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

ABSTRACT:

Background

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.

Method

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 under

SUBMITTER: Ali SH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4602009 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature