The Impact of item flaws, testing at low cognitive level, and low distractor functioning on multiple-choice question quality

Perspectives on Medical Education
Syed Haris Ali, Kenneth G Ruit

Abstract

This study investigated the impact of addressing item writing flaws, testing at low cognitive level and non-functioning distractors (< 5 % selection frequency) in multiple-choice assessment in preclinical medical education. Multiple-choice questions with too high or too low difficulty (difficulty index < 0.4 or > 0.8) and insufficient discriminatory ability (point-biserial correlation < 0.2) on previous administration were identified. Items in Experimental Subgroup A underwent removal of item writing flaws along with enhancement of tested cognitive level (21 multiple-choice questions), while Experimental Subgroup B underwent replacement or removal of non-functioning distractors (11 multiple-choice questions). A control group of items (Group C) did not undergo any intervention (23 multiple-choice questions). Post-intervention, the average number of functioning distractors (≥ 5 % selection frequency) per multiple-choice question increased from 0.67 to 0.81 in Subgroup A and from 0.91 to 1.09 in Subgroup B; a statistically significant increase in the number of multiple-choice questions with sufficient point-biserial correlation was also noted. No significant changes were noted in psychometric characteristics of the control group o...Continue Reading

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Citations

Dec 8, 2017·Academic Medicine : Journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges·Nikki L Bibler ZaidiSally A Santen
Jan 16, 2019·The Western Journal of Emergency Medicine·Kevin R ScottAndrew W Phillips

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