Evaluation of Chemistry Questions in the General Secondary Examination in Jordan for Years 2010 – 2015

Abstract

<p>This study aimed to evaluate chemistry questions from the General Secondary Examination<br />in Jordan (Altawjihi) for the years 2010 – 2015. Criteria for evaluation included type of<br />questions (objective vs. essay), inclusion of Bloom's Taxonomy of Cognitive Domain, and<br />the availability of chemistry processes. This study was accomplished by following the style<br />of content analysis that considers the sub-question as the unit of analysis and then determines<br />which standards are included in the questions. The number of questions that were analyzed<br />reached to 540 sub-questions. The researcher used frequencies, percentages, chi-square<br />distribution, and Holsti's method in the statistical treatment to calculate the stability of the<br />question analysis. The results exhibited the domination of objective questions over essay<br />questions and questions of completion. Objective questions dominated the findings (57.6%).<br />Essay questions were second most frequently used (36.7%), with completion questions used<br />least frequently (5.7%). Questions that measure lower cognitive levels also outperformed the<br />other types, reaching 85.7%. However, the questions that measure higher cognitive levels (as<br />based on Bloom’s Taxonomy of the Cognitive Domain— analysis, synthesis, and evaluation)<br />were only sparingly used, at 7.8%, 3.0%, and 3.5%, respectively. Chemical calculation and<br />recognition occupied center stage in the educational processes for achieving chemical<br />knowledge and chemical expression, whereas the assumption process has been used almost<br />not at all (0.5%).</p>