A STRUCTURAL EQUATION MODELING OF THE ASSESSMENT PRACTICES INVENTORY MODIFIED (APIM) SCALE: AN ASSESSMENT MODEL FOR HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS

Abstract

This research analysed the psychometric properties of the Assessment Practices Inventory Modified (APIM) using structural equation modelling. The APIM scale was distributed to a sample of 350 academic staff selected from both private and public universities in Uganda. A purely quantitative approach with a stratified random sampling technique to select the participants was adopted for this study. The objective of this study was to; test the psychometric properties of the APIM scale. The results of the psychometric properties revealed that the APIM scale is an adequate instrument in measuring assessment practices among university academic staff. The hypothesised model was found to be adequate in explaining assessment practices among academic staff in universities; χ² = 902.619, χ²/df = 1.842, df = 490, p = .000, CFI = .906, RMSEA = .052, and SRMR = .050. The findings revealed that the APIM hypothesised model was fit and adequate to explain the factors assessment practices of staff in higher education institutions. This has led to a recommendation that formal assessment training programmes should be made mandatory to all academic staff in universities in Uganda to understand assessment design, administration, interpretation and application