Item analysis is a process that examines student responses to individual test items in order to assess the quality of test items and the test as a whole. The purposes of conducting an item analysis include revising items to be used again, identifying the appropriateness of item difficulty levels, eliminating misleading items, and improving test accuracy and reliability. An item analysis focuses on test score reliability, item difficulty, item discrimination, and decision metrics to determine which test items were effective and which need revision or elimination. The results are used to improve the quality and effectiveness of assessments.
2. Why do we give tests / assessments?
To find out if students learned
what we intended
To separate those who
learned from those who
didn¡¯t
To increase learning and
motivation
To gather information for
adapting or improving instruction
3. What is Item Analysis?
It is the process of looking at
the iutem respopnses of a test.
The process used to judge
the quality of an item.
-Neeraja
A process which examines
student responses to
individual test items
(questions) in order to
assess the quality of those
items and of the test as a
whole.
-Washington.Edu
4. What are the purpose of conducting Item
Analysis?
To revise items which will be
used again in later tests.
To identify if the test item
difficulty level is appropriate.
To eliminate misleading items
in a test.
To increase the efficacy of your
exams by testing knowledge
accurately.
To assess and improve the
reliability of your tests
9. An item analysis focuses on 4 major pieces of
information provided in the test score report.
Test Score Reliability
Item Difficulty
Item Discrimination
Decision
10. Test score reliability is an index of the likelihood that
scores would remain consistent over time if the same
test was administered repeatedly to the same learners.
Reliability
coefficients range
from .00 to 1.00.
Ideal score
reliabilities are >.80.
Higher reliabilities =
less measurement
error.
11. Item Difficulty is the percentage of students who
answered an item correctly.
Easier items have
higher item
difficulty values.
More difficult
items have lower
item difficulty
values.
12. Number of
alternatives for
each item
What is an ¡®ideal¡¯ item difficulty statistic depends on
2 factors.
Your reason for
asking the
question
13. Sometimes we include very easy or very difficult
items on purpose.
Did I deliberately pose difficult items to challenge my
students¡¯ thinking?
Did I deliberately pose easy items to test basic
information or to boost students¡¯ confidence?
14. Item Discrimination is the degree to which students with high
overall exam scores also got a particular item correct.
A well-
performing item
A poor-
performing item
15. Decision can be used to determine which test item
were effective and which ones were not.
16. Whether to retain, revise, or
eliminate items depends on
item difficulty, item
discrimination, decision, and
your instruction.