Which analysis helps in enhancing the quality of test items?

Distractor analyses play a vital role in enhancing the quality of test items by examining how well the incorrect answer choices (distractors) function in a multiple-choice question. This analysis assesses whether the distractors effectively challenge the test-takers and provide meaningful options that can differentiate between knowledgeable candidates and those who may not be as well-informed.

By evaluating the performance of each distractor, instructors can identify which items are rarely chosen and may be too obvious or misleading, indicating that they do not serve their purpose effectively. Analyzing the selections made by participants allows for improvements in question design, ensuring that distractors are plausible and capable of engaging those who lack mastery of the content. This leads to more valid assessments that can accurately measure a candidate's understanding of the subject.

In contrast, while item reliability analysis measures the consistency of test scores over repeated assessments, item difficulty assessments focus on how challenging questions are for test-takers, and peer comparison studies involve comparing overall performance against similar groups or institutions. Each of these analyses contributes to test quality but does not specifically target the effectiveness of distractors in assessing knowledge.