The Test of Testing: Evaluating Testee Perception of Ethical Compliance and Social Responsibility in High-Stakes Examinations

Abstract

The study investigated the examination bodies’ compliance with ethics and social responsibility in high stake examinations from the testees’ perspectives. The study used ex-post facto design. Simple random technique was used to select two thousand and five hundred respondents drawn from two states in South-Western Nigeria. Testees’ Response to Ethics and Responsibility Questionnaire (α = 0.862) was the instrument used to collect data. Frequency count and Analysis of variance ANOVA were used to analyse the data collected. The level of compliance varies across the examination bodies as responded by the testees [F_(2,2498) = 13.256; p < 0.05] in favour of WAEC testees (M=15.32; SD=2.37) followed by NECO testees (M=12.99; SD=2.62) and lastly NABTEB testees (M=12.98; SD=2.55). It was found out that the difference was only significant for WAEC using pairwise comparison while the difference between NECO and NABETEB was not significant. Three public examination bodies were studied and the compliance with ethics and social responsibility may not be generalized beyond this context.  The type of examination undertaken by testees varies in the way and manner in which they comply with ethics and social responsibilities in assessment. For high ethical and social responsibility in high stake examination, there is need for total compliance. Therefore, examination bodies that are non-compliant with ethics and social responsibility in assessment should seek ways of improving their development and administration of test items along that line.