Graduate Thesis Or Dissertation
 

The development of an instrument to assess Oregon high school students' nutrition knowledge

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  • The purpose of this investigation was to develop a valid and reliable instrument to assess Oregon high school students' nutrition information. The following steps were taken in order to achieve this purpose. First, a review of the literature pertaining to high school nutrition curriculum was conducted. Second, numerous published tests designed to assess high school students' nutrition information were examined. Third, principles of test construction were identified. Fourth, objectives were selected to serve as a guide for item development. Fifth, a pool of 75 items was constructed and used for the preliminary test. Sixth, the test directions and several items were revised to serve as the first trial instrument. Five low-scoring items were omitted. Seventh, the 70-item, five-option test was administered to 300 students in three Oregon counties. The data were analyzed and several items were revised. Eighth, a panel of 13 experts in the fields of test construction, health education and nutrition evaluated the items for scientific accuracy, clarity, importance and appropriateness for high school students. From their recommendations the test was revised down to 50 items. Ninth, the second trial instrument was administered to 4,518 students from 60 randomly selected Oregon high schools. The resulting data were converted into norms. Before any meaningful generalizations can be made, the instrument providing the data must demonstrate a high degree of validity and reliability. An item analysis of the second trial administration revealed the 50 items to be within the accepted range of difficulty. The items discriminated positively, and all but two distractors were plausible enough to be selected by at least two percent of the student respondents. Statistical analysis revealed the instrument to be valid. The reliability was calculated by the odd-even number split-halves method and adjusted by the Spearman-Brown Prophecy Formula. The reliability coefficient was .899, which, according to standard testing criteria, is considered high. The second trial test was administered during the 1979 spring school term. One point was awarded for a correct answer and no points were deducted for an incorrect answer. Out of a possible 50 points, the mean score for the entire population was 27.667, with a standard deviation of 9.33. An analysis of variance test was performed on the variables of age, sex, grade and size of school. There was a significant difference in mean scores between age groups, in that scores consistently increased with age. Females scored 16 percent better than males. Grades 9 through 12 were represented in the study. There was a significant difference between each grade level, always in favor of the upper grade. To insure a representative sample, the Oregon School Activities Association standard for size of school was used. A significant difference in mean scores was demonstrated, with the AAA schools scoring higher than the AA and A schools. There was also a significant difference between the mean scores of urban and rural students, with the urban students scoring higher. It was concluded that: 1. There was a need for an instrument to assess student achievement of selected nutrition objectives. 2. The instructional objectives of the School Health Education Study were useful as a source for the construction of the instrument. 3. A valid and reliable instrument able to evaluate student achievement of selected nutrition objectives was constructed.
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