CNE Psychometrics Practice Questions (50 Flashcards)

A p-value of 0.88 indicates that 88% of the students answered the item correctly. In psychometrics, the p-value represents the proportion of examinees who passed the item. A high p-value (closer to 1.0) signifies an easy item. For CNE exams, remember: Inverse relationship—as the p-value increases, difficulty decreases. While 0.88 is high, it may be appropriate for foundational concepts or mastery-level testing. NLN Strategy: Distinguish between easy (high p) and hard (low p) items immediately.

A point-biserial (rpbi) of 0.42 is considered excellent. It indicates a strong positive correlation between success on this specific item and high performance on the overall exam. NLN standards suggest values >0.30 are highly effective at discriminating between students who know the material and those who do not. Exam Tip: NLN often tests the threshold for good items. Values above 0.30 are the gold standard per 2026 psychometric guidelines; 0.20-0.29 are marginal/need review; below 0.20 are poor and typically indicate the item does not distinguish between mastery levels.

The Kuder-Richardson Formula 20 (KR-20) is the gold standard for assessing internal consistency reliability in tests with dichotomous items (right/wrong). It measures how consistently items within a single test measure the same construct. NLN Exam Tip: KR-20 is used for binary scoring, while Cronbach's Alpha is used for Likert scales or partial credit items. A higher KR-20 indicates that if a student knows the material, they are likely to answer most items correctly, suggesting the test is a reliable measurement tool.

Content Validity. This ensures the instrument represents all facets of a given social construct or curriculum. Rationales: 1. Mapping to a blueprint is the gold standard for establishing content validity in nursing education. 2. It prevents construct underrepresentation (missing key topics) and construct-irrelevant variance (testing things not taught). NLN Tip: On the CNE exam, if the scenario involves a blueprint, matrix, or SME review, the answer is almost always Content Validity.

A Cronbach's alpha of 0.84 indicates Good to Excellent internal consistency for a teacher-made classroom exam. NLN guidelines generally suggest that for classroom exams, a coefficient between 0.70 and 0.80 is acceptable, while high-stakes exams (like exit exams) should ideally exceed 0.90. This coefficient measures how well the items on the test measure the same construct or concept. NLN Exam Tip: Distinguish between internal consistency (Cronbach's) and stability (test-retest). If items are heterogeneous (cover many different topics), alpha may naturally be lower.