The Development of a Test to Measure Thinking Ability on Solving Natural Resource and Environment Conservation Problems of Prathom Suksa VI Students under the Office of Nakhon Ratchasima Primary Education Service Area 2

Abstract

                The objectives of this research were (1) to construct a test to measure thinking ability on solving natural resource and environment conservation problems of Prathom Suksa VI students under the Office of Nakhon Ratchasima Primary Education Service Area 2; and (2) to verify quality of the constructed test to measure thinking ability on solving natural resource and environment conservation problems of Prathom Suksa VI students under the Office of Nakhon Ratchasima Primary Education Service Area 2.

                The research sample consisted of 500 Prathom Suksa VI students in schools under the Office of Nakhon Ratchasima Primary Education Service Area 2 during the second semester of the 2013 academic year, obtained by multi-stage sampling.  The employed research instrument was a test to measure thinking ability on solving natural resource and environment conservation problems.  It was a situational test in the form of multiple choice objective test with four choices.  Statistics employed for data analysis were the mean, standard deviation, content validity index, difficulty index, discriminating index, and reliability coefficient.

                Research results showed that (1) the constructed test to measure thinking ability on solving natural resource and environment conservation problems was composed of items on problems of inappropriate utilization of land, problems of utilization of water, problems of utilization of forest, problems of utilization of wild animals, and problems of utilization of minerals; the test was a 40-item situational test in the form of multiple choice objective test with four choices; and (2) the constructed test had content validity as shown by the IOCs ranging from 0.60 to 1.00; its difficulty indices ranged from 0.20 to 0.76; its discriminating indices ranged from 0.20 to 0.60; and its reliability coefficient was 0.91.