Final Test Items Research Articles

Development of the Korea Dysarthria Test Following Stroke.

Objective To develop an objective and quantitative clinical evaluation tool that can be used for diagnosis and severity assessment of dysarthria in patients with stroke.MethodsA prototype test comprising 23 items was developed to test the function of each speech organ. The scoring of the prototype test was based on the analysis of the result values obtained from 50 healthy individuals. The test was performed for 50 patients with stroke who were suspected to have dysarthria. For evaluating the correlation between each prototype test item and the Urimal Test of Articulation and Phonation (U-TAP), the odds ratio was obtained for each result, based on which the final test items for composing the Korea Dysarthria Test (KDT) were selected. The validity of the test was evaluated using the receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve and the area under the curve. We used the intraclass correlation coefficients to quantify inter- and intra-rater reliability. The Spearman correlation coefficient was used for examining the correlation between the KDT and the Speech Mechanism Screening Test and U-TAP.ResultsAmong the 23 prototype test items, 16 exhibiting significant results were finally selected as the KDT. The higher score of the KDT is reflected the better speaking function. The sensitivity and specificity of the KDT were shown to be high at the cutoff value of 76.50 point.ConclusionKDT is a useful evaluation tool for dysarthria, showing a significant correlation with SMST and U-TAP.

Development of Digitized Mandarin Paediatric Speech Perception Test Materials for Malaysian Children

Digitized Mandarin paediatric speech perception tests are limited in Malaysia for measuring outcomes among children fitted with amplification devices. Mandarin speech perception tests from other countries may not be suitable to be used in Malaysia due to regional vocabulary differences. This study aimed to develop digitized test materials to test Mandarin-speaking preschool children in Malaysia. This is a two-phased cross-sectional study where Mandarin words (n=113) were gathered with test item pictures developed and tested on 40 Mandarin-speaking children (aged 2;0 to 5;11 years old) with normal hearing in Study I. A total of 80 of 113 words with high familiarity among children were selected in Study I. In Study II, digital recordings of the words was conducted, followed by acoustic analysis, and sound quality evaluation. In total, 94 out of the 480 recorded word tokens were excluded in acoustic analysis. The remaining 386 tokens received good quality rating by three professionals. Validation of the recorded word tokens and pictures to select the final test items involved 20 Mandarin-speaking young adults in Study II. A total of 160 tokens were selected as final items and all pictures corresponding to these test items were validated as suitable representation of the test items. In conclusion, digitally recorded stimuli and pictures have been developed for a Mandarin speech perception test appropriate for Mandarin-speaking pre-school children in Malaysia. Ongoing research includes collecting normative data for the test and future research involves evaluating the test application in local audiology clinics.

Following the Traces of Teachers’ Talk-Moves in Their Students’ Verbal and Written Responses

We focus on teachers’ ways of leading whole class discussions (WCDs) in mathematics, with the goal of uncovering their traces (if any) in their students’ responses (a) while participating in the WCDs and (b) in the written responses in a final test. For this purpose, two 8th-grade probability classes learning a 10-lesson unit with different teachers were observed. Our data sources include (1) video-recordings of the WCDs and (2) the responses of students to final test items. We analyzed the teachers’ talk-moves, students’ accountable participation, and students’ reasoning in the final test items. Interweaving the findings from all analyses we found differences between the classes in students’ ways of participation in WCDs and in their corresponding final test responses. The teachers’ ways of leading the WCDs contribute to the explanation of these differences.

A Content – Form Analysis of English Final Test Items for The Second Semester of The Eleventh Grade Students of SMA Negeri

The objective of this study is to identify the quality of the test items<strong> </strong>used as a final test in the second semester for the eleventh grade students in SMA N in Magetan. This research used descriptive method. In collecting the data the writer used document (English final test items, syllabus, and students‟ answer sheets) as data sources. The data were analyzed by using the formula given by Ahmann and Glock. The results of this study shows that 57.5% of the total items have a good level in discriminating index, 45% of the items have fulfilled satisfactory criteria in difficulty level, 11 items had possessed the effective distracter, while the item‟s indicator 92.5 % of the items are compatible with the learning indicator mentioned in the syllabus, and in the construction aspect, 75% of the total items possess a good stem and 82.5% of the total items are able to fulfill all the aspects of good alternatives. In short, the items used as final test have good quality in constructing aspects, and its compatibility with the syllabus. However, some items are less effective viewed from its level of difficulty and the effectiveness of the disctracter aspect.

Assessment of colorectal polyp recognition skill: development and validation of an objective test.

The quality of colonoscopy is known to vary. The extent to which colonoscopists can recognize the presence of subtle colorectal lesions by visually distinguishing them from the surrounding mucosa (i.e., polyp recognition skill) may be one of several attributes that influence polyp detection rates. The aim of the present study was to develop and validate the first objective test of polyp recognition skill. Validation study. Twenty-eight experienced colonoscopists and eighty novices took a preliminary 280-item computer-based polyp recognition test. Items were genuine endoscopic images which participants assessed for the presence of "likely polyps." Half included clinically identified polyps. Participants clicked on a suspected lesion or a button marked "no likely polyp", and the main outcome measures were accuracy and response latency. The best items were selected for the final 50-item test. In the preliminary test, experienced colonoscopists correctly identified more polyps than novices (P<.0001) and better discriminated between clinically identified polyps and non-polyp features (as measured by d', P<.0001). For polyp items, the experienced group also responded faster (P<.01). Effect sizes were large for accuracy (Cohen's d=3.22) and d' (Cohen's d=3.22). The 50 final test items produced comparable results for accuracy, d', and response latency. For both versions of the test, score scale reliability was high for both polyp and non-polyp items (α=.82 to .97). The observed experienced-novice differences support the construct validity of the performance measures derived from the tests, indicating that polyp recognition skill can be quantified objectively. The final test may potentially be used to assess trainees, but test sensitivity may be insufficient to make fine-grained distinctions between different skill levels among experienced colonoscopists. More sensitive future tests may provide a valuable supplement to clinical detection rates, allowing objective comparisons between skilled colonoscopists.

Validation of the Chinese Translated Activities-Specific Balance Confidence Scale

Mak MK, Lau AL, Law FS, Cheung CC, Wong IS. Validation of the Chinese translated Activities-Specific Balance Confidence scale. Objectives To translate contents of the Activities-Specific Balance Confidence (ABC) scale into Chinese (Cantonese), to examine the psychometric properties (internal reliability and validity) of this scale for use with Chinese older adults in Hong Kong, and to determine the level of self-perceived balance confidence of this population. Design A 2-phase exploratory study: formative qualitative research and a cross-sectional survey to establish the psychometric properties of the Chinese translated ABC (ABC-C) scale. Setting Community based. Participants One hundred older community-dwelling subjects. Interventions Not applicable. Main Outcome Measure Measurement of perceived level of confidence in maintaining balance using the ABC-C scale. This instrument contains 16 items on indoor and outdoor activities requiring different levels of balance function. Results Four of the 16 ABC-C scale items had to be modified to achieve content equivalence and cultural relevance to Hong Kong. Final test items of this scale showed high internal consistency with a Cronbach α coefficient of .97. The instrument was found to have excellent test-retest and very good interrater reliability with intraclass coefficients of .99 and .85, respectively. Results of a factor analysis conducted on the scale showed evidence of a coherent 1-domain structure. The mean perceived balance confidence level ± standard deviation of 100 community-dwelling older adults in Hong Kong, performed by using the ABC-C scale, was 71.6±23.7. Conclusions Results of the present study verified that the ABC-C scale is a culturally relevant, valid, and reliable tool for measuring self-perceived balance confidence in Chinese older adults. These were reflected in very good to excellent internal consistency of items, test-retest and interrater reliability, and construct validity shown.