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The research focused on development, validation and standardization of a diagnostic instrument called Tertiary Examination Behaviour Inventory (TEBI) for determining the tendency of students in tertiary institutions to participate in academic cheating. Anchored on the Modified Theory of Planned Behaviour (MTPB) and Item Response Theory (IRT), the table of test blue print covered the constructs of examination anxiety, examination ethics, study habits, and attitude towards cheating in examinations in one dimension and the phases (prior, during and after examinations) on the other dimension. Initial pilot study analysis of 50 items using test-retest reliability and factor analysis led to pruning down to 35 final items. The final sample size for validation of the TEBI was 1000 students drawn from higher institutions across the six geo-political zones in Nigeria and 3500 students for the standardization (construction of the national 'norms'). The Conbach Alpha and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) were used to determine the psychometric properties. Standardized Cronbach Alpha ([alpha] = 0.78) is an acceptable index indicating internal consistency, reliability and validity. Each of the 35 items yielded scaled means above 80 and each item's Cronbach Alpha is greater than 0.75. PCA yielded 13 factors from the 35 item TEBI. Those 13 factors contributed 62.73% variance in TEBI items. National 'norms' are 84.19% and 82.82% for male and female students respectively. Thus, TEBI is reliable, valid and standardized for use as a diagnostic instrument for identifying students who have positive dispositions towards academic dishonesty which is an educational monster.

Cheating in examinations is an educational menace that has threatened the very essence of schooling in most countries of the world. Therefore, it has become imperative for researchers in education to seek alternative strategies for curbing it in order to restore the dignity of school examinations as an instrument for assessing actual educational attainment by students. This research study addresses this challenge by developing an inventory that could be used to measure the examination behaviour of prospective candidates for school certificate examinations. The rationale for developing the instrument is based on providing a tool for identifying students who have positive tendencies towards engaging in cheating behaviour during school examinations. The initial sample used for the validation of the Examination Behaviour Inventory was 2000 candidates enrolled for the 2013 Senior School Certificate Examinations in Nigeria while the standardization of the instrument involved 4000 candidates. Cronbach Alpha index of the instrument is 0.843 and Factor Analysis delineated 12 principal component factors. Other psychometric properties of the inventory and the detailed processes involved in the construction, validation and standardization of this valuable educational instrument is reported. The instrument is recommended to School Counsellors, Psychologists, Teachers, Administrators and other stakeholders in education who are interested in the identification of prospective candidates who have a tendency to engage in cheating during examinations so as to apply proactive reformation on them.