Abstract

Taxonomy level of pediatrics exams and psychometric characteristics of MCQ test in year 2014

Author(s):Vakili Zarichehr, Sharif Mohammadreza, Sayyah Mansour and Khosravi Gholamreza

Educational assessment not only needs to examine the test items making up the test but also to evaluate the level of learning of test takers. The purpose of this research was to examine the multiple choice items indices and to determine the taxonomy of pediatric exams of a medical university. This cross sectional descriptive research included 150 MCQ items making up the exams of pediatric group test for residents in Kashan University of Medical Sciences and taxonomy level of the test was determined. Computer software was used to determine the psychometric indices of MCQ test and expert opinion was used to determine the taxonomy of the test. The result of analysis indicated that 42.7 percent of the question was measuring recall, 31.3 percent were at the comprehension level, and 26 percent were targeting application. Chi square test result indicated that there was a significant difference between the proportion of the levels (P=0.03). In addition, a significant difference was also found between the proportion of very difficult and easy test items ((P=0.024). Based on the result of this research, it seems like MCQ tests used to exam the resident in the pediatric group need further evaluations and more careful examination.

• PDF