DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF INSTRUMENT FOR ASSESSING STUDENTS' PRACTICAL PERFORMANCE IN ELECTRONIC WORK IN TECHNICAL COLLEGES

Background to the Study

The major objective of teaching and learning at any level is that teachers/instructors bring about changes in their students.The achievement of this objective is very much dependent on assessment which can be carried out through examinations, tests, interviews, and projects (Bukar, 1994). Based on this premise, Chiejile (2006) mentioned that a simplistic measure of quality of teaching is dependent on how effective and efficient the students carry out the learnt skills at the end of the course or programme of study. In other words, measurement of the learners‟ performance is a function of how well, proper and adequatethe assessment procedures are carried out. Where the opposite is the case, the objective or excellence desired in teaching/learning process may be difficult to achieve. Any teaching capable of producing an intending result requires competence and commitment. Hence, Akilaiya (2010) opined that the achievement of high quality learning is consequent upon continuousprocess of assessment, although, it is not all the teachers that may have the requisite/ relevant skills as well as in the validity of such assessment. Okoro (2005) stated that any teaching done from a planned lesson must be examined for the achievement of the objective through test or other means of assessment of the students. This is solely, according to Tavakol (2014),to determine the degree or extent to which the objectives at the three domains (cognitive, affective and psychomotor) have been realized; utilizing say workshop environment. Workshop practice is widely known and has been in use in school workshops as a technique or way of teaching technical subjects. It necessarily follows that, wherever this method of teaching is employed to teach students either in group or otherwise, there is necessity to engage some unique method of assessing such practices or activities (Okorie,1988& Ezeji, 1996). This way, practical work learnt will improve students‟ knowledge of tools and materials as well as develop skill and quality attitudes towards job. Consequent upon the above, the Federal Republic of Nigeria adequately emphasized the importance of practical work in technology education (FRN, 2012), especially at the basic level. 2 The Federal Government of Nigeria in 1992 established the National Business and Technical Examination Board (NABTEB) under decree 70 of 1993. Its mandate is to promote technical education throughout Nigeria and increase the quality and efficiency of the graduates of technical education systems through the award of national technical certificate (NTC) and advanced national technical certificate (ANTC). Towe (1995) highlighted that NABTEB actually restructured the existing curriculum and developed new one for technical colleges. Towe stated that the aim of the new document include enhancement of flexibility in the production of skilled personnel at all levels. In clear terms, the objective of the technical college programme is that students should be trained to acquire practical knowledge/skills required for their own well-beingand for national development. This simply means that the involvement of students in practical work in other to bring about production of things either single-handedly or in group calls for some measure of assessment. The clarion call on the concerned teacher is to realize the importance of coming up with ways and methods by which valid marks could be awarded in practical skills activities (Chiejile, 2006). However, the process of practical skill assessmentis not easy as stated by Oranu in Chiejile (2006).The reason advanced for the uneasiness is that such assessment process involves passing value judgment on both tangibles and intangibles. These include those things that have something to do with human factors that are observable but with difficulty and which can be effectively examined by mere paper – and – pen kind of rating in order to determine what the learners are doing and how correctly those things are done. Accordingly, it is stated that practical work cannot be actually assessed through oral or written examination of the students but such process of assessment need to have tasks to be done practically. Along this line, there is also the need to write out the statement about the degree of accuracy that is necessary in performing the tasks as well as the weighted values for each category of the observable skills.

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