Assessing the quality of multiple-choice test items

Nurse Educ. 2010 Jan-Feb;35(1):12-6. doi: 10.1097/NNE.0b013e3181c41fa3.

Abstract

With the focus of nursing education geared toward teaching students to think critically, faculty need to assure that test items require students to use a high level of cognitive processing. To evaluate their examinations, the authors assessed multiple-choice test items on final nursing examinations. The assessment included determining cognitive learning levels and frequency of items among 3 adult health courses, comparing difficulty values with cognitive learning levels, and examining discrimination values and the relationship to distracter performance.

MeSH terms

  • Education, Nursing / methods*
  • Educational Measurement*
  • Educational Status
  • Faculty, Nursing
  • Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
  • Humans
  • Students, Nursing*
  • Teaching*