1 Introduction

The Office of Educational Assessment (2005) defines item analysis as

a process, which examine student responses to individual test
items/questions for the purposes of assessing their quality and the
quality of a test a whole. This item analysis report is based on twenty
multiple-choice test question administered to twenty-five students
(Refer to Appendix B).The quality of individual test items/ question is
assessed by comparing student’s item responses to their total scores.
The summary of the performance of the test is shown in (Appendix
A).

2 Purpose of the report

The purpose of this report is to disseminate information to parents;

School management team and institutional support co-ordinators.This
report is based on the descriptive statistics about twenty multiple
choice test items administered to twenty students.

3 Procedures

The spread sheet was used to collate from twenty students. Twenty-
five multiple choice test items were administered to twenty students.
Microsoft Excel was used to calculate scores. The scores were used to
calculate mean, median mode and standard deviation. These values
were used to get a normal distribution graph. Three graphs were
drawn using Microsoft Excel. Reliability coefficient was calculated
using kuder-Richardson equation (i.e. K20).Difficulty index (p) and
discrimination index were also calculated using questions and results
from the test.

1
4 Test analysis

4.1 Descriptive statistics

The descriptive statistics describe basic features of data. They

describe summaries about the sample, measurements and quantities
in a manageable form. A set of test scores were used to calculate the
mean, median, mode and the standard deviation as shown in Table 1.

Table 1: Descriptive statistics

Mean 65
Mode 65
Median 65
STEDV2 479.57
STEDV 21.90

The table shows that the mean, median and mode are the same
hence it is a normal distribution curve. The rational here is that if the
distribution is truly normal, the mean, median, and mode are all
equal to each other i.e. (bell-shaped) as referenced in Figure 1

Figure 1: A normal distribution curve

0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0.0

The values on the x-axis represent standard deviation from the

mean. The area where there is a change in curvature is one standard

-4SD -3SD -2SD -1SD 65 +1SD +2SD +3SD +4SD

on either side of the mean, then follows two, three and four
respectively. The curve is symmetrical, i.e it can be divided into two
equal halves. It is a heterogeneous distribution.

4.2 Frequency graphs

4.2.1 Grouped frequency table

The highest score and the lowest score are used to find the range.
The number of intervals is a choice. The size of the interval is from
eighty (range) divided by ten (number of intervals).

Table 2: Grouped frequency

H (Highest value) 100

L (Lowest value) 20

Range 80

Number of intervals 10

Size of interval 8

4.2.2 Cumulative frequency

Cumulative frequency is calculated by adding the frequency of the

class interval and the frequencies of the preceding interval until the
class interval as indicated in Table 3.

Table 3: Cumulative frequency distribution

3
Lower Upper Interva Middle Frequency Cumulative
Values Values l Values Frequency

16 23 16-23 19.5 1 1

24 31 24-31 27.5 2 3

32 39 32-39 35.5 0 3

40 47 40-47 43.5 2 5

48 55 48-55 51.5 3 8

56 63 56-63 59.5 2 10

64 71 64-71 67.5 6 16

72 79 72-79 75.5 1 17

80 87 80-87 83.5 3 20

88 95 88-95 91.5 3 23

96 103 96-103 99.5 2 25

4.2.3 Frequency histogram

The frequency histogram is drawn from the class interval and

frequency. The histogram is shown in Figure 2:

Figure 2 Frequency histogram

4
 Frequency histogram
cy 7
n 6
e 5
u 4
q 3
e 2
Fr 1
0
23 31 39 47 55 63 71 79 87 95 103
16 24 32 40 48 56 64 72 80 88 96
Interval

4.2.4 Frequency polygon

The frequency polygon is drawn from cumulative frequency and the

upper values. The frequency values and the upper values are shown
in Table 3: The frequency polygon graph is illustrated in Figure 3:

Figure 3 Frequency Polygon graph

Frequency Polygon
7
6
5
Frequency
4
3
2
1
0
1

Middle values

4.2.5 Cumulative frequency graph

5
Cumulative frequency is drawn by using cumulative frequency values
and upper values. Cumulative frequency graph is shown in Figure 5.

Figure 4 Cumulative frequency graph

Cumulative frequency graph (An Ogive)

30
25
Frequency
Cumulative 20
15
10
5
0

3
39

71
23

55

87

10
Upper values

4.3 Reliability coefficient of a test

The reliability coefficient of a test is defined as the extent to which

the test is likely to give consistent scores (Borich & Kubiszyn).The
values ranges from zero to one where zero is no reliability and one is
perfect reliability. The kR20 is used to measure test reliability of inter-
item consistency. The high value indicates a strong relationship
between items on the test.

The formulae for calculating KR20 is:

6
KR20 = (k/k-1) (1-∑pq/∂2)

Where:
K=No of items
p=Proportion that passed
q=Proportion that failed
∂2=Variance
The values used to calculate KR20 are referenced in Table 4.

Table 4: Coefficient of reliability

K 20

K-1 19

Total pq 3.83

SD (standard deviation) 21.9

(SD)2 479.6

KR20 1.03

It is evident from the table that the value of KR20 is 1.04; this implies
that the test has a perfect reliability.

5 Item analysis

7
Item analysis is described as statistical analysis which shows the
effectiveness of individual test items (Borich & Kubiszyn).

5.1 Difficultly and discrimination indices of a set

test items

The questions and the results from the test were used to describe
the difficulty of each question and the corresponding discrimination
index as referenced in Table 5

Table 5: Difficulty index (p)

Difficulty index (p)

#Questions #Correct #Answered p
Q1 21 25 0.84
Q2 22 25 0.88
Q3 17 25 .68
Q4 12 25 0.48
Q5 21 25 0.84
Q6 17 25 0.68
Q7 11 25 0.44
Q8 12 23 0.52
Q9 13 25 0.52
Q10 8 24 0.33
Q11 23 25 0.92
Q12 19 25 0.76
Q13 15 25 0.60

Table 5: Difficulty index (p) (continued)

8
Difficulty index
#Questions #Correct #Answered p
Q14 21 25 0.84
Q15 20 25 0.80
Q16 22 24 0.92
Q17 15 24 0.63
Q18 8 24 0.33
Q19 13 25 0.52
Q20 16 25 0.64

The percentages of students who answered the item correctly is

reflected in column (p).It measures the level at which the question
was difficult to answer. If the difficulty index is higher then the
question was too easy. The value 1.00 implies that all students
answered this correct response and the question was too easy. If
the p value is .75, the item is acceptable but if the p value is .25,
then the item is too difficult.

The interpretation of difficulty level of questions is listed in Table 6.

Table 6: Interpretation of difficulty level of questions

Questions Proportions Interpretation Reason

Q1 0.84 Unacceptable Too easy
Q2 0.88 Unacceptable Too easy
Q3 0.68 Acceptable Fine
Q4 0.48 Acceptable Fine
Q5 0.84 Unacceptable Too easy

Table 6: Interpretation of difficulty level of questions

(continued)

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Questions Proportions Interpretation Reason
Q6 0.68 Acceptable Fine
Q7 0.44 Acceptable Fine
Q8 0.52 Acceptable Fine
Q9 0.52 Acceptable Fine
Q10 0.33 Acceptable Fine
Q11 0.92 Unacceptable Too easy
Q12 0.76 Unacceptable Too easy
Q13 0.60 Acceptable Fine
Q14 0.84 Unacceptable Too easy
Q15 0.80 Acceptable Fine
Q16 0.92 Unacceptable Too easy
Q17 0.63 Acceptable Fine
Q18 0.33 Acceptable Fine
Q19 0.52 Acceptable Fine
Q20 0.64 Acceptable Fine

It is evident from the Table 6.that 35% of the questions i.e.

(question 1, 2, 5,11,12,14 and 16) are unacceptable and the
implication is that they were too easy.65% of the questions i.e. (3,
4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, and 20) are acceptable and
fine as referenced in Table 6.

The interpretation of the difficulty level of questions is referenced in

Table 5.

10
The discrimination index is used to ability of test items to
distinguish between the lower and the upper group of students
taking the test as shown in Table 7

Table 7: Number of students in the upper and lower group

Level Value
Upper 15
Lower 10

These measures the ability of an item to discriminate of differentiate

among students who got higher score to those who got lower
scores. It is actually the difference between percentages of correct
response in the upper group and the correct response in the
lower group. Refer to Table 8 for calculations on the discrimination
index.

Table 8: Discrimination index (D)

Discrimination index
#U #L D
15 6 0.60
15 7 0.53
14 3 0.73
8 4 0.26
15 6 0.60
12 5 0.46
9 2 0.46
10 2 0.53

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Table 8: Discrimination index (D) (continued)

Discrimination index
10 3 0.46
8 0 0.53
14 9 0.33
14 5 0.60
12 3 0.60
15 6 0.60
14 6 0.53
15 7 0.53
12 3 0.60
5 3 0.13
12 1 0.92
11 5 0.40

All the values obtained are positive therefore it is a positive

discrimination index. The item discrimination index ability is
adequate. A higher index implies higher scoring students tended to
select the response more often as seen in Table 8.

5 Conclusion

The value of KR20 is 1.04; this implies that the test is reliable.
Students who answered a gives question correctly is likely to
answer other questions correctly. The other implication is that
should another test be administered using similar items, the relative
scores of students would show very little change.

7. References

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 1 A Guide to interpreting the item Analysis
Report.(2004).Retrieved April 01 2008, from
http://www.asu.edu/uts/InterplAS.pdf

2 Image: Standard deviation diagram.svg [Image]

(n.d.).Retrieved April 01 2008, from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Standard
deviation_diagram.svg#file.

3 Kubiszyn & Borich, G, (2007).Education testing and

Measurement. Classroom Application and Practice (8th
Ed).John Wiley & sons, inc.United States of America.

8 Appendices

8.1 Appendix A

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#Questi #Corre #Incorrec Prop Prop pq
ons ct t Correct Incorrec
t
Q1 21 4 0.84 0.16 0.13
Q2 22 3 0.88 0.12 0.11
Q3 17 8 0.68 0.32 0.22
Q4 12 13 0.48 0.52 0.25
Q5 21 4 0.68 0.16 0.13
Q6 17 8 0.44 0.32 0.22
Q7 11 14 0.52 0.56 0.25
Q8 12 11 0.52 0.48 0.25
Q9 13 12 0.33 0.48 0.25
Q10 8 16 0.92 0.67 0.22
Q11 23 2 0.76 0.08 0.07
Q12 19 6 0.60 0.24 0.18
Q13 15 10 0.84 0.4 0.24
Q14 21 4 0.80 0.16 0.13
Q15 20 5 0.92 0.2 0.16
Q16 22 2 0.63 0.08 0.08
Q17 15 9 0.33 0.38 0.23
Q18 8 16 0.52 0.67 0.22
Q19 13 12 0.64 0.48 0.25
Q20 16 9 0.68 0.36 0.23
Total 3.83

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Key C B D D B C D A C B A C B D A A C D B C
St
No Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 Q6 Q7 Q8 Q9 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 Q19 Q20
1 C B B A C D A D D A D A A A A C B D B
2 C B D D B D A A C B A C B D A A C D B C
3 C B D D B C D A C B A C B D A A C B D C
4 C B D B B C B A C B A C A D C A C B C C
5 C B D C B C B A C D A C B D A A A B B C
6 C A D D C C A D C D A C A D A A A B D C
7 B B A B B C B B D D A C B D C A A D D C
8 C B D B B C B D B C A C B D A A C A B A
9 C B D A B C D D B D A C B D A A C B D A
10 C B B A B C D C D C A B A D D A C D B C
11 C B D D B C D A C B A C B D A A C D B C
12 C B D D B C D D D A A C A D A A C B B D
13 C B D A B C D A C B A C B D A A A B B C
14 C B D A B C D A C B A C B D A A A B C
15 C B D D B B A A B D A C D A A C B B D D
16 C B D D B C D A C B A C B D A A C D B C
17 B B C C B A D D C A D B D A C A D
18 C B B D B A D D D D A C A D A A C B B C
19 D C A D B A B A D C C D A A D B B B A B
20 C B D D B C D A C A C D B D A A C D B C
21 C A D D C C A D C D A C A D A A A B D C
22 B B A B B C B B D D A C B D C A A D D C
23 C B D B B C B D B C A C B D A A C A B A
24 C B B A C D A D D A D A A A A C B D B
25 C B D D B D A A C B A C B D A A C D B C

15
8.3 Appendix C

Key C B D D B C D A C B A C B D A A C D B C
St
No Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 Q6 Q7 Q8 Q9 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 Q19 Q20 Total %
25 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 18 100
24 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 6 100
23 1 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 13 90
22 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 10 90
21 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 11 90
20 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 17 85
19 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 85
18 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 13 85
17 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 8 75
16 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 20 70
15 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 9 70
14 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 17 65
13 1 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 17 65
12 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 0 1 0 14 65
11 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 20 65
10 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 12 60
9 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 13 55
8 1 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 0 13 55
7 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 10 50
6 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 11 50
5 1 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 15 45
4 1 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 14 40
3 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 18 30
2 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 18 30
1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 6 20

16