ADMINISTERING, ANALYZING, AND IMPROVING TESTS

Learning Objectives

At the end of this chapter, the students should be able to:

1. Define the basic concepts regarding item analysis;

2. Identify the steps in improving test items;
3. Solve difficulty index and discrimination index;
4. Identify the level of difficulty of an item;
5. Perform item analysis properly and correctly;
6. Identify the item to be rejected, revised, or retained; and
7. Interpret the results of item analysis.

INTRODUCTION

One of the most important functions of a teacher is to assess the performance of the students.
This is a very complicated task because you will consider many activities such as the timing of the
assessment process, the format of the assessment tools and the duration of the assessment
procedures.

After designing the assessment tools, package the test, administer the test to the, students,
check the test papers, score and then record them. Return the test papers and then give feedback to
the students regarding the result of the test.

PACKAGING AND REPRODUCING TEST ITEMS

Assuming that you have already assembled the test, you write the instructional objectives,
prepare the table of specification, and write the test items that match with the instructional
objectives, the next thing to do is to package the test and reproduce it as discussed in the previous
chapter.

1. Put the items with the same format together.

2. Arrange the test items from easy to difficult.
3. Give proper spacing for each item for easy reading.
4. Keep questions and options in the same page.
5. Place the illustrations near the options.
6. Check the key answer.
7. Check the direction of the test.
8. Provide space for name, date and score.
9. Proofread the test.
10. Reproduce the test.

ADMINISTERING THE EXAMINATION

After constructing the test items and putting them in order, the nest step is to administer the
test to the students. The administration procedures greatly affect the performance of the students
in the test. The test administration does not simply means giving the test questions to the students
and collecting the test papers after the given time. Below are the guidelines in administering the
test before, during and after the test.

Guidelines Before Administering Examinations

1. Try to induce positive test-taking attitude.

 2. Inform the students about the purpose of the test.
3. Give oral directions as early as possible before distributing the tests.
4. Give test-taking hints about guessing, skipping, and the like, are strictly prohibited.
5. Inform the students about the length of time allowed for the test. If possible, write on the
board the time in which they must be finished with answering the test. Give the students a
warning before the end of the time limit.
6. Tell the students how to signal or call your attention if they have a question.
7. Tell the students what to do with their papers when they are done answering the test (how
papers are to collected).
8. Tell the students what to do when they are done with the test, particularly if they are to go
on to another activity (also write these directions on the chalkboard so they can refer to
them).
9. Rotate the method of distributing papers so you don’t always start from the left or the front
row.
10. Make sure the room is well lighted and has a comfortable temperature.
11. Remind students to put their names on their papers (and where to do so).
12. If the test has more than one page. Have each student checked to see that all pages are there.

Guidelines During the Examination

1. Do not give instructions or avoid talking while examination is going on minimize

interruptions and distractions.
2. Avoid giving hints.
3. Monitor to check student progress and discourage cheating.
4. Give time warning if students are not pacing their work appropriately.
5. Make a note of any questions students ask during the test so that items can be revised for
future use.
6. Test papers must be collected uniformly to save time and to avoid test papers to be
misplaced.

Guideline After the Examination

After the examination, the next activity that the teacher needs to do is to score the test
papers, record the result of the examination; return the test papers and last to discuss the test items
in the class so that you can analyze and improve the test items for future use.

1. Grade the papers (and add comments if you can); do test analysis (see the module on test
analysis) after scoring and before returning papers to students if at all possible. If it is
impossible to do your test analysis before returning the papers, be sure to do it at another
time. It is important to do both the evaluation of your students and the improvement of your
tests.
2. If you are recording grades or scores, record them in pencil in your class record before
returning the papers. If there are errors/ adjustments in grading they (grades) are easier to
change when recorded in pencil.
3. Return papers in a timely manner.
4. Discuss test items with the students. If students have questions, agree to look over their
papers again, as well as the papers of others who have the same question. It is usually better
not to agree to make changes in grades on the spur of the moment while discussing the tests
with the students but to give yourself time to consider what action you want to take. The test
analysis may have already alerted you to a problem with a particular question that is
common to several students, and you may already have made a decision regarding, that
 question (to disregard the question and reduce the highest possible score according, to give
all students credit for that question, among others).

ANALYSING THE TEST

After administering and scoring the test, the teacher should also analyze the quality of each
item in the test. Through this you can identify the item that is good, item that needs improvement
or items to be removed from the test. But when do we consider that the test is good? How do we
evaluate the quality of each item in the test? Why is it necessary to evaluate each item in the test?
Lewis Aiken (1997) an author or psychological and educational measurement pointed out that a
“postmortem” is just as necessary in classroom assessment as it is in medicine.

In this section, we shall introduce the technique to help teachers determine the quality of a
test item known as item analysis. One of the purposes of item analysis is to improve the quality of
the assessment tools. Through this process, we can identify the item that is to be retained, revised
or rejected and also the content of the lesson that is mastered or not.

There are two kinds of item analysis, quantitative item analysis and qualitative item analysis
(Kubiszyn and Borich, 2007).

Item Analysis

Item analysis is a process of examining the student’ response to individual item in the test. It
consists of different procedures for assessing the quality of the test items given to the students.
Through the use of item analysis we can identify which of the given are good and defective test
items. Good items are to be retained and defective items are to be improved, to be revised or to be
rejected.

Uses of Item Analysis

1. Item analysis data provide a basis for efficient class discussion of the test results.
2. Item analysis data provide a basis for remedial work.
3. Item analysis data provide a basis for general improvement of classroom instruction.
4. Item analysis data provide a basis for increased skills in test construction.
5. Item analysis procedures provides a basis for constructing test bank.

Types of Quantitative Item Analysis

There are three common types of quantitative tem analysis which provide teachers with
three different types of information about individual test items. These are difficulty index,
discrimination index, and response options analysis.

1. Difficulty Index
It refers to the proportion of the number of students in the upper and lower groups
who answered an item correctly. The larger the proportion, the more students, who have
learned the subject is measured by the item. To compute the difficulty index of an item, use
the formula:
𝑛
DF= , where
N
DF = difficulty index
N = number of the students selecting item correctly in the upper group and in the
lower group.
N = total number of students who answered the test
 Level of Difficulty

To determine the level of difficulty of an item, find first the difficulty index using the
formula and identify the level of difficulty using, the range given below.

Index Range Difficulty Level

0.00 – 0.20 Very Difficult
0.21 – 0.40 Difficult
0.41 – 0.60 Average/ Moderately
Difficult
0.61 – 0.80 Easy
0.81 – 1.00 Very Easy

The higher the value of the index of difficulty, the easier the item is. Hence, more students
got the correct answer and more students mastered the content measured by that item.

2. Discrimination Index
The power of the item to discriminate the students between those who scored high
and those who scored low in the overall test. In other words, it is the power of the item to
discriminate the students who know the lesson and those who do not know the lesson.
It also refers to the number of students in the upper group who got an item correctly
minus the number of students in the power group who got an item correctly. Divide the
difference the difference by either the number of the students in the upper group or number
of students in the lower group or get the higher number if they are not equal.
Discrimination index is the basis of measuring the validity of an item. This index can
be interpreted as an indication of the extent to which overall knowledge of the content area
or mastery of the skills is related to the response on an item.

Types of Discrimination Test

There are three kinds of discrimination index: p0ositive discrimination, negative

discrimination and zero discrimination.

1. Positive discrimination happens when more students in the upper group got the item
correctly than those students in the lower group.
2. Negative discrimination occurs when more students in the lower group got the item
correctly than the students in the upper group.
3. Zero discrimination happens when a number of students in the upper group and lower who
answer the test correctly are equal, hence, the test item cannot distinguish the students who
performed in the overall test and the students whose performance are very poor.

Level of Discrimination

Ebel and Frisbie (1986) as cited by Hetzel (1997) recommended the use of Level of
Discrimination of an Item for easier interpretation.

Index Range Discrimination Level

0.19 and below Poor item, should be eliminated or need to be revised
0.20 – 0.29 Marginal item, needs some revision
0.30 – 0.39 Reasonably good item but possibly for improvement
0.40 and above Very good item
Discrimination Index Formula

CUG – CLG
DI = ------------- , where
D
DI = discrimination index value

CUG = number of the students selecting the correct answer in the upper group

CLG = number of the students selecting the correct answer in the lower group

D = number of students in either the lower group or upper group.

Note: Consider the higher number in case the sizes in upper and lower group a rot equal.

Steps in Solving Difficulty Index and Discrimination Index

1. Arrange the scores from higher to lowest.

2. Separate the scores into upper group and lower group. There are different methods to do
this: (a) if a class consists of 30 students who takes an exam, arrange their scores from
highest to lowest, then divide them into two groups. The highest score belongs to the upper
group. The lowest score belongs to the lower group. (b) Other literatures suggested to use
27%, 30%, or 33% of the students for the upper group and lower group. However, in the
Licensure Examination for Teachers (LET) the test developers always used 27% of the
students who participated in the examination for the upper and lower groups.
3. Count the number of those who chose the alternatives in the upper and lower group for each
item and record the information using the template:

Options A B C D E
Upper Group
Lower Group

Note: Put asterisk for the correct answer.

4. Compute the value of the difficulty index and the discrimination index and also the analysis
of each response in the distracters.
5. Make an analysis for each item.
Checklist for Discrimination Index

It is very important to determine whether the test item will be retained revised or rejected.
Using the Discrimination Index we can identify the nonperforming question items; just always
remember that they seldom indicate what is the problem. Use the given checklist below:

Yes No
1. Does the key discriminate positively?
2. Does the incorrect options discriminate negatively?

If the answer to questions 1 and 2 are both YES, retain the item.

If the answers to questions 1 and 2 are either YES or NO, revise the item.

If the answer to questions 1 and 2 are both NO, eliminate or reject the item.

3. Analysis or Response Options

Aside from identifying the difficulty index and discrimination index, another way to evaluate
the performance of the entire test item is through the analysis of the response options. It
is very important to examine the performance of each option in a multiple-choice item.
 Through this, you can determine whether the distracters or incorrect answer. The
attractiveness of the incorrect options is determined when more students in the lower group
than in the upper group choose it. Analyzing the incorrect options allows the teachers to
improve the test items so that it can be used again in the future.

Distracter Analysis

1. Distracter
Distracter is the term used for the incorrect options in the multiple-choice type of test while
the correct answer represents the key. It is very important for the test writer to know if the
distracters are effective or good distracters. Using quantitative item analysis, we can
determine if the options are good or if the distracters are effective.

Item analysis can identify non-performing test items, but this item seldom indicates the error
or the problem in the given item. There are factors to be considered why students failed to
get the correct answer in the given question.

a. It is not taught in the class properly.

b. It is ambiguous.
c. The correct answer is not in the given options.
d. It has more than one correct answer.
e. It contains grammatical clues to mislead the students.
f. The student is not aware of the content.
g. The student was confused by the logic of the question because it has double negatives.
h. The student failed to study the lesson.

2. Miskeyed item
The test item is a potential miskey if there are more students from the upper group who
choose the incorrect options than the key.

3. Guessing item
Students from the upper group have equal spread of choices among the given alternatives.
Students from the upper group guess their answers because of the following reasons:
a. The content of the test is not discussed in the class or in the text.
b. The test item is very difficult.
c. The question is trivial.

4. Ambiguous item
This happens when more students from the upper group choose equally an incorrect option
and the keyed answer.

Qualitative Item Analysis

Qualitative item analysis (Zurawski, R.M) is a process in which the teacher or expert carefully
proofreads the test before it is administered, to check if there are typographical errors, to avoid
grammatical clues that may lead to giving away the correct answer, and to ensure that the level of
reading materials is appropriate. These procedures can also include small group discussions on the
quality of the examination and its items, with examinees that have already took the test. According
to Cohen, Swerdlik, and Smith (1992) as cited by Zurawski, students who took the examination are
asked to express verbally their experience in answering each item in the examination. This
procedure can help the teacher in determining whether the test takers misunderstood a certain
item, nd it can help also in determining why they misunderstood a certain item.
IMPROVING TEST ITEMS

As presented in the introduction of this shapter, item analysis enables the teachers to
improve and enhance their skills in writing test items. To improve multiple-choice test item, we
shall consider the stem of the item, the distracters and the key answer.

How to Improve the Test Item

Consider the following examples in analyzing the test item and some notes on how to
improve the item based from the results of items analysis.

Example 1. A class is composed of 40 students. Divide the group into two. Option B is the
correct answer. Based from the given data on the table, as a teacher, what would you do with the
test item.

Option A B* C D E
Upper 3 10 4 0 3
Group
Lower 4 4 8 0 4
Group

1. Compute the difficulty index.

n = 10 + 4 = 14
N = 40
𝑛
DF = N
14
DF = 40
DF = 0.35 or 35%

2. Compute the discrimination index.

CUG = 10
CLG = 4
D = 20
CUG – CLG
DI = ----------------
D
10−4
=
20
6
= 20
= 0.30 or 30%

3. Make an analysis about the level of difficulty, discrimination and distracters.

a. Only 35% of the examines got the answer correctly, hence, the item is difficult.
b. More students from the upper group got the answer correctly, hence, it has a positive
discrimination.
c. Retain options A, C, and E because most of the students who did not perform well in the
overall examination selected it. Those options attract most students from the lower
group.

4. Conclusion: Retain the test item but change option D, make it more realistic to make it
effective for the upper and lower groups. At least 5% of the examinees choose the incorrect
option.
 Example 2.A class is composed of 50 students. Use 27% to get the upper and the lower groups.
Analysis the item given the following results. Option D is the correct answer. What will you do
with the test item?

Option A B C D* E
Upper Group 3 1 2 6 2
(27%)
Lower Group 5 0 4 4 1
(27%)

1. Compute the difficulty index

n = 6 +4 = 10
N = 28
𝑛
DF – N
10
DF = 28
DF = 0.36 of 36%

2. Compute the discrimination index.

CUG = 6
CLG = 4
D=4
CUG – CLG
DI = ----------------
D
6−4
DI = 14
2
DI = 14
DI = 0.14 or 14%

3. Make an analysis
a. Only 36% of the examinees got the answer correctly, hence, the item is difficult.
b. More students from the upper group got the answer correctly, hence, it has a positive
discrimination.
c. Modify options and B and E because more students from the upper group chose them
compare with the lower group, hence, they are not effective distracters because most of
the students who performed well in the overall examination selected them as their
answer.
d. Retain options A and C because most of the students who did not perform well in the
overall examination selected them as the correct answer. Hence, options A and C are
effective distracters.
4. Conclusion: Revised the item by modifying options B and E.

Example 3.A class is composed of 50 students. Use 27% to get the upper and the lower groups.
Analyze the item given the following results. Option E is the correct answer. What will you do
with the test item?

Option A B C D E*
Upper Group 2 3 2 2 5
(27%)
Lower Group 2 2 1 1 8
(27%)
 1. Compute the difficulty index:
n = 5 + 8 = 13
N = 28
𝑛
DF = N
13
DF = 28
DF = 0.46 or 46%

2. Compute the discrimination index.

CUG = 5
CLG = 8
D=4
CUG – CLG
DI = ----------------
D
5−8
DI = 14
−3
DI = 14
DI = 0.21 or -21%

3. Make an analysis.
a. 46% of the students got the answer to test item correctly, hence, the test item is
moderately difficult.
b. More students from the lower group got the item correctly; therefore, it is a negative
discrimination. The discrimination index is -21%.
c. No need to analyze the distracters because the item discriminates negatively.
d. Modify all the distracters because they are not effective. Most of the students in the upper
group chose the incorrect options. The options are effective if most of the students in the
lower group chose the incorrect options.
4. Conclusion: Reject the item because it has a negative discrimination index.

Example 4. Potential Miskeyed Item. Make an item analysis about the table below.

What will you do with the test that is a potential miskeyed item?

Option A* B C D E
Upper Group 1 2 3 10 4
Lower Group 3 4 4 4 5

1. Compute the difficulty index:

n=1+3=4
N = 40
𝑛
DF = N
4
DF = 40
DF = 0.10 or 10%
2. Compute the discrimination index.
CUG = 1
CLG = 3
D = 20
CUG – CLG
DI = ----------------
D
 1−3
DI = 20
−2
DI = 20
DI = 0.10 or -10%

3. Make an analysis.
a. More students from the upper group choose option D than option A, even though option
A is supposedly the correct answer.
b. Most likely the teacher has written the wrong answer key.
c. The teacher checks and finds out that he/she did not miskey the answer that he/ she
though is the correct answer.
d. If the teacher,miskeyed it, he/ she must check and retally the scores of the students’ test
papers before giving them back.
e. If option A is really the correct answer, revise to weaken option D, distracters are not
supposed to draw more attention than the keyed answer.
f. Only 10% of the students got the answer to the test item correctly, hence, the test item is
very difficult.
g. More students from the lower group got the item correctly, therefore a negative
discrimination resulted. The discrimination index is -10%.
h. No need to analyze the distracters because the test item is very difficult and discriminates
negatively.
4. Conclusion: Reject the item because it is very difficult and has a negative discrimination.
5.
Example 5. Ambiguous Item. Below is the result of item analysis of a test with an ambiguous test
item. What can you say about the item? Are you going to retain, revise or reject it?

Option A B C D E*
Upper Group 7 1 1 2 8
Lower Group 6 2 3 3 6

1. Compute the difficulty index:

n = 8 + 6 = 14
N = 39
𝑛
DF =
N
14
DF = 39
DF = 0.36 or 36%
2. Compute the discrimination index.
CUG = 8
CLG = 6
D = 20
CUG – CLG
DI = ----------------
D
8−6
DI = 20
2
DI = 20
DI = 0.10 or 10%
3. Make an analysis.
a. Only 36% of the students got the answer to the test item correctly, hence, the test item is
difficult.
 b. More students from the upper group got the item correctly, hence, it discriminates
positely. The discrimination index is 10%.
c. About equal numbers of top students went for option A and option E, this implies that
they could not tell which is the correct answer. The students do not know the content of
the test, thus, a reteach is needed.
4. Conclusion: revise the test item because it is ambiguous.

Example 6. Guessing Item. Below is the result of item analysis for a test with students’ answers
mostly based on a guess. Are you going to reject, revise or retain the test item?

Option A B C* D E
Upper Group 4 3 4 3 6
Lower Group 3 4 3 4 5

1. Compute the difficulty index:

n=4+3=7
N = 39
𝑛
DF = N
7
DF =
39
DF = 0.18 or 18%
2. Compute the discrimination index.
CUG = 4
CLG = 3
D = 20
CUG – CLG
DI = ----------------
D
4−3
DI = 20
1
DI = 20
DI = 0.05 or 5%
3. Make an analysis.
a. Only 18% of the students got the answer to the test item correctly, hence, the test item is
very difficult.
b. More students from the upper group got the correct answer to the test item; therefore,
the test item is a positive discrimination. The discrimination index is 5%.
c. Students respond about equally to all alternatives, an indication that they are quessing.
Three possibilities why student guesses the answer on a test item:
 The content of the test item had not yet been discussed in the class because
the test is designed in advanced;
 Test items were badly written that students have no idea what the question is
really about; and
 Test items were very difficult as shown from the difficulty index and low
discrimination index.
4. Conclusion: Reject the item because it is very difficult; reteach the material to the class.

Example 7. Guessing Item. The table below shows an item analysis of a test item with ineffective
distracters. What can you conclude about the test item?

Option A B C* D E
Upper Group 5 3 9 0 3
Lower Group 6 4 6 0 4
1. Compute the difficulty index:
n = 9 + 6 = 15
N = 40
𝑛
DF = N
15
DF =
40
DF = 0.38 or 38%
2. Compute the discrimination index.
CUG = 9
CLG = 6
D = 20
CUG – CLG
DI = ----------------
D
9−6
DI = 20
3
DI = 20
DI = 0.15 or 15%
3. Make an analysis.
a. Only 38% of the students got the answer to the test item correctly, hence, the test item is
difficult.
b. More students from the upper group answered the test item correctly; as a result, the test
got a positive discrimination. The discrimination index is 15%.
c. Options A, B and E are attractive distracters.
d. Option D is ineffective, therefore, change it with more realistic one.
4. Conclusion: Revise the item by changing option D.