ANALYSIS OF ONE-BEST TYPE MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS AT ARMY MEDICAL COLLEGE, RAWALPINDI

Abstract

Objective: To assess the quality of multiple choice questions used for evaluation of 2nd year dental students’ knowledge regarding pre-clinical prosthodontics.

Study Design: Cross sectional study.

Place and Duration of Study: Army Medical College/Armed Forces Institute of Dentistry, Rawalpindi, form April 2019.

Methodology: The study included 48 undergraduate students of 2nd year BDS at Army Medical College/Armed Forces Institute of Dentistry in April 2019, comprising of 25 one – best type multiple choice questions (MCQs), each having four options a-d. Parameters employed in the item analysis included difficulty index, discrimination index (DI) and the distractor efficiency (DE). Data was analyzed using SPSS version 24.

Results: Difficulty index showed that 20% multiple choice questions were “too difficult”. Fifty two percent of multiple choice questions had a poor discrimination index and of the 100 distractors, 29 (29%) were non-functional. Items with moderate difficulty, higher discrimination and functional distractors must be incorporated in multiple choice questions to improve the test standard and quality.

Conclusion: Items administered in this test were of moderate quality. Flawed items require careful revision to improve their quality before using them in any future assessments.