Statistical Evaluation of Multiple-Choice Assessments

The comprehensive European Board of Ophthalmology Diploma (EBOD) examination was developed by the European Board of Ophthalmology (EBO) in 1995 as a European exit examination for recognised and graduating ophthalmologists within Europe. It is organised on a yearly basis and consists of a written part and an oral part. Since 2006, a lot of effort has been spent by the author of this book, in close collaboration with the EBO Education Committee members, to standardize and continuous improvement of the quality of the written part of the EBOD examination. A summary of the activities undertaken and the results obtained through this research, is published within this manuscript. Besides the traditional psychometric analysis parameters, an evaluation of item-response theory (IRT) modelling has been applied.

Danny G.P. Mathysen (PhD, MSc, BSc) obtained his master degree in biomedical sciences at Antwerp University (1999) and is involved in the score calculation process and psychometric analysis of the comprehensive European Board of Ophthalmology Diploma (EBOD) examination since 2006, which has resulted in the PhD research (2013) presented in this book