CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
1.0    BACKGROUND OF STUDY
Examination is an assessment indeed to measure a test-takers knowledge, skills, attitude, fitness or classification in many other topics as defined by wikipedia (Rehmani, 2003). Examination can be either paper-pen or electronic examination (e-exam).
Paper-pen examination may be defined as printed set of questions used to test somebody’s knowledge in an exam (Encarta, 2010). Ayo et al. (2007) defines e- examination as a system that “involves the conduct of examinations through the web or the intranet”. Various examination methods are used in universities and other higher education institutions to assess academic progress for example, paper-pencil-based examinations, assignments, presentations etc. Sim, Holifield, and Brown (2004) identified more than 50 varied techniques used within higher education for assessment purposes; the most commonly used are examinations. Both computer based and written exams have their advantages and disadvantages, the conventional examination is plagued with several pitfalls such as examination leakages, Impersonations, inadequate supervisors, demand for gratification by markers, and the most devastating is the delay and non- release of examination results especially where there are large classes or public examinations.
However, some of the disadvantages associated with computer based assessment, including that Computer crashes are more difficult to resolve than broken pencils. There is the potential that an entire testing session, along with all students’ responses could be lost. Back-up procedures are essential, both in terms of storing student responses and having alternative means to administer the test (Bridgeman, 2009), However computer is also made unsafe for storing official and classified documents in university system and government agencies by computer hackers. A case of hacking in 2015 election was recorded where someone hacked into the INEC website to report results.
The university examinations as a higher education institution make use of both written and electronic forms of exams. The written exams (paper and pen testing or paper based exams) are more subjective when it comes to marking in the lecturers’ perspective while the computer based exam (e-exams or web based assessment) are more objective but ones a correct answer is type set as a wrong answer, it can’t be corrected ones exam starts and at the end of the assessment what you see is what you actually get.
The deployment of e-exams began shortly after the university senate approved the commencement of e-examination as from 2009/2010 academic session for departments that are willing and some departments took their examinations electronically during that session. The Radiography department attempted the use of e-test in 2011 and in 2014/2015 academic session 90% of the courses were more of e-exams and the department adopted it as a tool for assessing students.
Moreover, negative comments from students arouse as a result of dissatisfaction with the type of MCQ’s they answer and the slow nature of the system to proceed to next question which is independent of the timer count down of the exam starting and finishing time which does not allow students to answer all within the time limit.
The researcher observed that student’s poor academic achievement has been recorded where in RAD 201 many students failed after being thought by the same course lecturer, same handouts, same course outline and the same learning environment. The researcher compared the results of RAD 201 in 2013/2014 academic session which was paper and pen examination and found that in a class of 98 students the result distribution was 2A, 9B+, 17B, 21C+, 8C, 14D, 11E, 16F with failure rate 16.3% While the results of the same course RAD 201 in 2014/2015 academic session which was e-exams found that in a class of 116 students the result distribution was 3A, 1B+, 7B, 5C+, 8C, 16D, 34E, 42F with failure rate 36.1% .
In percentage, the written examinations has the following: A(2.0%), B+(9.2%), B(17.3%), C+(21.4%), C(8.2%), D(14.3%), E(11.2%), F(16.3%) While the e-
exams has the following: A (2.58%), B+(0.86%), B(6.02%), C+(4.30%), C(6.88), D(13.76%), E(29.24%), F(36.12%). The aim of the study is to assess the performance difference and perception among radiography students on computer-Based and paper-pen examination.
1.1    STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
It has been observed by the researcher that huge number of students have complained about the e-examination application as an assessment tool following a decline in their academic performances since its inception in 2009/2010 in UNIMAID.
1.2    OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
1.    To compare academic performance differences among computer based (e-exams) and paper-pen examination in some selected courses; Rad 201, Rad 331, Rad 431, Rad 531 in 2013/2014 and 2014/2015 academic sessions.
2.    To determine the students attitude towards e-examination.
1.3    Hypothesis:
Null hypothesis: states that there is no difference between two population means therefore H0: x1 = x2. Alternate hypothesis: states that there is difference between two means and therefore H1: X1 ≠ X2