An Investigation into Item Information Functions of Reaching Comprehension of MCHE Using IRT

IRT provides a powerful method for describing, and selecting test items using iteminformation functions. In a test of a mock exam which was similar in form and format toMCHE, 100 items were administered to 40 testees. The utility of these items was determined by the item characteristic curves (ICCs). Using one-parameter item information curve, the researchers determined maximum information of items via item difficulty and item discrimination. When the fit of the ICCs to the data was poor, the corresponding itemstatistics and item information functions were misleading. The researcher found that the usefulness of test items depends on the specific needs of the test developer within a given test. An item may supply sufficient information at one end of the ability continuum but be of no value when its information is needed for other the ability scale. The results of this paper can have values for designing and developing test items in an exam.

Keywords:

Item Information Function , Reaching Comprehension , MCHE , IRT , ICC