04 Jul NSG6102 South University Reliability of Test Items Discussio
NSG6102 South University Reliability of Test Items Discussion Question
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Asked: Apr 14th, 2019
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Question Description
Discussion Question
Choose at least two measures that you can use to improve the reliability of any test item.
What are the factors that you should keep in mind while formulating these measures?
Examine the parameters against which you should gauge the extent of improvement in the test item.
Weekly Notes
Reliability of Test Items
The reliability of a test is its ability to produce authentic results. Reliability is determined by the quality of measurement and represents the “consistency” of your results. Measures of reliability provide an indicator of how consistent a test is in assessing different groups of learners. Although some degree of variance is allowed, large variability of the test results can call into question a test’s reliability.
A reliable test is capable of measuring the same learning outcomes in different but equal populations. For example, a medical or surgical exam should be able to measure knowledge of medical or surgical skills in nursing students who have reached a given point in the curriculum.
Reliability is calculated using statistical analyses, such as the Kuder-Richardson formula, the alpha coefficient, and the reliability coefficient. Reliability is reported as a coefficient ranging from 0 to 1.
Several factors have the potential to impact the reliability coefficient in academic and clinical settings. They are:
Quality of test item
Level of difficulty of each item: This is the item’s p-value. If an item has a p value of less than 0.30, it is most likely too difficult for the group. Items that have a p value greater than 0.85 are most likely too easy. You should strive to achieve a p value within these parameters.
Homogeneity of the test items: This deals with how the test “looks;” every test item should have a similar appearance. For example, when you write multiple choice questions, the stems should all be approximately the same length, the answer should be approximately the same length and the distractors should be approximately the same length so they do not to offer clues to possible answers, and they should be listed vertically.
A point-biserial coefficient, computed for every multiplechoice item, is considered useful because it reflects how well an item is “discriminating.” A high point-biserial coefficient means that students selecting the correct response are students with higher total scores, and students selecting incorrect responses to an item are associated with lower total scores. Given this, the item can discriminate between low-performing students and high-performing students. This is a desirable characteristic of test questions. Very low or negative point-biserial coefficients can help identify items that are flawed (Measured Progress, 2013).
The index ranges between -1 and +1. It is better to have a score as close as possible to +1. When the score is in the positive range, it indicates that high scoring students correctly answered the question more often than low scoring students.
Similarly, scores closer to -1 mean the low scoring students answered the question correctly more often than members of the high scoring group.
A high discriminating item on an exam has a PBI above 0.40. If an item has a PBI of less than 0.15 the item should be revised. If an item has a PBI of less than 0.09 the item should be rejected. A mean PBI of 0.36 is a good to acceptable value and the question should either be retained or consider improving. (McDonald, 2014).
Homogeneity of the group being tested: When the majority of students choose the correct answers, it is difficult to differentiate between those who are at the high and low ends of achievement. If there is a small spread, you cannot compare individual items to the total test. This gives you a 0 reliability coefficient. However, because student nurses have to meet stringent nursing criteria, one normally sees a certain degree of homogeneity of the student population. Therefore, coefficients are generally closer to 0 than to 1 in nursing students.
Length of test (i.e. the greater the number of items on a test, the greater its reliability)
Number of students taking the test
Time allotted for assessment
Testing conditions
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