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Related Experiment Videos

Validity of multiple-choice examinations in surgery.

R M Stillman

    Surgery
    |July 1, 1984
    PubMed
    Summary

    Creating valid and reliable medical student examinations is possible even with repeated multiple-choice questions. A large, publicized question pool ensures fairness without compromising exam integrity or validity.

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    Determining the content of a surgical curriculum.

    Surgery·1983

    Area of Science:

    • Medical Education
    • Assessment and Evaluation

    Background:

    • Developing novel, high-quality multiple-choice questions (MCQs) for medical students is challenging, leading to limited question pools.
    • Preventing student access to previously used examination items is practically impossible.

    Purpose of the Study:

    • To determine if using repeated MCQs from a publicized pool impacts examination validity and reliability.
    • To assess the feasibility of maintaining exam quality despite question reuse.

    Main Methods:

    • A large pool of MCQs was administered to surgical clerkship students over time.
    • Examinations were constructed with varying percentages of new and repeated questions (0%, 50%, 80%).
    • Reliability was assessed using the Kuder-Richardson-21 formula, and validity was measured by correlating MCQ scores with oral examination and faculty evaluations.

    Main Results:

    • Increasing the percentage of repeated MCQs in examinations did not diminish reliability or validity.
    • Mean examination scores increased with repeated questions, but this did not affect overall assessment quality.
    • Including up to 80% of repeated items from a distributed pool maintained exam validity and reliability.

    Conclusions:

    • Examinations can be effectively compiled from large, publicized pools of MCQs without compromising validity or reliability.
    • Focusing on creating a substantial question bank is more practical than attempting to conceal used questions.
    • Publicizing the MCQ pool promotes fairness among students.

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