Table 2.
Comparison in the discrimination indices of 257 MCQ in the final exam of pathophysiology between students with high scores (group 1) and low scores (group 2)
| Group 1a | Group 2b | P | |
|---|---|---|---|
| All questions (N = 257) | 0.21 (0.11–0.34) | 0.28 (0.18–0.37) | < 0.001 |
| Factual (N = 198) | 0.20 (0.11–0.33) | 0.28 (0.18–0.37) | < 0.001 |
| Case-based (N = 59) | 0.24 (0.11–0.35) | 0.30 (0.19–0.37) | 0.296 |
| P*** | 0.300 | 0.620 | |
| Easy (N = 52) | 0.11 (0.06–0.17) | 0.28 (0.19–0.36) | < 0.001 |
| Non-easy (N = 205) | 0.24 (0.14–0.36) | 0.28 (0.18–0.38) | 0.117 |
| P**** | < 0.001 | 0.663 | |
| Non-easy, factual (N = 156) | 0.22 (0.14–0.36) | 0.28 (0.18–0.38) | 0.071 |
| Non-easy, case-based (N = 49) | 0.28 (0.16–0.39) | 0.28 (0.18–0.37) | 0.972 |
| P***** | 0.481 | 0.957 |
***Significance (factual versus case-based questions)
****Significance (easy versus non-easy questions). Easy questions: difficulty index equal or higher than 0.7 in both groups
*****Significance (non-easy factual versus case-based questions)
aGroup 1. Students with a score above 6/10 in the first semester exam
bGroup 2. Students with a score below 6/10 in the first semester exam