Eldakhakhny Basmah, Elsamanoudy Ayman Z
Clinical Biochemistry, King Abdulaziz University Faculty of Medicine, Jeddah, SAU.
Medical Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Mansoura University, Faculty of Medicine, Mansoura, EGY.
Cureus. 2023 Feb 24;15(2):e35427. doi: 10.7759/cureus.35427. eCollection 2023 Feb.
Assessment is fundamental to the educational process. Multiple choice questions (MCQs) and short essay questions (SEQs) are the most widely used assessment method in medical school. The current study evaluated the discriminating value of SEQs compared to MCQs as assessment tools in clinical biochemistry and correlated undergraduate students' SEQ scores with their overall scores during the academic years 2021-2022 and 2022-2023. This is a descriptive-analytical study in which MCQ and SEQ papers of clinical biochemistry were analyzed. The mean score for SEQs in males was 66.7 ± 1.2 and for females it was 64.0 ± 1.1 SEM, with a p-value of 0.09; for MCQs, the mean score for males was 68.5 ± 0.9 SEM and for females it was 72.6 ± 0.8. When analyzing the difficulty index (DI) and discrimination factor (DF) of the questions, MCQs have a mean DI of 0.70 ± 0.01,and DF of 0.05 to 0.6. SEQs have a mean DI of 0.73 ± 0.03 and DF of 0.68 ± 0.01; there was a significant difference between the DF of MCQs and SEQs (p < 0.0001). Furthermore, there was a significant difference between SEQs and MCQs when categorizing students based on their scores, except for A-scored students. According to the current study, SEQs have a higher discriminating ability than MCQs and help differentiate high-achieving students from low-achieving students.
评估是教育过程的基础。多项选择题（MCQs）和短文简答题（SEQs）是医学院最广泛使用的评估方法。本研究评估了短文简答题与多项选择题相比，作为临床生物化学评估工具的区分价值，并将2021 - 2022学年和2022 - 2023学年本科学生的短文简答题成绩与其总成绩进行了关联。这是一项描述性分析研究，对临床生物化学的多项选择题和短文简答题试卷进行了分析。男性短文简答题的平均成绩为66.7±1.2，女性为64.0±1.1标准误，p值为0.09；多项选择题方面，男性平均成绩为68.5±0.9标准误，女性为72.6±0.8。在分析问题的难度指数（DI）和区分度系数（DF）时，多项选择题的平均难度指数为0.70±0.01，区分度系数为0.05至0.6。短文简答题的平均难度指数为0.73±0.03，区分度系数为0.68±0.01；多项选择题和短文简答题的区分度系数存在显著差异（p < 0.0001）。此外，除了A等级的学生外，根据学生成绩进行分类时，短文简答题和多项选择题之间存在显著差异。根据本研究，短文简答题比多项选择题具有更高的区分能力，有助于区分成绩优异的学生和成绩较差的学生。
