PEDIATRICS Vol. 8 No. 4 October 1951, pp. 598-600
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SPECIAL ARTICLE

AMERICAN BOARD OF PEDIATRICS

IT IS desirable that as many people as possible should know how much care and thought is given both to the preparation and to the subsequent analysis of the examinations of the American Board of Pediatrics. For this reason the following comments on the examination of January 1950 are published for general information.

The written examination of the American Board of Pediatrics given in January 1950 has been subjected to statistical analysis. It is proposed that all subsequent examinations be analyzed in a similar or improved way in order to learn whether modifications are accomplishing the purpose for which they were made and in the endeavor to improve the accuracy of the grading. Some of the results of this first statistical analysis may be of interest and may help in understanding how reliable the examination in its present form is.

The examination consisted of 200 false and true statements and was taken by 353 candidates. A majority of the candidates marked all of the statements as being either false or true. That is to say, they marked with confidence when they knew and guessed when they did not know. However, a fairly large number of candidates refused to commit themselves at all when they did not know. It is of interest that one of the highest grades ever earned in these examinations was achieved by a candidate also distinguished by having refused to commit himself on the largest number of statements. The method of grading is one which yields essentially the same figure whether or not the candidate elects to guess.