Comparison of student perception and exam validity, reliability and items difficulty: cross-sectional study
AbstractIntroductionStudent perception of an exam is a reflection of their feelings towards the exam items, while item analysis is a statistical analysis of students’ responses to exam items. The study was formulated to compare the student’s perception of the results of item analysis.Material and methodsType of the study is cross-sectional. The study was conducted in the college of medicine, in the duration from January to April 2019. The study uses a structured questionnaire and standardized item analysis of students’ exam. Participants are students registered for semester two level year (2018-2019). Exclusion criteria included all students who refused to participate in the study or do not fill the questionnaire.ResultThe response rate of the questionnaire was 88.9% (40/45). Students considered the exam as easy (70.4%). The average difficulty index of the exam is acceptable. KR-20 of the exam was 0.906. A significant correlation was reported between student perceptions towards exam difficulty and standard exam difficulty.DiscussionStudent perceptions support the evidances of exam vlaitdity. Students can estimate exam difficulty.