CHAPTER 6.

1 - - Presentation 2024

Item Analysis:
DIFFICULTY INDEX &
DISCRIMINATION INDEX
Jojelyn Fe C. Mesa - - BSED MATH 2
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REPORT PLAN
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REPORT PLAN IN ASSESSMENT OF

LEARNING 1
Date: SEPTEMBER 3, 2024
Name of the Reporter: MESA, JOJELYN FE C.
Course: BSED Major In Mathematics
Year Level: 2nd Year
Group: 3
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I. OBJECTIVES:
1. Calculate the Difficulty Index for a
given test item and explain its
significance in assessing the
effectiveness of test questions.
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I. OBJECTIVES:
2. Compute the Discrimination
Index for test items and interpret its
implications for differentiating
between high and low-performing
students.
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I. OBJECTIVES:
3. Apply both the Difficulty Index
and Discrimination Index to
evaluate and improve the quality of
assessment items in a given test.
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II. SUBJECT MATTER

A. Topic
a) Item Analysis and Validation
B. Sub-Topics
a) Difficulty Index
b) Discrimination Index
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C. Reference
a) Assessment of Learning 1 (Fourth
Edition OBE & PPST Based)
b) Professional Testing, Inc. (2020)
c) California State University, East Bay
(2024)
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D. Preliminaries:
D1. Group Introduction by Ms. Jojelyn
Fe Mesa and presentation of the
assigned reporters with their
corresponding topics.

Will be done via Powerpoint Presentation.

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D. Preliminaries:
D2. Opening Prayer by the group or
assigned reporter.
D3. Opening quote/epigram by Ms.
Jojelyn Fe Mesa that suits to the
topic/s to be discussed.
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III. REPORTING PROPER

A. Review of the past lesson or topic to the
class prior to continue her report. This will be
given by the reporter if she will be the first
reporter of the day. This will be done to recall
the lesson/topic/s being discussed on the last
meeting prior to tackle the lesson of the day.
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III. REPORTING PROPER

B. Detailed discussion or flow of the discussion
of the assigned topic/s.
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The discussion will start with the presentation of the Report

Plan, then the Discussion Proper, followed by the unlocking
of Unfamiliar Words/Vocabularies. After this, the topics will
be presented and explained thoroughly. Examples will be
provided to explain the lesson further.
After the discussion proper, the summary of the entire
lesson will be provided and the questions and clarifications
from the class will be entertained. If none, the Closing
Epigram will be presented followed by the agreement or
introduction of the next topic and reporter.
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IV. BRIEF SYNOPSIS OR SUMMARY OF THE TOPIC/S

DELIBERATED/PRESENTED TO THE CLASS INCLUDING
THE UNLOCKING OF UNFAMILIAR
WORDS/VOCABULARIES

V. LESSON LEARNED FROM THE PRESENTED TOPIC/S

VI. CLOSING QUOTATION/EPIGRAM

VII. AGREEMENT
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Item Analysis:
DIFFICULTY INDEX &
DISCRIMINATION INDEX
Jojelyn Fe C. Mesa - - BSED MATH 2
CHAPTER 6.1 - Nature - Presentation 2024

Unlocking of
Unfamiliar
Words
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1. Indices: Numbers that measure different aspects

of test questions, like how hard they are or how well
they tell apart stronger and weaker students.
Synonyms: Measures, indicators, benchmarks

2. Plausible: A wrong answer that seems believable,

making the question harder to answer correctly.
Synonyms: Believable, reasonable, convincing
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3. Implausible: A wrong answer that is clearly

incorrect, making it easy for students to dismiss.
Synonyms: Unbelievable, unlikely, far-fetched

4. Validation: Making sure a test really measures

what it’s supposed to, often using special numbers
like Difficulty Index.
Synonyms: Confirmation, verification, proof
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5. Discrimination: How well a test question tells

apart students who understand the material from
those who don’t.
Synonyms: Differentiation, distinction, separation
6. Distractor: A wrong answer choice in a multiple-
choice question meant to trick those who don’t know
the correct answer.
Synonyms: Decoy, misleading option, incorrect
choice
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7. Bifurcation: Splitting test-takers into two groups

(like high and low scorers) to analyze test questions.
Synonyms: Division, split, separation
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DISCUSSION
PROPER
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Opening epigram
"The measure of intelligence is
the ability to change."
— Albert Einstein —
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IMPORTANT CHARACTERISTICS
OF AN ITEM:
A. ITEM DIFFICULTY
B. DISCRIMINATION INDEX
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ITEM DIFFICULTY
It is defined as the number of
students who are able to answer
the item correctly divided by the
total number of students.
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FORMULA

no. of students with correct answer

Item Difficulty = ______________________________
total no. of students
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EXAMPLE:
What is the item difficulty index of
an item if 25 students are unable
to answer it correctly while 75
answered it correctly?
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no. of students with correct answer

Item Difficulty = ______________________________
total no. of students

75
______________________________
Item Difficulty =
100
Item Difficulty = 0.75 or 75%
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Example:
What is the item difficulty index of
an item if 75 students are unable
to answer it correctly while 25
answered it correctly?
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no. of students with correct answer

Item Difficulty = ______________________________
total no. of students

25
______________________________
Item Difficulty =
100
Item Difficulty = 0.25 or 25%
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Item Difficulty
One problem with this type of
difficulty index is that it may not
actually indicate that the item is
difficult or easy.
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RANGE OF DIFFICULTY INDEX INTERPRETATION ACTION

0 - 0.25 Difficult Revise/Discard

0.26 - 0.75 Right Difficult Retain

0.76 - above Easy Revise/Discard

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Item Difficulty
One problem with this type of
difficulty index is that it may not
actually indicate that the item is
difficult or easy.
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Index of Discrimination
A measure that will tell us
whether an item can discriminate
between those who know and
those who do not know the
answer.
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Index of Discrimination
An easy way to derive such a measure is
to measure how an item is with respect
to those in the upper 25% of the ; and
how difficult it is with respect to those in
the lower 25% of the class.
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Index of Discrimination
If the upper 25% of the class found
the item easy yet the lower 25%
found it difficult, then the item can
discriminate properly between
these two groups.
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FORMULA

Index of
Discrimination = DU - DL
(U - Upper group; L - Lower Group)
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Example:
Obtain the index of discrimination
of an item if the 25% of the class
had a difficulty index of 0.60 while
the lower 25% of the class had a
difficulty index of 0.20.
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Index of Discrimination
Discrimination index is the difference
between the proportion of the top
scorers who got an item correct and the
proportion of the lowest scorers who
got the item right.
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Index of Discrimination
The discrimination index range is between
-1 and +1. The closer the discrimination
index is to +1, the more effectively the item
can discriminate or distinguish between
the two groups of students.
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Index of Discrimination
A negative discrimination index
means more from the lower group
got the item correctly. The last item
is not good and so must be
discarded.
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Index of Discrimination
Theoretically, the index of
discrimination can range from
-1.0 (when DU =0 and DL = 1) to
1.0 (when DU = 1 and DL = 0).
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Index of Discrimination
When the index of discrimination is
equal to -1, then this means that all of
the lower 25% of the students got
the correct answer while all of the
upper 25% got the wrong answer.
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Index of Discrimination
On the other hand, if the index of
discrimination is 1.0, then this means that
all of the lower 25% failed to get the
correct answer while all of the upper
25% got the correct answer.
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Index of Discrimination
It discusses the agreement to discard or
revise items with a negative discrimination
index. These items may accurately
differentiate between the top and bottom
25% of a class, but their content is
questionable or unreliable.
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INDEX RANGE INTERPRETATION ACTION

Can discriminate but

-1.0 - -.50 Discard
item is questionable

-5.5 - 0.45 Non-discriminating Revise

0.46 - 1.0 Discriminating Include

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EXAMPLE:
Consider a multiple choice
type of test of which the
following data were
obtained:
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ITEM OPTIONS

A B C D

0 40 20 20 Total
1
0 15 5 0 Upper 25%

0 5 10 5 Lower 25%
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EXAMPLE:
The correct answer is: B

Compute the Difficulty Index and

Index of Discrimination.
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no. of students with correct answer

Item Difficulty = ______________________________
total no. of students

40
______________________________
Item Difficulty =
100
Item Difficulty = 0.40
40% (good item)
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Calculate the Discrimination

IndexThe correct answer is: B

Compute the Difficulty Index and

Index of Discrimination.
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__________________________________________
no. of students in upper 25% with correct answer
DU= total no. of students

15
__________________________________________
DU=
20
DU= 0.75 or 75%
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__________________________________________
no. of students in lower 25% with correct answer
DL= total no. of students

5
__________________________________________
DL=
20
DL= 0.25 or 25%
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DISCRIMINATION INDEX
DI = DU - DL
DI = 0.75 - 0.25
DI = 0.50 or 50%
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DISCRIMINATION INDEX
However, the item has a
“good discriminating
power.”
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IMPLAUSIBLE DISTRACTER
It is also instructive to note that the
distracter A is not an effective
distracter since this was never
selected by the students.
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PLAUSIBLE DISTRACTERS.
Distracters C and D appear to
have good appeal as
distracters since students
chose them.
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Index of
Difficulty
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Index of Difficulty
This is the percentage of the
total group which has
responded incorrectly to the
item.
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FORMULA

RU + RL
__________________
P= × 100
T
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WHERE:

The number in the upper group who

RU
answered the item correctly.

The number in the lower group who

RL
answered the item correctly.

T The total number who tried the item.

CHAPTER 6.1 - Nature - Presentation 2024

Index of Item
Discriminating
Power
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FORMULA

RU + RL
__________________
D=
½T
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WHERE:

Percentage who answered the item

P
correctly (index of difficulty).

R Number who answered the item correctly.

T The total number who tried the item.

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Index of Difficulty
The smaller the percentage
figure the more difficult the
item.
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RANGE INTERPRETATION

0.00 - 0.20 Very Difficult

0.21 - 0.80 Moderately Difficult

0.81 - 1.00 Very Easy

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The discriminating power of an

item is reported as a decimal
fraction; maximum discriminating
power is indicated by an index of
1.00.
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Maximum discrimination is
usually found at the 50
percent level of difficulty.
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For classroom achievement tests,

most test constructors desire items
with indices of difficulty no lower
than 20 nor higher than 80, with an
average index of difficulty from 30 or
40 to a maximum of 60.
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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.
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INDEX OF DISCRIMINATION
This index is dependent upon the
difficulty of an item.
It may reach maximum value of
100 for an item with an index of
difficulty of 50.
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INDEX OF DISCRIMINATION
It happens when 100% of the
upper group and none of the
lower group answer the item
correctly.
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INDEX OF DISCRIMINATION
For items of less than or greater
than 50 difficulty, the index of
discrimination has a maximum
value of less than 100.
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More
Sophisticated
Discrimination
Index
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What is Item Discrimination?

Measures an item's ability to differentiate
between students who know the material
well and those who do not.
Traditionally involved comparing high and
low scoring groups.
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Advanced Methods
More sophisticated methods use
computerized analyses.
These methods compare item
responses across all students, providing
a more accurate assessment.
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ScorePak® Discrimination Index

A method using the Pearson Product
Moment correlation.
Measures how well each item correlates
with total scores on all other items.
Similar to a point-biserial coefficient.
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How to Interpret the Discrimination

Index?
Must be interpreted within the context of
the test.
Tests measuring diverse content may have
lower indices.
Focused tests might show higher
discrimination indices.
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How to Interpret the Discrimination

Index?
Must be interpreted within the context of
the test.
Tests measuring diverse content may have
lower indices.
Focused tests might show higher
discrimination indices.
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Evaluating Item Discrimination

High Internal Consistency: Items with
high discrimination indices typically exceed
.30.
Goal: A good item should have strong
discriminating ability and an appropriate
level of difficulty (neither too easy nor too
hard).
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ScorePak® Classification

INDEX INTERPRETATION

Above 0.30 GOOD

0.10 -0.30 FAIR

Below 0.10 POOR

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Test Item Analysis Overview

At the end of the Item Analysis report:
Items are listed by difficulty (easy, medium,
hard).
Discrimination is classified as good, fair, or poor.
Purpose: Provides a quick overview to identify
underperforming items that can be improved or
discarded.
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Summary on Item-Analysis
Procedure
1. The difficulty of the item.
2. The discriminating power of the item.
3. The effectiveness of each alternative.
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Benefits of Item-Analysis
Procedure
1. Useful for class discussions about the
test.
2. Helps students improve their learning.
3. Provides insights and skills for
preparing better tests in the future.
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Question
and
Answer
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closing epigram
"Education is not the filling of a
pail, but the lighting of a fire."
— William Butler Yeats —
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Thank You
chapter 6.1 - ASSESSMENT IN LEARNING 1 - Presentation 2024