A Comparison of Item Difficulty and Item Discrimination of Multiple-Choice Items Using "None of the Above" Options [microform] / Nona Tollefson and Ju Shan Chen.
This study compared item difficulty and item discrimination indices for parallel multiple-choice items in three content areas: measurement concepts, statistical terminology, and synonyms. The statistics and measurement items were administered in classes where graduate students taking the test were s...
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| Format: | Microfilm Book |
| Language: | English |
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1986.
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| Summary: | This study compared item difficulty and item discrimination indices for parallel multiple-choice items in three content areas: measurement concepts, statistical terminology, and synonyms. The statistics and measurement items were administered in classes where graduate students taking the test were studying the content. Vocabulary items represented a common area of knowledge where formal instruction was not offered. Items were written in three formats: a one-correct answer format, a format where "none of the above" was the correct answer, and a format having "none of the above" as a foil. The same pattern of median item difficulties was observed in three experiments. Items having "none of the above" as the correct response had lower median item difficulties than the one-correct answer format and the format using "none of the above" as a foil. The format using "none of the above" as a foil was significantly easier than the format having "none of the above" as the correct answer for measurement concepts and vocabulary items. The same pattern of item difficulty and item discrimination was observed across all item contents. This study concluded that using "none of the above" as a correct answer makes an item more difficult but not necessarily more discriminating. (JAZ) |
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| Item Description: | ERIC Note: Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Midwest Educational Research Association (Chicago, IL, October, 1986). ERIC Document Number: ED278704. |
| Physical Description: | 26 p. |
| Reproduction Note: | Microfiche. |
| Action Note: | committed to retain 20240101 20490101 Alliance Shared Trust https://www.coalliance.org/shared-print-archiving-policies |