NR537 Week 4: Scholarly Discussion: Item Analysis
NR537 Week 4: Scholarly Discussion You are a member of a 3-person educational team that has developed a competency test that uses 50 multiple choice test questions to determine the knowledge and skill level of learners. After 30 learners have completed the competency test, the team conducted an item analysis.NR537 Week 4: Scholarly Discussion
From the results, there are 10 questions that are identified as being problematic. One of the educators wants to consider each of these questions individually to see if one or more of the questions should be removed from the test. However, a second educator is strongly against this by stating, “This is a competency test; it has validity because we wrote it—the test questions should not be altered. The grade on the examination should stand!” The third educator wants to remove the ten questionable items from the test and raise all learners’ scores.NR537 Week 4: Scholarly Discussion
For the educator in professional nursing development, this will result in staff nurses who have failed the exam being placed on performance improvement plans and possible dismissal from the agency. For the educator in the academic setting, the learner will not be allowed to progress to the next course, must repeat the current course, and may be dismissed from the academic program.NR537 Week 4: Scholarly Discussion
What quantitative and qualitative information would you provide in order to assist these educators to consider the quality of the test questions?
NR537 Week 4: Scholarly Discussion Answer
In this particular scenario, it is imperative to conduct an item analysis as a preliminary step before taking any actions to address the potential consequences we’ve discussed. This item analysis, aimed at assessing the test’s quality, should encompass both quantitative and qualitative components (Kaur et al., 2016).NR537 Week 4: Scholarly Discussion
The qualitative aspect of this analysis involves gathering the thoughts, feelings, and perceptions of the learners and staff nurses concerning the test items. To obtain this qualitative data, it would be essential to conduct interviews with both the learners and the staff nurses, focusing on their experiences with the competency test questions (Quaigrain & Arhin, 2017). These interviews would serve the purpose of uncovering any problematic areas in the test items, as perceived by those who have interacted with them.
By obtaining the perspectives of the learners and staff nurses, educators can make informed decisions on whether to revise, eliminate, or retain the identified problematic items.NR537 Week 4: Scholarly Discussion
Furthermore, the quantitative dimension of the analysis would involve scrutinizing the scores achieved by learners on each test item within the competency test. This quantitative data will provide valuable insights into the performance of learners on individual items, contributing to a comprehensive assessment of the test’s effectiveness and identifying areas that may require attention and improvement.
