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228289

Evaluating the effectiveness of the response - after MCQ exam item analysis on students' performance in a Communication Skills exam

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Last updated: 05 Jan 2025

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Abstract

Background: Designing an adequately structured MCQ is both complicated and time-consuming. Even after creating appropriately constructed MCQs, item analysis still needs to verify them.
Objectives: The purpose of this study was to assess the progression of students' results across three different consecutive exams following the author's constructed response, using post-exam MCQs item analysis.  Addressing potential exam flaws leads to appropriate action to improve the test standard quality, such as keeping and editing the questions or discarding them.  
Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted on a total of 138 students subjected to three different rotational exams in the Communication Skills course during the academic year 2019-2020. Items were analyzed according to their difficulty index (DIFI), discrimination index (DI), and point biserial correlation values (PBS). Accordingly, action was taken to improve items construction, and students' results were assessed.
Results: The three exams showed a gradual increase in the reliability scores. The mean scores showed a significant progression over time. The distribution of DIFI differed significantly among the three exams.   Better values of PBS and DI were demonstrated in exams B and C compared to exam A.  
Conclusion:
Constructed response according toitem analysis is of considerable value in promoting the MCQs standard quality. This is obtained by affirming acceptable DIFI, PBS, and DI indices. The item analysis conducted in this study revealed that communication skills exams showed a considerable rate of acceptable DIFI, PBS, and DI values, particularly in the later tests.

DOI

10.21608/erji.2022.228289

Keywords

MCQs, Reliability, Item analysis, Difficulty Index, Discrimination Index, point biserial correlation

Authors

First Name

Rania Moustafa

Last Name

Hadhoud

MiddleName

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Affiliation

Lecturer - Forensic and toxicology department - Faculty of medicine - Ain shams university

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Volume

2

Article Issue

5

Related Issue

32715

Issue Date

2022-04-01

Receive Date

2022-03-31

Publish Date

2022-04-01

Page Start

1

Page End

12

Print ISSN

2735-5918

Online ISSN

2735-5926

Link

https://erij.journals.ekb.eg/article_228289.html

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https://erij.journals.ekb.eg/service?article_code=228289

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Type

Original research article

Type Code

1,930

Publication Type

Journal

Publication Title

Educational Research and Innovation Journal

Publication Link

https://erij.journals.ekb.eg/

MainTitle

Evaluating the effectiveness of the response - after MCQ exam item analysis on students' performance in a Communication Skills exam

Details

Type

Article

Created At

23 Jan 2023