Mathematics teachers’ test construction competency and pupils’ learning outcomes in senior secondary schools in western area rural district, Sierra Leone

Objective: This study examined whether mathematics teachers’ test construction competency is associated with pupils’ learning outcomes in senior secondary schools in Western Area Rural District, Sierra Leone. 
Methods: The paper reports Objective Three of a broader doctoral study and used a cross-sectional correlational design within a convergent mixed-methods framework. The sample comprised 40 senior secondary schools (SSS), 80 mathematics teachers and 640 SSS2/SSS3 pupils. Data were collected with the Teacher Test Construction Competency Questionnaire, the Teacher Assessment Artefact Rubric (TAAR) and a curriculum-aligned mathematics achievement test. Teacher/class-level Pearson correlations were computed, and a three-level random-intercept model was estimated with pupils at Level 1, teachers/classes at Level 2 and schools at Level 3. 
Results: Overall TCC-Q correlated strongly with TAAR overall (r = 0.63, p < 0.001) and positively with mean pupil achievement (r = 0.32, p = 0.004). TAAR overall had a stronger association with mean pupil achievement (r = 0.38, p < 0.001). In the multilevel model, teacher overall TCC remained a significant predictor of pupil achievement (b = 5.915, SE = 2.017, 95% CI [1.962, 9.867], p = 0.003). 
Conclusion: Pupils achieved higher scores in classes where teachers demonstrated stronger test construction competency. Strengthening blueprinting, item writing, moderation and post-test evidence use should be treated as part of mathematics quality improvement.