “At least one common exam is administered in each term in order to allow teachers
to cooperate and make a common evaluation. The questions and answer keys of these exams are
prepared by group teachers and the points to be given for each correct answer are indicated in the
answer key.” In accordance with this provision, common exams are conducted in primary education
institutions (MoNE, Regulation for the Primary Education Institutions, 2012). Similarly, the following
provision can be found in Article 20 titled „Common Exams‟ of the Regulation on Promotion to the
Next Grade and Exams in Primary Education Institutions (Repealed): “In order to allow teachers
applying the same program in a school to make a common evaluation, at least one of the written exams
are administered together in each term. The common exams are applied after the preparation of the
common questions and the answer keys by group teachers on a pre-set date.” Common exams used to
be applied in accordance with this provision. It was repealed and taken within the scope of the
Regulation on the Secondary Education Institutions and the statement was changed in the new
regulation as follows: “In order to allow teachers giving the same course to make a common
evaluation, common exams are administered in all courses given in more than one classroom, and a
common evaluation is made. The questions and answer keys are prepared by group teachers and
shared with the students after the exam. Analyses of the exams are made based on the classrooms and
grades. The situation of the students that are found to lack of knowledge about some subjects and have
a low attainment level are re-evaluated by branch and group teachers. (MoNE, 2013a)”
Common exams are administered in order to determine and compare the level of students taught in the
same education environment or school by different teachers within a specific curriculum in line with the
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, Melih Koçakoğlu
pre-set targets and aims. Within the scope, the exams are composed of multiple choice questions and
prepared by group teachers.
Prepared by group teachers, the common exams facilitate determining the course grade point averages
of students besides allowing for a comparison between students‟ attainment levels. In general, 2 or 3
exams are administered in each course, in each term and one of them is a common exam. The
assessment and evaluation system in which the common exams take place demonstrate the school
achievement of the students in primary and secondary school and this school achievement makes an
additional contribution in the transition to the next grade. The grade point averages make 25%
contribution to the secondary education placement score (OYP) in transition to the secondary education.
The secondary education grade point averages (OBP) are taken into account in the calculation of the
students‟ scores in transition to the higher education. An additional point of around 60% of these
averages is given (Candidate Manual).
Prepared by group teachers and administered across the school, common exams make a significant
contribution both to the school achievement and in the transition to a higher grade which demonstrates
the importance of their evaluation. It is essential whether the questions encompass the difficulty levels,
distinctiveness, reliability and objectives in these exams. Also, in order to answer the question of “What
type of an evaluation do these questions make and at which cognitive level are they doing it?”, it is
aimed in the present study to determine the level of questions according to the cognitive levels used in
TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study) exams with the item analyses,
reliability coefficients, content validity of the common exam questions applied in the 9th and 11th
grades. Thus, a projection and planning will be made regarding whether an appropriate assessment and
evaluation were made in the transition to a higher grade by looking after the equity among students
regarding the common exam questions.
2. Method
Model
In the research, quantitative and qualitative methods were used together. The determination of the P and
D values in the common exams for the 9th and 11th grade students handled within the scope of the
research was performed in the quantitative part. On the other hand, evaluation of questions used in
common exams within the scope of the objectives determined in the biology curriculum and
determination of question levels according to the cognitive scaling used in Trends in International
Mathematics and Science Study were studied in the qualitative part.
Study Group
The research was based on the evaluation of the common exam questions applied to the 9th and 11th
grade students studying in an Anatolian High School, at the end of the first term of 2012-2013
education year in Ankara. Within this scope, the mentioned common exam questions were re-applied to
256 students in total studying in the 9th and 11th grades in 2 different high schools in Ankara.
Achivement tests were applied to 127 students from the 9th grade and 129 students from the 11th grade.
Data Collection Tools
The common biology exam questions for the 9th and 11th grade students were included in the study.
Two achievement tests handled within this scope consisted of 25 multiple choice questions each,
applied to the students studying in an Anatolian high school in Ankara in 2012-2013 education-year.
Data Analysis
During the data analysis of the research, the item difficulty analyses (P) and item distinctiveness
indexes (D) were calculated. Also, KR-20 and Spearman-Brown reliability coefficients were calculated.
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