“Reliability of four-response type multiple choice questions of pharmacology summative tests of II M.B.B.S students”

Introduction One of the major concerns in the construction of test items for an examination is ensuring the reliability of the test items. In order for assessments to be sound, they must be free of bias and distortion. Reliability and validity are two concepts that are important for defining and measuring bias and distortion. Internal consistency is an estimate of reliability based on the average correlation among items within a test and examines the degree to which the MCQs in a test measure the same characteristics or domains of knowledge. Methods In this study ten MCQ tests from 2008 to 2012 were selected and analyzed to obtain their mean, standard deviation, reliability coefficient and standard error of measurement. Data entry was done by using Microsoft excel 2007. Results Mean reliability coefficient was 0.54. Out of ten tests, two tests had low reliability, five tests had very low and three tests had questionable reliability. Mean standard deviation of MCQ tests was 3.52 with range of 3.05 to 4.01. Mean standard error of measurement was 2.37 with range of 2.24 to 2.44. Conclusion Reliability of all MCQ tests was low and need improvement. Standard Error of Measurement is more appropriate parameter for reliability than Reliability Coefficient.