ITEM ANALYSIS

AND VALIDATION
DR. MARVIEN M. BARRIOS, RGC

ITEM CHARACTERISTICS
1. Item Difficulty
2. Index of Discrimination

Difficulty Index
The number students who are able to answer the item correctly divided
by the total number of students
Equation

Where:
D - Difficulty Index
U - Number of students in the Upper Group who got the item correct
L - Number of students in the Lower Group who got the item correct
T1 - Total number of students who belong to the Upper 27% Group
T2 - Total number of students who belong to the Lower 27% Group

Difficulty Index Interpretation

Range

Interpretation

Action

Difficult

Revise or Discard

0.26 0.75

Right Difficulty

Retain

0.76 above

Easy

Revise or Discard

0 0.25

The item difficulty index ranges from 0 to 100; the higher the value, the easier
the question.

RD
RD
RD
E
D

Index of Discrimination
The difference between the proportion of the upper group who got an item
right and the proportion of the lower group who got the item right.
Equation:

Where:
ID - Index of Discrimination
U - Number of students in the Upper Group who got the item correct
L - Number of students in the Lower Group who got the item correct
T1 - Total number of students who belong to the Upper 27% Group
T2 - Total number of students who belong to the Lower 27% Group

Discrimination Index
Interpretation
Range

Interpretation

Action

Can discriminate but the

item is questionable

Discard

- 0.54 to 0.45

Non-discriminating

Revise

0.46 to 1.00

Discriminating item

Include

- 1 to -.55

ND
D
D
ND
ND

Measures of Attractiveness

Where:
MA - Measure of Attractiveness (of an option in Multiple Choice Type
Item)
Al - Number of students in the Lower Group who chose the option
Au - Number of students in the Upper Group who chose the option
T1 - Total number of students who belong to the Upper 27% Group
T2 - Total number of students who belong to the Lower 27% Group

Measure of Attractiveness (For Multiple

Choice Items Incorrect Options or Distracters)
MA Value

Interpretation

Action

Positive

Effective Distracter

Retain

Negative

Confusing Distracter

May be replaced,
changed or revised

Zero

Ineffective Distracter

Discard or Replace

References
Padua, R., & Santos, R. (1997).Educational evaluation and
measurement: Theory and application.