Original Research Article http://doi.org/10.18231/j.ijcaap.2020.005 IP International Journal of Comprehensive and Advanced Pharmacology, January-March, 2020;5(1):19-21 19 Effect of surprise test and instruction for negative marking on item analysis in Pharmacology Nandal Dattatraya Hanumantrao 1 , Narwane Sandeep Prakash 2* 1 Professor and Head, 2 Associate Professor, 1,2 Dept. of Pharmacology, 1 Birat Medical College Teaching Hospital, Tankisinuwari, Nepal, 2 Rural Medical College, Loni, Maharashtra, India *Corresponding Author: Narwane Sandeep Prakash Email: drsandeepnarwane1984@gmail.com Abstract Introduction: The effect of instructions of negative marking on item analysis during an MCQ examination was studied. Material and Methods: It was an observational type of longitudinal study conducted in MBBS students of second year. The students were given the same MCQ test twice with surprise. There were no instructions regarding negative marking during the first test (T1), whereas instructions were given for the second test (T2). The Raw score, Negative score and Corrected score along with Difficulty and Discrimination index of each MCQ was calculated. Results: There was no statistically significant between the indices when the values of T1 and T2 were compared. There was statistically significant inverse correlation found between the difficulty index and the number of students who did not attempt the respective MCQ (Spearman correlation coefficient= -0.7818). Conclusion: The Difficulty Index and Discrimination Index do not change with Conventional test and test with instructions of negative marking. Thus, these indices form an important tool for MCQs irrespective of the conventional and negative marking. Keywords: Difficulty index, Discrimination index, Multiple choice questions, Negative marking, Surprise test. Introduction MCQs (Multiple Choice Questions) are the integral part of assessment of medical students in formative and summative assessment. A good quality MCQ assesses the knowledge and differentiates various abilities of a student. 1 MCQ consists of direction to students, a stem and alternatives. Usually an MCQ has multiple choices (generally four), of which one is correct while the remaining three are known as distracters. 2 Item analysis evaluates the reply of students to each MCQ and suggests its quality and scope of perfection. The indices, namely difficulty Discrimination indices are the important tools of item analysis. 3 In a study by Narwane et al, 4 it was observed that there was a negative impact on the performance of students, when the instructions of negative marking were given. Therefore it is also likely that the parameters of item analysis would also be affected. The literature on the effect of instructions of negative marking on the item analysis is scarce. Therefore, the present study therefore was planned to see the effect of instructions of negative marking on item analysis during an MCQ examination was studied. Materials and Methods It was an observational type of longitudinal study conducted in MBBS students of second year. The students were given the same 20 MCQ test twice with surprise. There were no instructions regarding negative marking during the first test (T1), whereas instructions were given for the second test (T2). The Raw score, Negative score and Corrected score along with Difficulty and Discrimination index of each MCQ was calculated. The students used their own alpha- numerical code as described by Narwane et al. 4 All the coded papers were assessed by a teacher unaware of the identity of students and the purpose of this educational study. After the completion of assessment, difficulty and discrimination index during T1 and T2 for each MCQ were calculated using Raw score, Corrected score and Negative score. The negative score was calculated by the addition of one mark and subtraction of 1 mark for each right and wrong answer, respectively. Marks were neither subtracted not added for a non-attempted question. The corrected score was calculated by the following formula              Where n= Number of options for MCQ. Marks were neither subtracted not added for a non-attempted question 3 . Formula for difficulty index (DI)        Formula for discrimination index (DCNI)        Here, the students were ranked in a descending manner as per their overall performance. The upper 1/3 rd and the lower 1/3 rd formed the High score group and Low score group, respectively. H (among High score group) and L (among Low score group) are the number of students who answered the respective MCQ correctly. N is the number of students in high and low score group. Results Sixty seven students participated in the study.