Lecture 32: Item Analysis I (EDU405)
📒 Topic-Wise Notes (Easy Explanation)
Topic 188: What is Item Analysis?
Item analysis checks student responses to each question to
measure:
o Quality of the item (question)
o Quality of the test as a whole
It focuses on:
o Item Difficulty
o Item Discrimination
o Effectiveness of Distractors
Topic 189: What is Item Difficulty?
Item Difficulty (Facility Index): % of students who answered the
question correctly.
High percentage = Easy question
Low percentage = Difficult question
Example:
o 85% correct → Very Easy
o 15% correct → Very Difficult
Represented as p.
Ideal difficulty: Moderate (30%–80%)
Topic 190: Calculating Item Difficulty
Formula:
Correct Responses
p=
Total Responses
Or,
H +L
p=
N
Where:
H = High scorers with correct responses
L = Low scorers with correct responses
N = Total number of students
Example:
Total Responses = 42, Correct = 18
18
p= =0.42 (Moderate)
42
Total Responses = 40, Correct = 35
35
p= =0.87 (Easy)
40
Topic 191: High and Low Performers
Test results divided into two groups:
o High scorers (good students)
o Low scorers (weak students)
Used for calculating discrimination index.
Topic 192: What is Discrimination Index?
Measures the ability of a question to differentiate between good
and poor students.
Good questions → High scorers answer correctly, low scorers answer
incorrectly.
Topic 193: Calculating Discrimination Index
Formula:
H −L
D=
N
Where:
H = High scorers with correct responses
L = Low scorers with correct responses
N = Number of students in each group
Example:
H = 12, L = 3, N = 15
12 −3
D= =0.60 (Acceptable)
15
Ideal D value: 0.50 – 0.75
📝 12+ MCQs with Correct Options & Explanations
1. Item analysis is used to assess:
a) Student personality
b) Quality of test and questions ✅
c) Teacher performance
d) Time management
Explanation: It evaluates test items’ quality through responses.
2. Item difficulty is measured as:
a) Number of students in class
b) % of students answering correctly ✅
c) Teacher’s marks
d) Average score
Explanation: Difficulty shows proportion answering correctly.
3. An item with 85% correct answers is:
a) Very difficult
b) Very easy ✅
c) Moderate
d) Poorly written
Explanation: High percentage correct → Easy question.
4. An item with 15% correct answers is:
a) Easy
b) Moderate
c) Very difficult ✅
d) Invalid
Explanation: Very low percentage correct → Difficult question.
5. Moderate difficulty level lies between:
a) < 30%
b) > 30% and < 80% ✅
c) > 80%
d) > 90%
Explanation: Moderate difficulty is between 30%–80%.
6. Formula for item difficulty (p) is:
H
a) p=
L
Correct Responses
b) p= ✅
Total Responses
N
c) p=
H +L
H −L
d) p=
N
Explanation: p = Correct ÷ Total responses.
7. In discrimination index, D stands for:
a) Difficulty
b) Difference between high and low scorers ✅
c) Distractor strength
d) Division of scores
Explanation: D shows difference in correct answers between high and
low groups.
8. Formula for discrimination index is:
H +L
a) D=
N
H −L
b) D= ✅
N
N
c) D=
H −L
C or r ect
d) D=
T ot al
Explanation: D = High correct – Low correct ÷ Group size.
9. An ideal discrimination index value is:
a) 0.10 – 0.20
b) 0.50 – 0.75 ✅
c) > 1.0
d) < 0.10
Explanation: Good discrimination lies between 0.50–0.75.
10. Purpose of discrimination index is to:
a) Find how many attempted the test
b) Check if item separates good and poor students ✅
c) Evaluate time taken
d) Count distractors
Explanation: It measures differentiation between high and low
scorers.
11. In item analysis, high scorers are:
a) Lowest marks group
b) Top marks group ✅
c) Random students
d) Middle group
Explanation: High scorers have top marks in the test.
12. In item analysis, low scorers are:
a) Students scoring maximum marks
b) Students scoring fewer marks ✅
c) Students with average marks
d) Students not attempting
Explanation: Low scorers perform poorly in the test.
📌 4 Short Questions (3–4 lines answers)
1. What is item analysis?
It is the process of examining students’ responses to each question to
assess question quality, difficulty, and discrimination ability.
2. What is item difficulty?
It is the percentage of students who answer a question correctly,
showing whether the question is easy, moderate, or difficult.
3. What is discrimination index?
It measures how well a question differentiates between high-scoring
and low-scoring students.
4. What is the ideal range for discrimination index?
The ideal D value is between 0.50 and 0.75, showing good
differentiation between strong and weak students.
📌 2 Long Questions (10-line answers)
1. Explain item difficulty with formula and example.
Item difficulty shows how easy or difficult a question is based on the
percentage of correct answers. It is calculated by dividing correct responses
H +L
by total responses or using p= . If a question has 85% correct responses,
N
it is very easy; if only 15% are correct, it is very difficult. Moderate difficulty
(ideal) lies between 30%–80%. For example, in a test with 42 students and
18
18 correct answers, p= =0.42 which is moderate. Item difficulty helps in
42
maintaining balanced question papers.
2. Explain discrimination index with formula and example.
The discrimination index measures how well a question distinguishes
H −L
between good and poor students. It is calculated using D= , where H is
N
high scorers with correct responses, L is low scorers with correct responses,
and N is students in each group. A good item has D between 0.50–0.75. For
12 −3
example, if H = 12 and L = 3 out of N = 15, D= =0.60 , which is
15
acceptable. A good discrimination index ensures test fairness and reliability.
Anas, do you want me to prepare Lecture 33 (Item Analysis II –
Effectiveness of Distractors) in the same style? It will be perfect for your
Final Term prep.
