The Use of Objective Test Instruments to Measure Arabic Grammar Mastery of Grade 8 and 9 Students of MTs Al-Madaniyah Jempong

Abstract

This study aims to develop a valid and reliable objective test instrument to measure Nahwu (Arabic grammar) mastery in grades 8 and 9 of MTs Al-Madaniyah Jempong. Nahwu mastery is a fundamental competency in Arabic language learning, but the availability of standardized evaluation instruments is still limited. This study used the Research and Development (R&D) method which includes the stages of instrument development, expert validation, and empirical trials on 15 students. The instrument was a multiple-choice test consisting of 25 questions arranged based on the Nahwu material grid. Content and construct validity were evaluated by experts, while empirical validity was analyzed using Pearson Product Moment correlation. The results showed that 22 items were declared valid and 3 items were invalid. The reliability of the instrument calculated using Cronbach's Alpha produced a value of 0.852, which indicates very high internal consistency. In addition, the Independent Sample t-Test test showed that there was no significant difference between the average scores of 8th and 9th grade students (t_count = –1.497 < t_table = 2.160), so the instrument was considered capable of measuring the abilities of both groups in a balanced and unbiased manner. Overall, the objective test instrument developed was proven to be suitable for use as a standard evaluation tool in measuring Nahwu mastery at the MTs level and is recommended to be retested on a wider sample to strengthen its psychometric evidence