Analysis of the May 2000 SEC examination in mathematics

Abstract

This study contains an item analysis based on the Mathematics SEC examination held in May 2000. A sample made up of 365 candidates was chosen randomly. From this sample, 55 males and 62 females had opted for Paper IIA whilst 136 males and 112 females had registered for Paper IIB. This examination was made up of four papers: the Mental Paper and Core Paper (Paper I) which were common for all candidates and a choice between Paper IIA or Paper IIB (Paper II). The Facility Level and Discrimination Index were found for each and every item and moreover, an attempt was made to relate all items making up the four papers with the Mathematics SEC syllabus. The study revealed that females performed better than males in the Mental Paper, Core Paper and Paper IIA. On the other hand, males prevailed in the items making up Paper IIB. A t-test was applied to determine the significance of sex differences, but, all differences found were not statistically significant. Finally, candidates who selected Paper IIA were found to perform better than those selecting Paper IIB in the Mental Paper and Core Paper.