The relationship between item difficulty and Non-Functioning distractors of multiple choice questions

D'Sa, Juliana Linnette; Alharbi, Manal F.; Visbal-Dionaldo, Maria liza

doi:10.5958/0974-9357.2018.00065.x

Cited by 2 publications

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“…There was a moderate negative correlation between the frequency of NFDs per item and the item’s discrimination ability for both test versions: r = - 0.44 and -0.38 for the three and five options, respectively, p- value = 0.00 . This is consistent with previous studies [ 37 , 38 ]. This finding is essential for further proving the importance of designing effective and plausible distractors.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 94%

Decreasing the options’ number in multiple choice questions in the assessment of senior medical students and its effect on exam psychometrics and distractors’ function

Al-lawama

Kumwenda²

2023

BMC Med Educ

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Background Studies that have investigated the effect options’ number in MCQ tests used in the assessments of senior medical students are scarce. This study aims to compare exam psychometrics between three- and five-option MCQ tests in final-year assessments. Methods A cluster randomized study was applied. Participants were classified into three groups, according to their academic levels. Students in each of those levels were randomized into either the three- or five-option test groups. Results Mean time to finish the five-option test was 45 min, versus 32 min for the three-option group. Cronbach’s alpha was 0.89 for the three-option group, versus 0.81 for the five-options, p-value = 0.19. The mean difficulty index for the three-option group was 0.75, compared to 0.73 for the five-option group, p-value = 0.57. The mean discriminating index was 0.53 for the three-option group, and 0.45 for the five-options, p-value = 0.07. The frequency of non-functioning distractors was higher in the five-option test, 111 (56%), versus 39 (39%) in the three-options, with p-value < 0.01. Conclusions This study has shown that three-option MCQs are comparable to five-option MCQs, in terms of exam psychometrics. Three-option MCQs are superior to five-option tests regarding distractors’ effectiveness and saving administrative time.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 94%

Decreasing the options’ number in multiple choice questions in the assessment of senior medical students and its effect on exam psychometrics and distractors’ function

Al-lawama

Kumwenda²

2023

BMC Med Educ

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“…A score greater than 0.35 indicates excellent discrimination, 0.25-0.34 is "good," 0.15-0.24 "marginal," and less than 0.15 indicates "poor" discrimination (Abdulghani et al, 2014). • Distractor Efficiency (DE): distractors (answers) selected by more than 5% of students are considered acceptable (D'Sa et al, 2018).…”

Section: • the Discrimination Index (Di)mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The discrimination index (DI) helps differentiate between high and low scores (D'Sa et al, 2018). The index is based upon a percentage of the higher scores of the exam and the lower scores of the exam.…”

Section: Test Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Test Analysis Through the Lens of Objective Compassion

Nelan¹,

Prepetit²

2023

Journal of Christian Nursing

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Test construction and test reviews are responsibilities nursing faculty arduously undertake, with an obligation to give appropriate effort and time to prepare and review exams. During test review, item analysis and statistical analysis offer valuable empirical information about the exam. However, objective compassion is also needed and can be demonstrated through careful test question construction and item analysis. Furthermore, compassion is needed in preparing students for the Next Generation NCLEX-RN (NGN) and constructing exams that appropriately test students' clinical judgment.

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The relationship between item difficulty and Non-Functioning distractors of multiple choice questions

Cited by 2 publications

References 0 publications

Decreasing the options’ number in multiple choice questions in the assessment of senior medical students and its effect on exam psychometrics and distractors’ function

Decreasing the options’ number in multiple choice questions in the assessment of senior medical students and its effect on exam psychometrics and distractors’ function

Test Analysis Through the Lens of Objective Compassion

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