Evaluation of Admission Tests in Biology for the Applicants to the Faculty of Medicine at University of Saba Region in Light of Good Test Standards

Abstract

The study is aimed to evaluate the biology admission tests for the applicants to the Faculty of Medicine at University of Saba Region in light of the standards of a good test. The content analysis method, which is one of the descriptive approach techniques, was used. The study sample consisted of (125) items distributed on five admission test models from the years 2021 to 2024. A content analysis tool of (33) sub-indicators was designed based on the standards of a good test, and distributed on four domains: first, specifications of the test paper and clarity of instructions; second, technical aspects of a good test; third, multiple-choice questions; fourth, cognitive level of the questions. Frequencies and percentages were used to analyze the data. The study's findings showed that the admission tests adhered to certain basic standards, such as numbering, accurate inclusion of essential data, linguistic accuracy, and print quality, in addition to being free of academic errors. However, the study revealed shortcomings in other areas, most notably: grading, guidance instructions, spelling, and font consistency. Regarding multiple-choice questions, they generally met the required standards, though some issues were noted concerning the highlighting of negation and the distribution of correct alternatives. As for the cognitive level of the items, the questions primarily focused on lower-order thinking skills (recall and understanding) while neglecting higher-order thinking levels.