Abstract
BackgroundTests composed of multiple-choice questions are an established tool to help evaluate knowledge of medical content. Within the field of rheumatology, there is an absence of free and easily-accessible sets of multiple-choice questions that have been rigorously evaluated and analyzed.ObjectiveTo develop a question bank composed of multiple-choice questions that evaluate trainee knowledge of rheumatology, as well as to investigate the psychometric properties (reliability, discrimination indices, difficulty indices) of items within the question bank.MethodsMultiple-choice questions were drafted according to a strict methodology devised by the investigators. Between January and December 2020, questions were administered in sets of 20-25 questions to test-takers who were either current trainees or had recently graduated from training programs. Performance was evaluated through descriptive statistics (mean, median, range, standard deviation) and test-item statistics (difficulty index, discrimination index, reliability).ResultsInvestigators drafted 1900 multiple choice questions within 45 sections each composed of 20 to 25 questions each. These questions were administered to 32 participants. The mean discrimination index was 0.57 (standard deviation: 0.22) and mean difficulty index was 0.38 (standard deviation: 0.23). Reliability indices for the 45 sections ranged from 0.45 to 0.85 (mean: 0.613, standard deviation: 0.09). The overall reliability index for the entire item bank was greater than 0.95.ConclusionThe investigators developed a 1900-item question bank composed of items that have sufficient difficulty and discrimination indices to be used for low- and moderate-stakes settings. A rigorous methodology was employed to create the first freely-accessible reliable tool for the assessment of rheumatology knowledge. This tool can be purposed for both summative and formative evaluation in multiple settings and platforms.
Highlights
Performance was evaluated through descriptive statistics and test-item statistics
Multiple-choice questions are a mainstay of educational assessment for the past century and are the basis for certification examinations in both Internal Medicine and Rheumatology, among other fields [1]
There is a lack of high-quality multiple-choice questions freely available for rheumatology fellows and other learners within the field
Summary
Multiple-choice questions are a mainstay of educational assessment for the past century and are the basis for certification examinations in both Internal Medicine and Rheumatology, among other fields [1]. Tests composed of carefully-constructed multiple-choice questions have psychometric properties that make them conducive to learner assessment [2]. There is a lack of high-quality multiple-choice questions freely available for rheumatology fellows and other learners within the field. How to cite this article Kumar B, Suneja M, Swee M L (September 29, 2021) Development and Test-Item Analysis of a Freely Available 1900-Item Question Bank for Rheumatology Trainees. Tests composed of multiple-choice questions are an established tool to help evaluate knowledge of medical content. Within the field of rheumatology, there is an absence of free and -accessible sets of multiplechoice questions that have been rigorously evaluated and analyzed
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