Unit 2

Introduction to test construction

1) What is the definition of an item

● An item is a basic building block of a test, and its

analysis provides information about its performance.
● In test construction, an "item" refers to a specific
question, statement, or task presented to assess the
knowledge, skills, or abilities of the test taker.
● Items can take various forms, such as multiple-choice
questions, true/false statements, or open-ended
prompts, and are designed to measure the desired
aspects of a person's understanding or capabilities.
● items in test construction are carefully crafted to be
clear, unbiased, and aligned with the test's objectives,
ensuring fair and accurate assessment of the targeted
skills or knowledge.
2) State and explain concept of Item Response
Theory.

● Item Response Theory (IRT), also known as Latent

Trait Theory, is a statistical framework used in
psychometrics to assess and model individuals'
abilities, attitudes, or other latent traits.
● It focuses on how individuals respond to test items
based on their underlying trait levels.
● In IRT, each test item is associated with a
mathematical model that relates the probability of a
correct response to the individual's latent trait.
● The latent trait is the unobservable characteristic of
interest, such as intelligence or proficiency in a certain
skill.
● IRT models consider the difficulty of each item, the
discrimination of items (how well they differentiate
between individuals with different trait levels), and the
individual's trait level.
● This allows for a more nuanced understanding of a
person's ability or trait, as opposed to classical test
theory methods.
● IRT is widely used in educational and psychological
assessments, providing more accurate and precise
measurement of individuals' abilities while considering
the characteristics of the items being used.
3) What is the relevance of item writing?

● Item writing refers to the process of creating

questions or tasks for assessments, exams, or tests.
The relevance of item writing lies in its impact on the
quality and effectiveness of the assessment. Here's
an elaboration on its key aspects:
1. Validity: Well-written items ensure that the test
measures what it intends to measure. Validity is
crucial for making accurate inferences about a
person's knowledge, skills, or abilities based on their
test performance.
2. Reliability: Reliable assessments produce consistent
results when administered under similar conditions.
Carefully crafted items contribute to the reliability of
the test, reducing measurement error and increasing
the dependability of the results.
3. Fairness: Item writing aims to eliminate bias and
ensure that the assessment is fair for all test-takers,
regardless of their background or characteristics. This
is essential for promoting equity in educational or
employment settings.
4. Clarity: Clear and unambiguous items help prevent
misinterpretation by test-takers. Ambiguous or poorly
worded questions can lead to inaccurate
assessments of individuals' knowledge or skills.
5. Diversity of Content: Item writers must cover a range
of topics and skills relevant to the subject being
tested. This ensures a comprehensive assessment
that accurately reflects the test-takers' overall
proficiency.
6. Cognitive Levels: Items should address various
cognitive levels, such as remembering,
understanding, applying, analyzing, evaluating, and
creating. This provides a more nuanced
understanding of a person's capabilities.
7. Feedback: Well-constructed items can provide
valuable diagnostic information. Analyzing how
test-takers perform on specific items helps identify
areas of strength and weakness, guiding future
learning or training efforts.
8. Practicality: Item writing also considers the practical
aspects of test administration, such as the time
required to complete the test and the ease of scoring.
Practical considerations contribute to the feasibility of
the assessment process.
● In summary, item writing is a meticulous process that
significantly influences the overall quality of
assessments. By focusing on validity, reliability,
fairness, clarity, content diversity, cognitive levels,
feedback, and practicality, item writers contribute to
the effectiveness and usefulness of tests in various
educational, professional, or clinical settings.
 4) Discuss in detail the method of item analysis

● Item analysis is a process used to evaluate the quality

of test items and the overall effectiveness of an
assessment. It involves analyzing the performance of
individual items to gain insights into their difficulty,
discrimination, and effectiveness. Here's a detailed
overview of the key steps involved in item analysis:

1. Administer the Test:

- Begin by administering the test to a group of individuals
representative of the target population.
2. Collect Test Data:
- Record the responses of each test-taker for every item
in the test. Create a dataset with the test scores.
3. Calculate Item Difficulty:
- Item difficulty is the proportion of test-takers who
answered a particular item correctly. Calculate it using the
formula:

- Ideally, item difficulty should be moderate (around 0.50)

to differentiate between high and low performers.

4. Compute Discrimination Index:

 - The discrimination index measures how well an item
differentiates between high and low performers. It is
calculated by comparing the scores of the top and bottom
groups of test-takers.

- A positive discrimination index indicates good

discrimination, while a negative value suggests the item
may be problematic.
5. Item-Total Correlation:
- Assess the relationship between each item and the total
test score using the item-total correlation. This helps
identify items that do not correlate well with the overall test
performance.

- Items with low or negative correlations may need further

review.
6. Review Distractors (for Multiple-Choice Items):
- Examine the effectiveness of distractors in
multiple-choice items. Distractors should not be too easy
or too difficult, and the distractor analysis helps identify
problematic options.
7. Evaluate Guessing:
- Assess whether test-takers are guessing by comparing
performance on difficult items. If a substantial number of
individuals answered a difficult item correctly, guessing
might be influencing results.
8. Review for Bias:
- Examine items for potential bias, ensuring that they do
not favor any particular group based on demographic
characteristics.
9. Revise or Eliminate Items:
- Based on the results of item analysis, consider revising
or eliminating items that are problematic, including those
with low discrimination, poor item-total correlation, or
biased content.
10. Repeat Analysis (if necessary):
- Conduct item analysis iteratively, especially if significant
changes are made to the test. Continuous refinement
improves the reliability and validity of the assessment.

● By systematically conducting item analysis, test

developers can enhance the quality of assessments,
ensuring that they provide accurate and meaningful
information about individuals' knowledge and skills.
 5) What is norms? Explain the different types of
norms

● Norm refers to the typical performance level for a

certain group of individuals.
● Any psychological test with just the raw score is
meaningless until it is supplemented by additional
data to interpret it further.
● Therefore, the cumulative total of a psychological test
is generally inferred through referring to the norms
that depict the score of the standardized sample.
● Norms are factually demonstrated by establishing the
performance of individuals from a specific group in a
test.
● To determine accurately a subject’s (individual’s)
position with respect to the standard sample, the raw
score is transformed into a relative measure.
● There are two purposes of this derived score:
1) They provide an indication to the individuals standing in
relation to the normative sample and help in evaluating the
performance.
2) To give measures that can be compared and allow
gauging of individuals performance on various tests.
1) Developmental Norms
● These depict the normal developmental path for an
individual’s progression.
● They can be very useful in providing description but
are not well suited for accurate statistical purpose.
● Developmental norms can be classified as mental age
norms, grade equivalent norms and ordinal scale
norms.

2) Within Group Norms

● This type of norm is used for comparison of an
individual’s performance to the most closely related
groups’ performance.
● They carry a clear and well defined quantitative
meaning which can be applied to most statistical
analysis.
- Percentiles (P(n) and PR): They refer to the
percentage of people in a standardized sample that
are below a certain set of score. They depict an
individual’s position with respect to the sample. Here
the counting begins from bottom, so the higher the
percentile the better the rank. For example if a person
gets 97 percentile in a competitive exam, it means
97% of the participants have scored less than
him/her.
- Standard Score: It signifies the gap between the
individual score and the mean depicted as standard
deviation of the distribution. It can be derived by linear
or nonlinear transformation of the original raw scores.
They are also known as T and Z scores.
- Age Norms: To obtain this, we take the mean raw
score gathered from all in the common age group
inside a standardized sample. Hence, the 15 year
norm would be represented and be applicable by the
mean raw score of students aged 15 years.
- Grade Norms: It is calculated by finding the mean raw
score earned by students in a specific grade.
Unit - 4
Statistics

>Define normal distribution and what are its uses

● The Normal Distribution, also known as the Gaussian

distribution, is a continuous probability distribution for any
dataset, which can be further represented as a Bell Curve.
● The Normal Distribution is used to analyze data when there
is an equal chance for the data to be above and below the
average value of the continuous data.
● It is named after the famous mathematician and physicist
Carl Friedrich Gauss.
● The normal distribution is symmetrical, not all symmetrical
distributions are normal.
● The normal distribution describes how the values of a
variable are distributed.
● It is the most important probability distribution in statistics
because it accurately describes the distribution of values for
many natural phenomena.
● Eg:- Distribution of Height of People
Distribution of Errors in any Measurement
Distribution of Blood Pressure of any Patient, etc.
 - Uses

● In statistics, the normal distribution is widely used for

various purposes. Here are some specific uses:
1. Hypothesis Testing: Normal distribution is fundamental in
hypothesis testing, where it helps establish critical values,
calculate p-values, and make inferences about population
parameters.
2. Confidence Intervals: Normal distribution is often used to
construct confidence intervals, providing a range of values
within which a population parameter is likely to lie.
3. Z-Scores: Z-scores, representing the number of standard
deviations a data point is from the mean, rely on the normal
distribution and are used in statistical analysis.
4. Regression Analysis: Many regression techniques assume that
the residuals (the differences between observed and predicted
values) follow a normal distribution.
5. Statistical Process Control: Normal distribution is employed
in statistical process control to analyze and monitor variability in
manufacturing processes.
6. Probability Density Functions: Normal distribution serves as a
basis for probability density functions, helping to describe the
likelihood of different outcomes in continuous random variables.
7. Sampling Distributions: When dealing with sample means or
sample proportions, the normal distribution is often used as an
approximation due to the central limit theorem.
8. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA): In ANOVA, which compares
means of multiple groups, assumptions often include the normal
distribution of residuals.
9. Estimation Techniques: Various estimation methods, such as
maximum likelihood estimation, assume a normal distribution
for optimal parameter estimation.
10. Biostatistics: In the analysis of biological data, normal
distribution is frequently used to model traits such as height,
weight, and blood pressure.
● These applications highlight the importance of the normal
distribution in statistical analyses, providing a solid
foundation for many statistical methods and techniques.

> State amd explain the characteristics of normal probability

curve

● The curve is bilaterally symmetrical:- The curve is

symmetrical to its ordinate of the central point of the curve.
 It means the size, shape and slope of the curve on one side
of the curve is identical to the other side of the curve.
● The curve is asymptotic:- The Normal Probability Curve
approaches the horizontal axis and extends from-∞ to + ∞.
Means the extreme ends of the curve tends to touch the
base line but never touch it.
● The Mean, Median and Mode:- The mean, Median and
mode fall at the middle point and they are numerically
equal.
● The Points of inflection occur at ± 1 Standard deviation
unit:- The points of influx in a NPC occur at ± 1σ to unit
above and below the mean. Thus at this point the curve
changes from convex to concave in relation to the
horizontal axis.
● It is unimodal:- The curve is having only one peak point.
Because the maximum frequency occurs only at one point.
● The height of the curve symmetrically declines:- The height
of the curve decline to both the direction sym­metrically
from the central point. Means the M + σ and M — σ are
equal if the distance from the mean is equal.

> when do we use parametric and non-parametric