Idea Density in Exam Performance

Summary

Text can be written in multiple ways to mean the same thing; changing how a text is written can make it easier or harder to understand. How many concepts or ideas there are in a text, divided by the total number of words, is one possible way to determine how easy or hard it is to understand. This ratio is called idea density (ID).

Varying ID has been shown to affect the speed at which a reader understands; it impacts certain people more than others, such as second language speakers. This effect may be of particular importance in an exam, where understanding a question in a limited time is key. In the UK, pharmacy students must undertake an exam set by the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) to be registered as pharmacists. The exam involves pharmaceutical calculations and shows variable pass rates. This study aims to evaluate the impact of reducing ID in a pharmaceutical calculation test and will be conducted in 14 schools of pharmacy in the UK. All participants will take a GPhC style test. Then, participants will be divided into two groups of equal size; one group will undertake a second test with the same ID as the first, while the second group will undertake a test with a lower ID. Finally, the investigators will compare the second test scores between the two groups as cohorts and question by question, evaluating whether lowering ID has increased students' scores.

If and effect is seen, ensuring that questions are written with a controlled ID may help ensure we are examining more fairly and allowing students with the requisite knowledge to pass.

Conditions

• Medical Education
• Health Education
• Educational Assessment

Interventions

OTHER

Reduced Idea Density

Question idea density reduced (ratio of propositions to total words used).

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Central Lancashire

  collaborator OTHER

• Aston University

  collaborator OTHER

• University of Birmingham

  collaborator OTHER

• University of Bradford

  collaborator OTHER

• De Montfort University

  collaborator OTHER

• University of Greenwich

  collaborator OTHER

• University of Huddersfield

  collaborator OTHER

• Kingston University

  collaborator OTHER

• Newcastle University

  collaborator OTHER

• Queen's University, Belfast

  collaborator OTHER

• Robert Gordon University

  collaborator OTHER

• University of Ulster

  collaborator OTHER

• University of Wolverhampton

  collaborator OTHER

• Liverpool John Moores University

  lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

BASIC_SCIENCE

Masking

SINGLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2022-10-03

Primary Completion

2022-11-06

Completion

2022-12-06

Countries

• United Kingdom

Study Locations