Abstract
Introduction: The effect of instructions of negative marking on item analysis during an MCQ examination was studied. Material and Methods: It was an observational type of longitudinal study conducted in MBBS students of second year. The students were given the same MCQ test twice with surprise. There were no instructions regarding negative marking during the first test (T1), whereas instructions were given for the second test (T2). The Raw score, Negative score and Corrected score along with Difficulty and Discrimination index of each MCQ was calculated. Results: There was no statistically significant between the indices when the values of T1 and T2 were compared. There was statistically significant inverse correlation found between the difficulty index and the number of students who did not attempt the respective MCQ (Spearman correlation coefficient= -0.7818). Conclusion: The Difficulty Index and Discrimination Index do not change with Conventional test and test with instructions of negative marking. Thus, these indices form an important tool for MCQs irrespective of the conventional and negative marking. Keywords: Difficulty index, Discrimination index, Multiple choice questions, Negative marking, Surprise test.
Highlights
The effect of instructions of negative marking on item analysis during an MCQ examination was studied
The indices, namely difficulty Discrimination indices are the important tools of item analysis.[3]
There were no instructions regarding negative marking during the first test (T1), whereas instructions were given for the second test (T2)
Summary
The effect of instructions of negative marking on item analysis during an MCQ examination was studied. There were no instructions regarding negative marking during the first test (T1), whereas instructions were given for the second test (T2). Conclusion: The Difficulty Index and Discrimination Index do not change with Conventional test and test with instructions of negative marking. These indices form an important tool for MCQs irrespective of the conventional and negative marking. An MCQ has multiple choices (generally four), of which one is correct while the remaining three are known as distracters.[2] Item analysis evaluates the reply of students to each MCQ and suggests its quality and scope of perfection. The indices, namely difficulty Discrimination indices are the important tools of item analysis.[3]
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