Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RANZCOG) Project
This project demonstrates the application of the Rasch model to a multiple choice assessment of intrapartum fetal surveillance content knowledge. Early evidence of construct validity has been demonstrated through the correspondence between the empirically derived interpretation of the variable with that posited a priori by subject matter experts. Evaluation of a number of quantitative indices of item and test quality revealed several methods for efficiently improving the quality of subsequent test forms. Another key component of this project has been implementation of an ongoing program of item writing. A panel of item writers has been improving ineffective items and developing new items in response to the ongoing analyses. Further validation studies have also been identified for when the key targets of psychometric quality such as item quality, scale unidimensionality and test reliability have been attained.