Western Mindanao State University

COLLEGE OF TEACHER EDUCATION

Zamboanga City
(First Semester)

Assessment of Learning 1

ITEM ANALYSIS

Item analysis is a process of examining the student’s response to individual item in

the test. It consists of different procedures for assessing the quality of the test
items given to the students. Through the use of item analysis, we can identify
which of the given are good and defective test items. Good items are to be retained
and defective items are to be improved, to be revised or to be rejected.

USES OF ITEM ANALYSIS

1. Item analysis data provide a basis for efficient class discussion of the test
results.
2. Item analysis data provide a basis for remedial work.
3. Item analysis data provide a basis for general improvement of classroom
instruction.
4. Item analysis data provide a basis for increased skills in test construction.
5. Item analysis procedures provide a basis for constructing test bank.

TYPES OF QUANTITATIVE ITEM ANALYSIS

There are three common types of quantitative item analysis which provide
teachers with three different types of information about individual test items.
These are difficulty index, discrimination index, and response options analysis.

1. Difficulty Index
It refers to the proportion of the number of students in the upper and
lower groups who answered an item correctly. The larger the proportion, the more
students, who have learned the subject is measured by the item. To compute the
difficulty index of an item, use the formula:
 𝑛
DF = , where
𝑁

DF = difficulty index

n = number of the students selecting item correctly in the upper

group and in the lower group

N = total number of students who answered the test

Level of Difficulty
To determine the level of difficulty of an item, find first the difficulty index using
the formula and identify the level of difficulty using the ranType equation here.ge given
below.

Level of Difficulty of an Item

Index Range Difficulty Level
0.00-0.20 Very Difficult
0.21-0.40 Difficult
0.41-0.60 Average/Moderately Difficult
0.61-0.80 Easy
0.81-1.00 Very Easy

The higher the value of the index of difficulty, the easier the item is. Hence, more
students got the correct answer and more students mastered the content measured by
that item.

2. Discrimination Index
The power of the item to discriminate the students between those who scored
high and those who scored low in the overall test. In other words, it is the power of the
item to discriminate the students who know the lesson and those who do not know the
lesson.
It also refers to the number of students in the upper group who got an item
correctly minus the number of students in the lower group who got an item correctly.
Divide the difference by either the number of the students in the upper group or number
of students in the lower group or get the higher number if they are not equal.
Discrimination index is the basis of measuring the validity of an item. This index can be
interpreted as an indication of the extent to which overall knowledge of the content area
or mastery of the skills is related to the response on an item.

TYPES OF DISCRIMINATION INDEX

There are three kinds of discrimination index: positive discrimination, negative
discrimination and zero discrimination.

1. Positive discrimination happens when more students in the upper group got
the item correctly than those students in the lower group.

2. Negative discrimination occurs when more students in the lower group got the
item correctly than the students in the upper group.

3. Zero discrimination happens when a number of students in the upper group

and lower group who answer the test correctly are equal, hence, the test item
cannot distinguish the students who performed in the overall test and the students
whose performance are very poor.
Level of Discrimination
Ebel and Frisbie (1986) as cited by Hetzel (1997) recommended the use of
Level of Discrimination of an Item for easier interpretation.

Index Range Discrimination Level

0.19 and below Poor item, should be eliminated or need to be
revised

0.20-0.29 Marginal item, needs some revision

0.30-0.39 Reasonably good item but possibly for improvement

0.40 and above Very good item
Discrimination Index Formula

𝐶𝑈𝐺 −𝐶𝐿𝐺
𝐷𝐼 = , where
𝐷

DI = discrimination index value

C𝑈𝐺 = number of the students selecting the correct answer in the upper group

C𝐿𝐺 = number of the students selecting the correct answer in the lower group

D = number of students in either the lower group or upper group.

Note: Consider the higher number in case the sizes in upper and lower group are not
equal.

STEPS IN SOLVING DIFFICULTY INDEX AND DISCRIMINATION INDEX

1. Arrange the scores from highest to lowest.

2. Separate the scores into upper group and lower group. There are different
methods to do this: (a) If a class consists of 30 students who takes an
exam, arrange their scores from highest to lowest, then divide them into
two groups. The highest score belongs to the upper group. The lowest score
belongs to the lower group. (b) Other literatures suggested to use 27%,
30%, or 33% of the students for the upper group and lower group.
However, in the Licensure Examination for Teachers (LET) the test
developers always used 27% of the students who participated is the
examination for the upper and lower groups.
3. Count the number of those who chose the alternatives in the upper and
lower group for each item and record the information using the template:

Options A B C D E
Upper Group
Lower Group
Note: Put asterisk for the correct answer

4. Compute the value of the difficulty index and the discrimination index and
also the analysis of each response in the distracters.
5. Make an analysis for each item.
 Checklist for Discrimination Index

It is very important to determine whether the test item will be retained,

revised or rejected. Using the Discrimination Index, we can identify the
nonperforming question items; just always remember that they seldom indicate
what is the problem. Use the given checklist below:

Yes No
1. Does the key discriminate positively?
2. Does the incorrect options discriminate negatively?

If the answers to questions 1 and 2 are both YES, retain the item.
If the answer to questions 1 and 2 are either YES or NO, revise the item.
If the answers to questions 1 and 2 are both NO, eliminate or reject the item.

3. Analysis of Response Options

Aside from identifying the difficulty index and discrimination index, another way
to evaluate the performance of the entire test item is through the analysis of the
response options. It is very important to examine the performance of each option in a
multiple-choice item. Through this, you can determine whether the distracters or incorrect
options are effective or attractive to those who do not know the correct answer. The
attractiveness of the incorrect options is determined when more students in the lower
group than in the upper group choose it. Analyzing the incorrect options allows the
teachers to improve the test items so that it can be used again in the future.

DISTRACTER ANALYSIS

1. Distracter

Distracter is the term used for the incorrect options in the multiple-choice
type of test while the correct answer represents the key. It is very important for
the test writer to know if the distracters are effective or good distracters. Using
quantitative item analysis, we can determine if the options are good or if the
distracters are effective.
Item analysis can identify non-performing test items, but this item seldom
indicates the error or the problem in the given item. There are factors to be
considered why students failed to get the correct answer in the given question.
 a. It is not taught in the class properly.
b. It is ambiguous.
c. The correct answer is not in the given options.
d. It has more than one correct answer.
e. It contains grammatical clues to mislead the students.
f. The student is not aware of the content.
g. The students were confused by the logic of the question because it has
double negatives.
h. The student failed to study the lesson.

2. Miskeyed item

The test item is a potential miskey if there are more students from
the upper group who choose the incorrect options than the key.

3. Guessing item

Students from the upper group have equal spread of choices

among the given alternatives. Students from the upper group guess their
answers because of the following reasons:
a. The content of the test is not discussed in the class or in the
text.
b. The test item is very difficult.
c. The question is trivial.

4. Ambiguous item

This happens when more students from the upper group choose
equally an incorrect option and the keyed answer.

QUALITATIVE ITEM ANALYSIS

Qualitative item analysis (Zurawski, R. M) is a process in which the teacher or

expert carefully proofreads the test before it is administered, to check if there are
typographical errors, to avoid grammatical clues that may lead to giving away the correct
answer, and to ensure that the level of reading materials is appropriate. These procedures
can also include small group discussions on the quality of the examination and its items,
with examinees that have already took the test. According to Cohen, Swerdlik, and Smith
(1992) as cited by Zurawski, students who took the examination are asked to express
verbally their experience in answering each item in the examination. This procedure can
help the teacher in determining whether the test takers misunderstood a certain item,
and it can help also in determining why they misunderstood a certain item.

IMPROVING TEST ITEMS

As presented in the introduction of this chapter, item analysis enables the teachers to
improve and enhance their skills in writing test items. To improve multiple-choice test
item, we shall consider the stem of the item, the distracters and the key answer.
How to Improve the Test Item

Consider the following examples in analyzing the test item and some notes how to
improve the item based from the results of item analysis.

Example 1. A class is composed of 40 students. Divide the group into two. Option B is
the correct answer. Based from the given data on the table, as a teacher, what would
you do with the test item?

Options A B* C D E

Upper Group 3 10 4 0 3

Lower Group 4 4 8 0 4

1. Compute the difficulty index.

n = 10 + 4 = 14
N = 40

𝑛
DF =
𝑁

14
DF = 40

DF = 0.35 or 35%

2. Compute the discrimination index.

𝑪UG = 10
 𝑪LG = 4

D = 20

𝐶𝑈𝐺 −𝐶𝐿𝐺
𝐷𝐼 = 𝐷

=
= 0.30 𝑜𝑟 30%

3. Make an analysis about the level of difficulty, discrimination and distracters.

a. Only 35% of the examinees got the answer correctly, hence, the item
is difficult.
b. More students from the upper group got the answer correctly, hence,
it has positive discrimination.
c. Retain options A, C, and E because most of the students who did not
perform well in the overall examination selected it. Those options
attract most students from the lower group.

4. Conclusion: Retain the test item but change option D, make it more realistic to make
it effective for the upper and lower groups. At least 5% of the examinees choose the
incorrect option.

Example 2. A class composed of 50 students. Use 27% to get the upper and the lower
groups. Analyze the item given the following results. Option D is the correct answer.
What will you do with the test item?
 Options A B C D* E

Upper Group 3 1 2 6 2
(27%)

Lower Group 5 0 4 4 1
(27%)

1. Compute the difficulty index.

n = 6 + 4 = 10
N = 28

𝑛
DF = 𝑁

10
DF = 28

DF = 0.36 or 36%

2. Compute the discrimination index.

𝑪UG = 6

𝑪LG = 4
 D = 14

𝐶𝑈𝐺 −𝐶𝐿𝐺
𝐷𝐼 = 𝐷

6−4
= 14
2
= 14

= 0.14 𝑜𝑟 14%

3.Make an analysis

a. Only 36% of the examinees got the answer correctly, hence, the item is
difficult.
b. More students from the upper group got the answer correctly, hence, it
has a positive discrimination.
c. Modify options B and E because more students from the upper group chose
them compare with the lower group, hence they are not effective distracters
because most of the students who performed well in the overall examination
selected them as their answers.
d. Retain option A and C because most of the students who did not perform
well in the overall examination selected them as the correct answers. Hence,
options A and C are effective distracters.

3. Conclusion: Revised the item by modifying options B and E.

Example 3. A class is composed of 50 students. Use 27% to get the upper and the
lower groups. Analyze the item given the following results. Option E is the correct
answer. What will you do with the test item?

Options A B C D E*
 Upper Group
(27%) 2 3 2 2 5

Lower Group 2 2 1 1 8
(27%)

1. Compute the difficulty index.

n = 5 + 8 = 13
N = 28

𝑛
DF =
𝑁

13
DF = 28

DF = 0.46 or 46%

2. Compute the discrimination index.

𝑪UG = 5

𝑪LG = 8

D = 14

𝐶𝑈𝐺 −𝐶𝐿𝐺
𝐷𝐼 = 𝐷

5−8
= 14
−3
= 14

𝑫I = 0.21 𝑜𝑟 − 21%

3. Make an analysis.
a. 46% of the students got the answer to test item correctly, hence, the test
item is moderately difficult.
b. More students from the lower group got the item correctly, therefore, it is
a negative discrimination. The discrimination index is -21%.
 c. No need to analyze the distracters because the item discriminates
negatively.
d. Modify all the distracters because they are not effective. Most of the
students in the upper group chose the incorrect options. The options are
effective if most of the students in the lower group chose the incorrect options.

4. Conclusion: Reject the item because it has a negative discrimination index.

Example 4. Potential Miskeyed Item. Make an item analysis about the table below.
What will you do with the test that is a potential miskeyed item?

Options A* B C D E

Upper Group 1 2 3 10 4

Lower Group 3 4 4 4 5

1. Compute the difficult index.

n=1+3=4
N = 40

𝑛
DF = 𝑁

4
DF = 40

DF = 0.10 or 10%

2. Compute the discrimination index.

𝑪UG = 1
 𝑪LG = 3

D = 20

𝐶𝑈𝐺 −𝐶𝐿𝐺
𝐷𝐼 = 𝐷

1−3
= 20
−2
= 20

𝑫I = −0.10 𝑜𝑟 − 10%

3. Make an analysis.
a. More students from the upper group choose option D than option A, even though
option A is supposedly the correct answer.
b. Most likely the teacher has written the wrong answer key.
c. The teacher checks and finds out that he/she did not miskey the answer that he/she
thought is the correct answer.
d. If the teacher miskeyed it, he/she must check and retally the scores of the students’
test papers before giving them back.
e. If option A is really the correct answer, revise to weaken option D, distracters are not
supposed to draw more attention than the keyed answer.
f. Only 10% of the students got the answer to the test item correctly, hence, the test
item is very difficult.
g. More students from the lower group got the item correctly, therefore a negative
discrimination resulted. The discrimination index is -10%.
h. No need to analyze the distracters because the test item is very difficult and
discriminates negatively.

4. Conclusion: Reject the item because it is very difficult and has a negative
discrimination index.

Example 5. Ambiguous Item. Below is the result of item analysis of a test with an
ambiguous test item. What can you say about the item? Are you going to retain, revise
or reject it?

Options A B C D E*
 Upper Group 7 1 1 2 8

Lower Group 6 2 3 3 6

1. Compute the difficult index.

n = 8 + 6 = 14
N = 39

𝑛
DF = 𝑁

14
DF = 39

DF = 0.36 or 36%

2. Compute the discrimination index.

𝑪UG = 8

𝑪LG = 6

D = 20

𝐶𝑈𝐺 −𝐶𝐿𝐺
𝐷𝐼 = 𝐷

8−6
=
20

2
= 20

𝑫I = 0.10 𝑜𝑟 10%

3. Make an analysis.
a. Only 36% of the students got the answer to the test correctly, hence, the
test item is difficult.
b. More students from the upper group got the item correctly, hence, it
discriminates positively. The discrimination index is 10%.
 c. About equal numbers of top students went for option A and option E, this
implies that they could not tell which is the correct answer. The students do not
know the content of the test, thus, a reteach is needed.
4. Conclusion: Revise the test item because it is ambiguous.

Example 6. Guessing Item. Below is the result of an item analysis for a test item with
students’ answers mostly based on a guess. Are you going to reject, revise or attain the
test item?

Options A B C* D E

Upper Group 4 3 4 3 6

Lower Group 3 4 3 4 5

1. Compute the difficult index.

n=4+3=7
N = 39

𝑛
DF = 𝑁

7
DF = 39

DF = 0.18 or 18%

2. Compute the discrimination index.

𝑪UG = 4

𝑪LG = 3
 D = 20

𝐶𝑈𝐺 −𝐶𝐿𝐺
𝐷𝐼 = 𝐷

4−3
= 20

1
= 20

𝑫I = 0.05 𝑜𝑟 5%

3. Make an analysis.
a. Only 18% of the students got the answer to the test item correctly, hence,
the test item is very difficult.
b. More students from the upper group got the correct answer to the test
item; therefore, the test item is a positive discrimination. The discrimination index is 5%.
c. Students respond about equally to all alternatives, an indication that they are
guessing.

Three possibilities why student guesses the answer on a test item:

▪ The content of the test item has not yet been discussed in the class because
the test is designed in advance;
▪ Test items were badly written that students have no idea what the question
is really all about; and
▪ Test items were very difficult as a shown from the difficulty index and low
discrimination index.

d. If the test item is well-written but too difficult, reteach the material to
the class.

4.Conclusion: Reject the item because it is very difficult and the discrimination index is
very poor, and options A and B are not effective distracters.

Example 7. The table below shows an item analysis of a test item with ineffective
distracters. What can you conclude about the test item?

Options A B C* D E
 Upper Group 5 3 9 0 3

Lower Group 6 4 6 0 4

1. Compute the difficult index.

n = 9 +6 = 15
N = 40
𝑛
DF = 𝑁

15
DF = 40

DF = 0.38 or 38%

2. Compute the discrimination index.

𝑪UG = 9

𝑪LG = 6

D = 20

𝐶𝑈𝐺 −𝐶𝐿𝐺
𝐷𝐼 = 𝐷

𝑫I =

3
= 20

𝑫I = 0.15 𝑜𝑟 15%

3. Make an analysis.
a. Only 38% of the students got the answer to the test item correctly,
hence, the test item is difficult.
 b. More students from the upper group answered the test item correctly; as
a result, the test got a positive discrimination. The discrimination index is
15%.
c. Options A, B, and E are attractive and effective distracters.
d. Option D is ineffective; therefore, change it with more realistic one.

4. Conclusion: Revise the item by changing option D.