Study of the Role of Teacher-Made Tests in Curriculum Feedback and Quality Improvement in Oyo State Secondary Schools

Teacher-made tests serve both formative and summative assessment purposes, and examining their quality and use as curriculum feedback mechanisms in Oyo State secondary schools provides evidence for improving assessment literacy and curriculum responsiveness. This study examined the quality and feedback function of teacher-made tests in Senior Secondary Schools in Ibadan South West and Ogbomoso North Local Government Areas, Oyo State, South West Nigeria. A descriptive survey design combined with document analysis was employed. One hundred and fifty teachers from 20 schools participated, and 300 teacher-made tests were reviewed using a standardised test quality checklist. The checklist assessed objective alignment, bloom's taxonomy coverage, marking scheme completeness, and feedback provision. Results showed that only 29.3 percent of reviewed tests included items across all three learning domains (knowledge, comprehension, application). Bloom's higher-order thinking items (analysis, evaluation, creation) were present in only 17.3 percent of tests. Marking schemes were complete in 52.7 percent of tests. Systematic feedback on test errors was provided to students in only 19.3 percent of cases. The study concludes that teacher-made tests in Oyo State secondary schools are predominantly low-order cognitive instruments that are rarely used for curriculum feedback purposes. Recommendations include assessment literacy training for subject teachers, school-level test review committees, and integration of higher-order thinking item development in teacher professional development programmes.

Keywords: teacher-made tests, assessment quality, curriculum feedback, Oyo State, assessment literacy