ITEM ANALYSIS OF MULTIPLE-CHOICE QUESTIONS: AN ASSESSMENT OF YOUNG LEARNERS

Maya Marsevani

Abstract


Although English has been taught for decades in Indonesia, the quality of multiple-choice question given to young learners was hardly examined. To touch on the issue, this study aims at determining the quality of 10 multiple-choice questions (MCQs) in a public elementary school in terms of difficulty level (P), discrimination power (D), and distractor efficiency (DE). This study employed a cross-sectional study to obtain information and evaluate MCQs in the students’ tests. It was found the multiple-choice items were efficient in which 80% of them have acceptable difficulty and 20% of them were fairly easy (P > 70%). The discrimination index of 8 (80%) items was excellent and 2 of the MCQs were good. Among 40 distractors, 32 (80%) of them were functional distractors while 8 of them were non-functional distractors (NFDs). It can be concluded that most of the difficulty index was acceptable, the items discrimination power was good. In terms of distractor efficiency, two items were completely inefficient. Furthermore, MCQs that are considered poor should be revised, re-tested, and reviewed before incorporating them into the future test. This study hopefully encourages teachers to identify poorly developed MCQs and to improve their quality.


Keywords


item analysis; English subject; multiple-choice questions.

Full Text:

PDF

References


Bhat, S. K., & Prasad, K. H. L. (2021). Item analysis and optimizing multiple-choice questions for a viable question bank in ophthalmology: A cross-sectional study. In Indian Journal of Ophthalmology, 9(2), 343–346. https://doi.org/10.4103/ijo.IJO_1610_20

Brown, G. T. L., & Abdulnabi, H. H. A. (2017). Evaluating the quality of higher education instructor-constructed multiple-choice tests: Impact on student grades. Frontiers in Education, 2(June), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2017.00024

Danuwijaya, A. A. (2018). Item analysis of reading comprehension test for post-graduate students. English Review: Journal of English Education, 7(1), 29. https://doi.org/10.25134/erjee.v7i1.1493

Elfaki, O. A., Alamri, A., & Salih, K. A. (2020). Assessment of MCQs in MBBS program in Saudi Arabia. Onkologia i Radioterapia, 14(5), 12–16.

Freahat, N. M., & Smadi, O. M. (2014). Lower-order and higher-order reading questions in secondary and university level EFL textbooks in Jordan. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 4(9), 1804–1813. https://doi.org/10.4304/tpls.4.9.1804-1813

Gajjar, S., Sharma, R., Kumar, P., & Rana, M. (2014). Item and test analysis to identify quality multiple choice questions (MCQS) from an assessment of medical students of Ahmedabad, Gujarat. Indian Journal of Community Medicine, 39(1), 17–20. https://doi.org/10.4103/0970-0218.126347

Hartati, N., & Yogi, H. P. S. (2019). Item analysis for a better quality test. English Language in Focus (ELIF), 2(1), 59–70. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.24853/elif.2.1.59-70

Harti, S., Mahapatra, A. K., Gupta, S. K., & Nesari, T. (2021). All India AYUSH post graduate entrance exam 2019 – AYURVEDA MCQ item analysis. Journal of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine, 12, 356–358. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaim.2021.01.013

Hingorjo, M. R., & Jaleel, F. (2012). Analysis of one-best MCQs: The difficulty index, discrimination index and distractor efficiency. Journal of the Pakistan Medical Association, 62(2), 142–147.

Izah, S. C., Odubo, T. C., Ajumobi, V. E., & Torru, K. E. (2021). Item analysis of Multiple Choice Questions ( MCQs ) from a formative assessment of first year microbiology major students. Res Rev Insights, 5, 1–6. https://doi.org/10.15761/RRI.1000166

Jannah, R., Hidayat, D. N., Husna, N., & Khasbani, I. (2021). An item analysis on multiple-choice questions: A case of a junior high school English try-out test in Indonesia. Leksika: Jurnal Bahasa, Sastra Dan Pengajarannya, 15(1), 9–17. https://doi.org/10.30595/lks.v15i1.8768

Jayanti, D., Husna, N., & Hidayat, D. N. (2019). The validity and reliability analysis of English national final examination for junior high school. VELES Voices of English Language Education Society, 3(2), 127–135. https://doi.org/10.29408/veles.v3i2.1551

Karadag, N. (2016). Analysis of the difficulty and discrimination indices of multiple-choice questions according to cognitive levels in an open and distance learning context. Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology, 15(4), 16–25.

Karkal, Y. R., & Kundapur, G. S. (2016). Item analysis of multiple choice questions of undergraduate pharmacology examinations in an International Medical School in India. Journal of Dr. NTR University of Health Sciences, 5(3), 183–186. https://doi.org/10.4103/2277-8632.191842

Kaur, M., Singla, S., & Mahajan, R. (2016). Item analysis of in use multiple choice questions in pharmacology. International Journal of Applied and Basic Medical Research, 6(3), 170–173. https://doi.org/10.4103/2229-516x.186965

Kowash, M., Hussein, I., & Halabi, M. Al. (2019). Evaluating the quality of multiple choice question in paediatric denistry postgraduate examinations. 19(2), 135–141.

Kusumawati, M., & Hadi, S. (2018). An analysis of multiple choice questions (MCQs): Item and test statistics from mathematics assessments in senior high school. Research and Evaluation in Education, 4(1), 70–78. https://doi.org/10.21831/reid.v4i1.20202

Manfaat, B., Nurazizah, A., & Misri, M. A. (2021). Analysis of mathematics test items quality for high school. Jurnal Penelitian dan Evaluasi Pendidikan, 25(1), 108–117. https://doi.org/10.21831/pep.v25i1.39174

Mehta, G., & Mokhasi, V. (2014). Item analysis of multiple choice questions- an assessment of the assessment tool. Historical Aspects of Leech Therapy, 4(7), 1–3.

Menon, A. R., & Kannambra, P. N. (2017). Item analysis to identify quality multiple choice questions. National Journal of Laboratory Medicine, 7–10. https://doi.org/10.7860/njlm/2017/25690:2215

Namdeo, S., & Sahoo, B. (2016). Item analysis of multiple choice questions from an assessment of medical students in Bhubaneswar, India. International Journal of Research in Medical Sciences, 4(5), 1716–1719. https://doi.org/10.18203/2320-6012.ijrms20161256

Obon, A. M., & Rey, K. A. M. (2019). Analysis of multiple-choice questions (MCQs): Item and test statistics from the 2nd year nursing qualifying exam in a university in Cavite, Philippines. Abstract Proceedings International Scholars Conference, 7(1), 499–511. https://doi.org/10.35974/isc.v7i1.1128

Patil, R., Palve, S., Vell, K., & Boratne, A. (2016). Evaluation of multiple choice questions by item analysis in a medical college at Pondicherry, India. International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health, July, 1612–1616. https://doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20161638

Polat, M. (2020). Analysis of multiple-choice versus open-ended questions in language tests according to different cognitive domain levels. Novitas-ROYAL (Research on Youth and Language), 14(2), 76–96.

Patil, P. S., Dhobale, M. R., Mudiraj, N. (2016). Item analysis of MCQs - Myths and realities when applying them as an assessment tool for medical students. Int J Cur Res Rev, 8(13), 12–16.

Purwoko, M., & Mundijo, T. (2018). Evaluating the use of MCQ as an assessment method in a medical school for assessing medical students in the competence-based curriculum. Jurnal Pendidikan Kedokteran Indonesia: The Indonesian Journal of Medical Education, 7(1), 44–48. https://doi.org/10.22146/jpki.35544

Rao, C., Kishan Prasad, H., Sajitha, K., Permi, H., & Shetty, J. (2016). Item analysis of multiple choice questions: Assessing an assessment tool in medical students. International Journal of Educational and Psychological Researches, 2(4), 201–204. https://doi.org/10.4103/2395-2296.189670

Rehman, A., Aslam, A., & Hassan, S. H. (2018). Item analysis of multiple choice questions in pharmacology. Pakistan Oral & Dental Journal, 38(2), 291–293. https://doi.org/10.52206/jsmc.2020.10.2.320

Salih, K. E. M. A., Jibo, A., Ishaq, M., Khan, S., Mohammed, O. A., Al-Shahrani, A. M., & Abbas, M. (2020). Psychometric analysis of multiple-choice questions in an innovative curriculum in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care, 9(7), 3663–3668. https://doi.org/10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc

Shaibani, T. A., Ali, F., Deifalla, A. H., & Jaradat, A. (2021). Item analysis of type “A” multiple choice questions from a multidisciplinary units assessment in a problem based curriculum. Bahrain Medical Bulletin, 43(2), 471–476.

Shete, A., Kausar, A., Lakhkar, K., & Khan, S. (2015). Item analysis: An evaluation of multiple choice questions in Physiology examination. Journal of Contemporary Medical Education, 3(3), 106–109. https://doi.org/10.5455/jcme.20151011041414

Shin, J., Guo, Q., & Gierl, M. J. (2019). Multiple-choice item distractor development using topic modeling approaches. Frontiers in Psychology, 10(APR), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00825

Wijayanti, P. S. (2020). Item quality analysis for measuring mathematical problem-solving skills. AKSIOMA: Jurnal Program Studi Pendidikan Matematika, 9(4), 1223–1234. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.24127/ajpm.v9i4.3036




DOI: https://doi.org/10.25134/erjee.v10i2.6241

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Copyright (c) 2022 English Review: Journal of English Education