IMPACT OF EDUCATIONAL INTERVENTION ON ITEM DIFFICULTY, DISCRIMINATION, AND DISTRACTOR EFFECTIVENESS: A QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL STUDY IN MEDICAL EDUCATION

Abstract

Background: Niazi Medical and Dental College (NMDC), Sargodha, has redefined the standards of medical pedagogy in the region since 2019. In keeping with this pursuit of excellence, the college utilizes MCQs as a primary modality for evaluating student competency, recognizing their critical role in valid and reliable written examinations. Material & Methods: This quasi-experimental study was conducted at multiple clinical specialties, Niazi Medical and Dental College (NMDC), Sargodha, to evaluate the impact of faculty training on the quality of Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs). A total of 20 house officers from the four different specialties, divided 5 in each of four groups, with no formal psychometric training, were asked to develop 10 MCQs. Subsequently, a three-hour seminar on standard MCQ construction guidelines was conducted. Following this intervention, the original items were revised in accordance with established pedagogical standards and re-administered to the same cohort. Comparative psychometric analysis was performed using Microsoft Excel and SPSS version 22.0, focusing on: Difficulty Index (P), Discrimination Index (DI), and Distractor Effectiveness (DE). Results: The educational intervention led to a statistically significant improvement in both student outcomes and the psychometric quality of the assessment items. Following the modification of MCQs in accordance with standard guidelines, the house officers' pass rate increased markedly from pre-seminar (62.5%) to post-seminar (87.5%), the Difficulty Factor improved from 0.42 to 0.55, and the Discrimination Index rose from 0.38 to 0.52. Conclusion: Evidence suggests that the targeted workshop served as a critical catalyst for improving the assessment literacy of medical educators, resulting in a measurable enhancement in the quality of test construction.