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

Abstract

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