The difficulty index of english summative test in SMPN 1 Ciputat

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THE DIFFICULTY INDEX OF ENGLISH SUMMATIVE

TEST IN SMP NEGERI 1 CIPUTAT

A “Skripsi”

Presented to the Faculty of Tarbiyah and Teachers’ Training in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for

the Degree of Strata 1 (S1)

By:

ENGKAR KARWATI NIM: 105014000374

English Education Department

The Faculty of Tarbiyah and Teachers’ Training

The State Islamic University (UIN)

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ABSTRACT

Karwati, Engkar, 2009, The Difficulty Index of English Summative Test in SMP Negeri 1 Ciputat, A skripsi, English Education Departement, The Faculty of Tarbiyah and Teachers’ Training, The State Islamic University Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta.

Advisor: Prof. Dr. Arief Furchan, MA.

Key Words: Difficulty Index, English Summative test, SMP Negeri 1 Ciputat

One of the ways of evaluation is by giving a test to measure the succesfull of teaching and learning process. In order a test really can measure testees’ability accuratly, of course we also need good evaluation tool or a good test to know its result. One of criterias of a good test is a test which has a good index difficulty. The test can be categorized as the test which has a good index difficulty if the test has a balance index proportion among the three index difficulty such as easy, moderate, and difficult items. This study is aimed to analyze balance proportion among the three of index difficulty such as easy, moderate, and difficult items in English summative test for the second grade in SMP Negeri 1 Ciputat. The result of the study is to help the English teacher as the test maker in to revise the items in order the next test can be better than before, then the test also can be functioned well as the accurate evaluation tool.

In this study the writer uses quantitative method where the researcher analizes the statistic data. The data that is used in this study is the students’ answer sheet of English summative test of the second grade in SMP Negeri 1 Ciputat which is taken from the three classes which is covered 116 students. This data is taken randomly from the ten classes. Besides that, the test script, the key answer, and the profile of school is also used as the data in this study.

The result of this study shows that the proportion among the three index difficulty such as easy, moderate, and difficult index is not balance. It can be seen that 60% or 15 items of 25 items belong to easy category, 32% or 8 items belong to moderate category, and 8% or 2 items belong to difficult category.

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ABSTRAK

Karwati, Engkar, 2009, The Difficulty Index of English Summative Test in SMP Negeri 1 Ciputat, Skripsi, Jurusan Ilmu Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris, Fakultas Ilmu Tarbiyah dan Keguruan, Universitas Islam Negeri Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta.

Pembimbing: Prof. Dr. Arief Furchan, MA.

Kata Kunci: Difficulty Index, English Summative test, SMP Negeri 1 Ciputat

Test merupakan salah satu alat evaluasi untuk mengukur keberhasilan proses belajar mengajar. Supaya test itu betul-betul bisa berfungsi sebagai alat ukur yang baik maka diperlukan suatu test atau alat ukur yang baik pula yang bisa mengukur testee dengan akurat. Salah satu kriteria dari test yang baik yaitu apabila test tersebut mempunyai derajat kesukaran yang baik. Test dikatakan mempunyai derajat kesukaran yang baik apabila jumlah proporsi soal untuk masing-masing kategori soal mudah, sedang dan sukar seimbang. Penelitian ini bertujuan mengetahui keseimbangan jumlah proporsi soal untuk masing-masing kategori soal mudah, sedang dan sukar pada soal tes sumatif mata pelajaran bahasa Inggris kelas 2 SMP Negeri 1 Ciputat. Hasil penelitian ini diharapkan dapat membantu guru bahasa Inggris yang dalam hal ini sebagai pembuat soal untuk dapat memperbaiki butir- butir soal sehingga test yang akan datang bisa lebih baik, benar- benar bisa berfungsi sebagai alat ukur yang akurat.

Penelitian ini menggunakan metode kuantitatif dimana peneliti menggunakan data berupa angka yang dihitung secara statistik. Data yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah lembar jawaban test sumatif siswa kelas 2 SMP Negeri 1 Ciputat yang diambil dari 3 kelas yang berjumlah 116 siswa. Data ini diambil secara acak dari 10 kelas. Selain itu, lembar soal, kunci jawaban, dan profil SMP Negeri 1 Ciputat digunakan juga sebagai data dalam penelitian ini.

Hasil dari penelitian ini menunjukan bahwa jumlah proporsi soal untuk masing- masing kategori soal mudah, sedang dan sukar tidak seimbang. Hal ini terbukti dari 60% atau sebanyak 15 butir soal dari 25 butir soal tes sumatif termasuk kategori soal mudah, 32% atau sebanyak 8 butir soal termasuk kategori soal sedang dan 8% atau 2 soal termasuk kategori soal sukar.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENT

In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. All prises be to Allah because by “qudrat” and “iradat” Allah the writer can finish this skripsi. Peace and blessing be upon our final prophet in the world Muhammad saw. His family, his companion, and his adherence.

The writer extraordinarily fortunate in having a lovely family, so that in this occasion the writer would like to express her greatest appreciation, honor, gratitude to her beloved family: mother and father (Iwis Alwisah and Eno Sukarna), brothers and sisters (Suhendi, S.Ag., E. Sukatma, Ikah Atikah and Siti Rohmah Rohimah S. Pd.), she thanks to them for their love,encouragement, guidance, pray, and facility to motivate the writer to finish her study. The special thanks goes to ‘teteh’ Nung Siti Nurjanah and ‘teteh’ Eno Atik Riyanah, ‘Kk’ Humaira Puspita Puteriutami, And ‘Dd’ Abdul Basith Basthotaen for their patience and kindnes of her husband and father in low in supporting the writer..

Her sincere thanks and deep appreciations also go to all lecturers staff in English Education Departement who have very kind and patience in dedicating their time, and giving precious knowledge, invaluable guidance, advice during the writer studies in this university.

The writer would like to express her highest appreciation and gratitude to my advisor, Prof. Dr. Arief Furchan, MA for his advice, encouragement, and patience during writing this paper.

Thank to the Principal of SMP Negeri 1 Ciputat for giving chance, help to conduct the research.

Moreover the writer would like to thank all of her friends who have been very supportive..

Finally, the writer would like to thank to every body who has important to completion of her paper, as well as expressing her apology that she could not mention personally one by one.

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LIST OF TABLES

TABLE 1 : The different of the previous research index difficulty of test item and the writer index difficulty research

TABLE 2 : The differences of the test types

TABLE 3 : Samples of the multiple choice items result

TABLE 4 : The differences of expert opinion in interpreting the difficulty index

TABLE 5 : The Students general information

TABLE 6 : The general information of teachers and administration employee TABLE 7 : The headmaster of SMPN 1 Ciputat from era to era

TABLE 8 : The English summative test items classification

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LIST OF APPENDIXES

APPENDIX 1 Students’ answer sheet of English summative test in SMP N 1 Ciputat

APPENDIX 2 The upper group position of the English summative test result in SMP N 1 Ciputat

APPENDIX 3 The lower group position of the English summative test result in SMP N 1 Ciputat

APPENDIX 4 The index difficulty of the upper group of summative test in SMP N 1 Ciputat

APPENDIX 5 The index difficulty of the upper group of summative test in SMP N 1 Ciputat

APPENDIX 6 The result of index difficulty calculation of English summative test in SMP N 1 Ciputat

APPENDIX 7 The statistical calculation of the balance degree of index difficulty

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CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

A. Background of the study

English is one of the International languages in the world which has a big role in this modern life either in education, politic, social, and economic. Because the awareness of the government about the importance of English so English is included in the national curriculum of education especially in Indonesia. Based on those polices then English become one of important subject that must be learnt by all of students start from Elementary school (SD), Junior and Senior High School (SMP/ SMA) until the level of university whether it is in state or private school.

To find out whether the learning process of English in Elementary, Junior, and Senior high school till university is success or not so it needs evaluation to control it. One of the methods of evaluation is by giving a test to the students. Through a test the teacher will find out the information about the target of learning process has been achieved or not.

In order a test can provide the accurate information so the test or the tools of evaluation which is really can measure the testee which the accurate result. To convince whether the test really accurate or not so it needs to do item analysis on the items of the test. There are three method of item analysis. First, the analysis on the index difficulty which means to measure the degree of difficulty whether the item is too easy, moderate, or too difficult. Second, discriminating power of the item analysis means to measure whether the items can differentiate between lower group and upper group. Third, the effectiveness of distracter is the analysis to know whether the answer options function well or not. These three ways can be used as the barometer to know the test is good or not. These three ways can be used to measure whether the items of the test is good or not.

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be an accurate evaluation. The effort of making the good evaluation for the students is also done by the teachers in SMPN 1 Ciputat especially by the English teachers. One of the real efforts is the efforts of the English teachers in making a good planning (making kisi- kisi before) to make an English summative test.

Since the English summative test in SMPN 1 Ciputat is arranged by the teachers so this case becomes very interesting to be researched because usually the teacher made test usually do not have a good test items. So the writer is very interested to know whether the test items which is made based on a good planning (making kisi-kisi before) will result a good test items also. In this case the English teacher also made the good planning of the index difficulty of the English summative test in SMPN 1 Ciputat. Because of that the writer is very curious to find out whether the planning of good index difficulty has the same result after the student do the test.

Finally, in this research paper the writer want to try to do an item analysis on the index difficulty of English summative test in SMPN 1 Ciputat. An item analysis needs to do in order to get the items of questions that have the good quality. Of course an items that can give the clear information about the reality of the students’ ability. The item of the question which is not being able describes the real student’s ability. It means that the item that is given is useless; it does not have the function well. So the writer thinks that an item analysis is important to do.

Index difficulty is very important to be analyzed because if the test does not have a good index difficulty so the teacher can revise the test items. The next test would be better than the previous one. Then we can say that the evaluation tools really can evaluate what need to be measured.

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success in answering the question correctly. And for those who are in upper group will not be challenged in doing the test and they will underestimate the test.

If the test items are too difficult so the all students will not be able to answer correctly. It means the test items cannot measure the student’s ability as a whole. In order the test items can measure what students already know and not yet so the tester or teacher in making the test items must consider the level of index difficulty by predicting the students who can answer correctly and the total students who cannot answer correctly.

The good test items are the item which consists of easy, medium and difficult index. The easy item functions to give the chance for the students to answer. The difficult items function to challenge the smart student to answer. So the test item really can function as the good evaluation tools.

Based on the explanation above, the items analysis on the index difficulty of this test will be limited on English summative test for the eight grade of SMPN 1 Ciputat. This research is limited on the English test because the English subject is very important in this era of globalization. So the result of students’ learning English needs to be evaluated. It is important to know what have been known or not by the student which is functioned to measure it need an accurate evaluation tools.

The writer limited the research on the summative test because the writer find out that most of the multiple choice item questions of English summative test can be answered by the sudents. So it is interesting to be analyzed what the test items looks like so most of the students can answer it correctly.

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difficulty of the types of items which is close or almost the same as UN test. And also this research can help the teachers to identify which students need more attention.

The writer limited the research in SMPN 1 Ciputat because SMPN 1 Ciputat is besides trained by the time, it has built since 1974. It also has some great academic achievement such as the ninth rank of general knowledge competition/ Lomba Mata Pelajaran (LMP) Umum in JABODETABEK, the second rank of English competition / Lomba Mata Pelajaran Bahasa Inggris in Tangerang regency, and the second rank of story telling competition in Tangerang regency. Besides that most of its graduation has been accepted in favorite senior high school in Jakarta. Based on this fact the writer is very interested to know how good the test items that have been made by the English teacher in SMPN 1 Ciputat which is created a good academicals achievement and can support its graduation to be accepted in favorite senior high school.

B. Research question

Does the English Summative test in SMPN 1 Ciputat has the balance degree of index difficulty such as easy, moderate and difficult item?

C. The scope of the study

The study of item analysis covered three things such as the index difficulty, discriminating power, and the effectiveness of the distracters, but in this research paper the writer will only focus the discussion on the index difficulty of English Summative test of the second grade in SMPN 1 Ciputat.

D. The purpose of the study

To analyze whether the English Summative test in SMPN 1 Ciputat for the second grade students in SMPN 1 Ciputat has a good index difficulty.

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This study is important to do because the results of this study can give the impact to the school, society, and further researcher. And also this study provides useful information especially for the school SMP Negeri 1 Ciputat and for other school generally. To support the discussion, the writer takes field research by observing the English Summative test paper and the students’ answer sheet to measure the quality of the index difficulty of the test items. The writer also does the library research by reading some reference book and literatures related to the topic of discussion.

F. The Review of Related Literature

Index difficulty of the test item is very important to check the quality of the test item in testing someone’s capability. Item analysis of index difficulty is important in order the result of the test really can evaluate the student’s achievement as a whole. The same research of item analysis on the index difficulty has been done by Yusuf Supriyanto under the title “An Item Analysis on Difficulty Level of English Try out Test for “UN” at Junior High School Level (A Case Study at SMPN 2 Ciputat Tangerang)”. The second research has been done also by Rogibatul Lutphiyah with the research paper “An Analysis on Difficulty Level of English National Try Out Test 2008 (A Case Study at the Third Year of State Senior High School 87 Jakarta)”. This research paper gives a description that English National Try Out Test items belongs to the test item which have moderate level of difficulty.

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motivator for the teacher to increase their ability in making the test quality higher than before.

Based on the fact of the advantages of doing research on the teacher made test above, in the same field of research, that is item analysis, the writer will try to do an item analysis on English summative test in the second grade of SMP Negeri 1 Ciputat. In this research, the usage of the data in the research is not only more than the previous research but will focus the research will focus on item analysis on the index difficulty. In this research, the researcher does not only focus on identifying the items which is belong to easy, moderate, and difficult category but also try to identify whether the proportion for easy, moderate, and difficult category is balance or not. The table 1 below will show the different of the previous research index difficulty of test item and the writer index difficulty research.

Table 1.1

The different of the previous research index difficulty of a test item and the writer index difficulty research.

The previous research

The writer ‘s research The researcher only identifies the item

that belongs to easy, moderate, and difficult category.

The researcher does not only identify which items that belongs to easy, moderate, and difficult category but also try to find whether the proportion for easy, moderate, and difficult category is balance or not.

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CHAPTER II

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

1. Introduction

In education there is a learning process that has to be experienced by the students. This learning process consists of three main elements:

1) Objective, tells about what worth teaching or learning is.

2) Methods, tell about how to teach or to learn and how to choose the best method to be taught.

3) Evaluation tells about how well it has been taught.1

A teaching learning process has instructional objectives that have to be reached through materials developed in the classroom. Such process employs effective and appropriate matter, and to know whether instructional objectives and the effectiveness of method in teaching learning process, evaluation must be conducted.

Based on some definitions above, the writer can conclude that the process of teaching and learning also has three steps: presentation, practice, /drills, and comprehension.2 a good teacher has to present or explain the material as clear as possible and check the students’ understanding by giving several exercise or drills. To get the students understanding or comprehension more accurately, the teacher may continue to the last step, that is evaluation. So, evaluation has the function to check the result of presentation and practice.

2. Evaluation

Weiss a quoted by Lyle F. Bachman states that, “evaluation can be defined as the systematic gathering of information for the purpose of making decision”.2 According to M. Ngalim Purwanto: “Penilaian adalah suatu proses yang sengaja direncanakan untuk memperoleh informasi atau data berdasarkan data tersebut

1

Nasrun Mahmud, Diktat Language Testing II, p. 1 2

Lyle F. Bachman, Fundamental Considerations in Language Testing, 9Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1990), p. 22

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kemudian di coba membuat suatu kepututusan”.3 Evaluation is a system of quality control in which it may be determine at each step in the teaching-learning process whether the process is effective or not. And if not what changes must be made to ensure its effectiveness before it is too late.4

Evaluation can also be used to find out the failure the effectiveness of the method and the improvement of teaching-learning process, based on the statement of Benjamin S. Bloom, etc. Al: Evaluation is an important activity for the teachers and the students. Although the focus in the evaluation phase is on student self-evaluation, teachers are also engaged in evaluation activities. In order to know how well the result of teaching and learning process, a teacher must evaluate it. By evaluating the teacher can collect information or can have a picture describing how well a teaching and learning activity has succeeded. Every evaluation activity or judgment constitutes any process, which is deliberately planned to get, make and provide data for making decision. We know that through evaluation the teachers could find the information about the growth and the progress of the student’s achievement of the material they have learned in order to make decision. Evaluation cannot be separated from teaching and learning process.

Based on some definitions above, the writer can conclude that evaluation is considered that between teachings and testing is like a two side of coin, which cannot be separated. It should be held in teaching-learning process. It can be used to improve the teaching and learning activities which are done by the teacher and the students. In the writer’s opinion evaluation is the measurement of students’ achievement after the process of teaching and learning. Through evaluation the result of the learning process can be seen whether it is success or not.

3. Test

3

M. Ngalim Purwanto, Prinsip-Prinsip dan Teknik Evaluasi Pengajaran, (Bandung: remaja Rosdakarya, 1991), p. 3

4

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Actually, there are many methods that the teacher can use in evaluating. One of them is test.5 Before the writer talks more about the test, she would like to elaborate the definition of it. Test is the word “Test” comes from French language, namely “testum” and its meaning is vessel in which metals were assayed, potsherd.6 Jum C. Nunnally (1964) said, “A test is a standardized situation that provides an individual with a score”.7 Lee J. Cronbach also says that test is a systematic procedure used to compare a behavior of two people or more.8 Then according to Anne Anastasi, a test is essentially an objective and standardized measure of a sample of behavior.9 wayan Nurkanca and P. P. N. Sumartana also express his comment that: “Tes adalah suatu cara untuk mengadakan penelitian yang berbentuk suatu tugas yang harus dikerjakan oleh anak atau kelompok anak sehingga menghasilkan suatu nilai tentang tingkah laku atau prestasi anak tersebut yang dapat dibandingkan dengan nilai yang dicapai oleh anak lain sehingga dengan nilai standar”.10 The expert of evaluation Fred Genesee and John A. Upshur state, “a test is a task or set of tasks that elicits observable behavior from the test taker and tests yield scores that represent attributes or characteristics of individuals.11

A test maker uses a test obviously to obtain information. The information that she/he hopes, will of course vary from situation to situation. It is possible, nevertheless, to categorize tests according to a small number of kinds of information being sought. This categorization will prove useful in deciding whether an existing test is suitable for an intended purpose. Fred Genesee and

5

Fred Genesee & John A. Upshur, Classroom-Based Evaluation in Second Language Education, New York: Cambridge University Press, 1996, p.140

6

Merriam Webster’s Dictionary & Thesaurus (Electronic Dictionary) 7

Jum C. Nunnally, Educational Measurement and Evaluation, New York: McGraw-Hill Book, 1964, p. 6

8

Lee J. Cronbach, Essentials of Psychological Testing, New York: Harper & Row Publisher, 1960,

9

Anne Anastasi, Psychological Testing, New York: Prentice Hall Inter. Inc., 1997, p.4 10

Wayan Nurkancana dan P. P. N. Sumartana, Evaluasi Pendidikan, (Surabaya: Usaha Nasional, 1986), p.25

11

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John A. Upshur said:12A test is, first of all, about something. That is about intelligence, European history, or second language proficiency. In educational terms, tests have subject matter or content. Second, a test is a task or set of tasks that elicit observable behavior from the test taker. The test may consist of only one task such as writing a composition, or a set of tasks such as in lengthy multiple-choice examination in which each question can be thought of as a separate task. Third, test yield scores that represent attributes or characteristics of individuals. In order to be meaningful, test scores must have a frame of reference used to interpret them is referred to as measurement. Thus, tests are a form of measurement.

Based on some definitions above, the writer can conclude that the test is a systematic procedure or a standardized situation to measure or compare a behavior of two people or more by giving a task or a set of tasks or a systematic procedure for providing information about the student’s achievement that is relevant in teaching-learning process. In the writer’s opinion is test is one of the good ways to measure the student’s achievement after the teaching and learning process. It is also one of good instrument for collecting data which is later used for making various decisions about the student’s behavior or achievement in the teaching-learning process.

4. Types of test

Based on that explanation, the writer here will discuss kinds of tests. Arthur Hughes classifies a test into four. Those are achievement test, proficiency tests, diagnostic test, and placement test.13 Marry Finnachiaro and Sydney Salo also classifies a test into four: achievement tests, proficiency tests, diagnostic tests, and aptitude tests.14 While, Wilmar Tinambunan says that there are two types of test

12

Freed Genesee and John A. Upshur, Classroom-Based Evaluation in Second Language Education, New York: Cambridge University Press, 1996, p. 141

13 Arthur Hughes, Testing for …p. 9

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used in determining a person’s abilities: aptitude tests and achievement tests.15 Based on some definitions above, the writer can conclude that there are four types of test such as achievement tests, proficiency tests, diagnostic tests, and aptitude tests.

a. Achievement test

An achievement test related directly to classroom lesson, units, or even a total curriculum. Achievements tests are limited to particular material covered in a curriculum within a particular time frame and are offered after a course has covered.16 Achievement test are related to the past in what they measure, what the students have learned as a result of teaching.17

The purpose of achievement test, as its name reflects, is to establish how successful individual students, groups of students, or the courses themselves have been in achieving objectives of language courses.18 Wilmar Tinambunan19 says that an achievement test is designed to indicate degree of student’s success in some past learning activities. This purpose of achievement test is obviously different from the purpose of aptitude test, where the aptitude test is designed to predict success in some future learning activity.

Based on some definitions above, the writer can conclude that achievement tests are intended to measure how well students have mastered lessons or how far they have reached the instructional objectives, consequently, the content of both of final and progress achievement tests should be designed related to instructional objectives.20 In the writer’s opinion achievement test are also related to the past in what they measure, what the students have learned as a result of teaching.

b. Proficiency test

15 Wilmar Tinambunan, Evaluation of Student Achievement, Jakarta: Dept. P&K Dirjen. Pendidikan Tinggi Proyek Pengembangan Lembaga Pendidikan Tenaga Kependidikan, 1998, p. 9

16

H. Douglas, Teaching by Principle, An Interactive Approach to Language Pedagogy, San Fransisco; Addison Wesley Longman, 2001, p. 391

17

Tim Mc. Namara, Language Testing, Hongkong: Oxford university Press, 2000, p.7 18

Arthur Hughes, Testing for …p. 10

19 Wilmar Tinambunan, Evaluation of Student …, p. 9 20

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Proficiency test is a test that can measure people’s ability in language regardless of any training they may have had in that language. The proficiency test usually consists of standardized multiple-choice items on grammar, vocabulary, reading comprehension, aural comprehension, and sometimes on writing.21

The purpose of proficiency test is to measure people’s ability in language regardless of any training they may have had in that language. The content of proficiency tests therefore, is not based on the content or objective of language courses that people taking the test may have followed. Rather, it based on a specification of what candidates may have to be able to do in the language in order to be considered proficient.22 These measures are often used for placement or selection, and their relative merits lies in their ability top spread students out according to ability on a proficiency range within the desired area of learning.

Based on some definitions above, the writer can conclude that proficiency tests are most often global measures of ability in a language or other content area. They are not necessarily developed or administered with the reference to some previously experienced course of instruction. In the writer’s opinion is to check how far someone’s capability in mastering some skill that is needed to be measured.

c. Diagnostic test

A diagnostic test is a test that can find the appropriate way to improve learning instruction where the result of evaluation is intended if pupils fail in a particular subject. Thus, diagnostics test is much comprehensive and detail because it searches for the underlying causes of learning difficulties and formulate a plan for remedial action.

The purpose of the diagnostic test is to diagnose a particular aspect of a language. A diagnostic test in pronunciation might have the purpose of

21

Grant Henning, A Guide to Language Testing, Massachusetts: Newbury House Publishers, 1987, p. 6

22

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determining which phonological features of English are difficult for a learner.23 Based on some definitions above, the writer can conclude that diagnostic test is needed to know someone’s ability in a particular aspect of a language. In the writer’s opinion diagnostic test is to check in what area is someone strong in certain skills.

d. Aptitude test

Aptitude tests are most often used to measure the suitability of a candidate for a specific program of instruction or a particular kind of employment. For this reason, these tests are often synonymously with intelligence tests or screening tests.

The purpose of aptitude test is to A language aptitude test is designed to measure a person’s capacity or general ability to learn a foreign language and to be successful in that undertaking.24 Based on some definitions above, the writer can conclude that the aptitude test is used to measure someone’s ability in achieving the learning in foreign language. In the writer’s opinion the aptitude test is needed to evaluate someone’s capability in achieving what they have learnt about a particular language. The table 2 below will show the differences of the test types.

Table 2.1

The differences of the test types

Achievement test Proficiency test Diagnostic test Aptitude test

23

H. Douglas, Brown op.cit. p. 390 24

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Achievement test

The types of test item are divided into two types: Multiple choice and essay test. Julian C. Stanley stated,

1. Multiple-choice test

“A multiple-choice test is made up of items each of which presents two or more responses, only one of which is correct or definitely better than the others.25 Then Anthony J. Nitko states that: a multiple-choice item consists of one or more introductory sentences followed by a list of two or more suggested responses from which the examinee chooses one as the correct answer.26

The purpose of multiple-choice test is to know how well the person good in eliminating the wrong answer. Multiple-choice test is a kind of the objective test, which also can be used to measure the students’ English knowledge. Multiple choice test is usually regarded as the most valuable, most useful, and also the most applicable of all test form. It is very effective for measuring information, students’ reading, students’ vocabulary, etc

25

Julian C. Stanley, Measurement in Today School, Fourth edition, (New Jersey Prentice Hall, Inc., 1964), p. 121

26

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Based on some definitions above, the writer can conclude that multiple choice tests is a test, which consists of two major points, they are the stem and the options. The stem is a question that is presented in the form of a direct question or incomplete statement. And the options are the alternatives variation of the item types or the alternatives answer. From some options in question only one that is correct. In the writer’s opinion multiple-choice test is to know how well the person good in eliminating the wrong answer.

2. Essay test

Drs. Wilmar Tinambunan wrote in his book namely evaluation of the students’ achievement that “The essay item is the most complex of supply type item. It demands that the students compose a response, often extensive to a question for which no single response or pattern of response can be cites as correct to the exclusion of are the answer. Essay test is usually called as a subjective test. Why it can be called as a subjective test? In the essay test we will find the subjectivity of the teacher in the scoring. This subjectivity is caused by the variation of the students’ answer. So, the level of correctness and the error of students’ answer also varieties.

Based on some definitions above, the writer can conclude that the essay test above, it can be concluded that the essay is a type of question that demands the examinee to select the answer and write it by their words. In the writer’s opinion an essay test is used to measure someone’s ability in expressing their knowledge about information.

6. The characteristic of good test

A test can be regarded as a good one, if it has four characteristics; those are validity, reliability, objectivity, and practicality.27

a. Validity

27

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JB. Heaton said, ‘The validity of a test is the extent to which it measures what it is supposed to measure and nothing else”.28 The validity of a test must be considered in measurement in this case there must be seen whether the test used really measures what are supposed to measures, briefly. The validity of a test is the extent to which the test measures what it is intended to measure. There are four types of validity:

a. Face validity

Face validity means the way the test looks to the testiest, teachers, moderators, and administrator. Therefore it is useful to show a test to colleagues or friends in order to discover absurdities and ambiguities of a test.

b. Content validity

Content validity is considered with the material that the students have learned. The test should concern with the materials that the students have learned. The test should cover samples of the teaching materials given. To fulfill this, the teacher should refer his consideration to the teaching syllabus. JB. Heaton says “Content validity depends on careful analysis of the language of the language being tested and of the particular course objectives, the test should be so constructed as to contain a representative sample of the course.

c. Construct validity

Construct validity deals with construct and underlying theory of the language learning and testing. JB. Heaton states, ‘If the test has construct validity it is capable of measuring certain specific characteristics in accordance with a theory of language and behavior and learning.

d. Empirical validity

There are two kinds of empirical validity: concurrent validity and predictive validity which depend on whether the test scores are correlated with subsequent or concurrent criterion measures.

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If we use a test of English as a second language to screen university applicants and then correlate test scores with grades made at the end of the first semester, we are attempting to determine predictive validity of the test. If, on the other hand, we follow up the test immediately by having an English teacher rate each student’s English proficiency on the basis of his class performance during the first week and correlate the two measures, we are seeking to establish the concurrent validity of the test.29

Based on some definitions above, the writer can conclude that Validity of a test is important to know whether a test has a good quality in testing someone’s capability. In the writer’s opinion validity of a test is important to know whether a test has a good quality in testing someone’s capability or not.

d. Reliability

The second characteristic of a good test is reliability.

A test should be reliable as a measuring instrument. A test cannot measure anything well unless it measure consistently. According to J. Charles Alderson, Caroline Clapham and Dianne Wall, “a test cannot be valid unless it is reliable”.30

Reliability or stability of a language test is concerned with the degree to which it can be trusted to produce the same result upon repeated administration to the same individual or to give consistent information about the value of a learning variable being measured.31 Therefore, to be considered reliable, a language test must obtain consistent results and give consistent information.

Based on some definitions above, the writer can conclude that If the test administered to the same students on the different occasion and there is no different to the results. It can be said that the test is reliable. In the writer’s opinion reliability of a test is very important in order the test can really function as its purpose to measure someone’s capability as a whole.

e. Practicality

The forth characteristic of a good test is practicality.

29

Ibid., p. 154-155 30

J. Charles Anderson, Caroline Clapham and Dianne Wall, Language Test Construction and Evaluation, (British: Cambridge University Press, 1995), p. 187

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Practicality means that tests should be practical in administrating it. The criteria for practicality normally will be based upon such factors as economy, scorability, and administrability. Economy means that the test should be as economical as possible in cost. Scorability means that scoring of the test can be done easily effectively, without giving a confusing matter and spending more time. Adminstrability means that the test should be easy to administer for the examinees. There are several factors contribute to adminstrability. First, there should be a training session for test administrators, because it will facilitate the operation and save time an effort later on. Second, test instructions should be clear and concise, and yet totally comprehensible and complete.32

Based on some definitions above, the writer can conclude that practicality of a test is important in order test can be administered well. Ease of administration and scoring means that the test administrator can perform his task quickly and efficiency. We must also consider the ease with the test can be administered. In the writer’s opinion the practicality of a test is important in order test can be administered well.

7. Technique to measure the good test

After doing the evaluation, it is better for the teacher to evaluate or reexamine the test result, especially test items. The procedure that is usually called item analysis.

a. Item analysis

J. Stanley Ahman and Marvin D. Glock explained that, “item analysis is reexamining each test item to discover its strengths and flaws.33 Furthermore, Anthony J. Notki stated that “item analysis refers to the process of collecting, summarizing, and using information about individual test items, especially information about pupils’ response to items.34

32 Marry Finnachiaro & Sydney Salo, Foreign Language … p. 30-31 33

J. Stanley Ahman Marvin D. Glock, Evaluating Pupil Growth, Principle of test and Measurements, Boston: Allyn and Bacon Inc., 1967, p. 184

34

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Item analysis is done to know that an item is functioned or not, as stated DR. Sumarna Surapranata: “Analisis soal dilakukan untuk mengetahui berfungsi tidaknya sebuah soal”.35 Selection of appropriate language items is not enough by itself to ensure a good test. Each question needs to function properly; otherwise, it can weaken the exam. Unfortunately, there are some rather simple statistical ways of checking individual i.e. this is done by studying the students’ responses to each item. When formalized this procedure is called ‘item analysis.” It is most often used with multiple-choice questions.

For the teacher made test, it is important for determining whether an item functions as teacher intends, feedback to students about their performance and as a bases for class discussion, feedback to the teacher about pupil difficulties, area for curriculum improvement, revising the item and improving item writing skills.36 a. Determining whether an item functions as a teacher intends

A good test items should include the entire learning objective. Therefore, a teacher should able to make a test that concludes it. Item analysis is a way to know it.

b. Feedback to students about their performance and as a bases for class discussion

The students’ achievement of taking a test will be shown by the score. This is a description of their performance. By measuring item analysis, it will be found their difficulties of the subject area tested. Thus, the difficulties can be discussed in their class in order to correct their mistakes.

c. Feedback to the teacher about pupil difficulties

Analyzing the students’ difficulties is a characteristic of a good teacher. Therefore, reviewing the difficult subject area tends to be needed. d. Area for curriculum improvement

The curriculum may need to be revised if the students’ mistakes are often occurring on responding the item. This may be caused are often

35

Dr. Sumarna Surapranata, op. cit., p. 1 36

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occurring on responding the item. This may be caused the incompatibility of the syllabus or program.

e. Revising the item

Item analysis is measuring the quality of items. The teacher as a test-maker should revise the item that may still to be revised in order to improve the quality of the test item itself.

f. Improving item writing skills

By revising or discarding the poor item, the teacher will be moved to improve their ability of writing or arranging the next test items.

Based on some definitions above, the writer can conclude that item analysis is the process of collecting information about pupils’ responses to the items to see the quality of test items. More specifics, item analysis information can tell us if an item was too easy or too hard, how well it discriminated between high and low scores on the test and whether all of the alternatives function as intended. Item analysis data also aids in detecting technical flaws and thus further provides information for improving test items. In the writer’s opinion item analysis is the process of collecting information about pupils’ responses to the items to see the quality of test items.

8. Kinds of item analysis

There are three characteristics usually considered in the field of the test and measurement, they are level of difficulty, discriminating power and the effectiveness of distracter. 37

a. Level difficulty

Based on Thomas R. Knapp in his book of “Statistics for educational Measurement”, he said that one thing we always like to know about an item is its difficulty. As is so aptly pointed out in measurement textbooks, an item which is answered correctly by all examinees is unacceptable item from point of view of relative measurement, since the only effect it has is to add one point to

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everybody’s score. An item which is answered incorrectly by all examinees is similarly unacceptable.

Level of difficulty means the percentage of pupils who answer correctly each test item.38 Percentage is inversely related to the difficulty because the larger the percentage of correct answer, the easier the item and the more difficult the item is, the fewer will be the students who select the correct option.

A good test item should have a certain degree of difficulty. It may not too easy or too difficult because the tests that are too easy or too difficult will yield score distribution that make it hard to identify reliable differences in achievement between the pupils who have done well and those who done poorly.

According to Charles D. Hopskins and Richard L. Antes in his book “Classroom Measurement and Evaluation” the difficulty index can range from zero (0) to one hundred (100). Appropriate difficulty levels are those that lie about halfway between a number that would be expected from selection by pure guess and another number that represents total correct responses. The ideal difficulty index for all four- choice multiple- choice items is 37 to 38, a value halfway between 75 (expected from chance selection) and 0.

Nana Sudjana explain about the balance of test item in making the test. He wrote that:

Asumsi yang digunakan untuk memperoleh kualitas soal yang baik, di samping memiliki validitas dan realibilitas, adalah adanya keseimbangan dari tingkat kesulitan soal tersebut. Keseimbangan yang dimaksudkan adalah adanya soal-soal yang termasuk mudah, sedang, dan sukar secara proporsional. Tingkat kesukaran soal dipandang dari kesanggupan atau kemampuan siswa dalam menjawabnya, bukan dilihat dari sudut guru sebagai pembuat soal. Persoalan yang penting dalam melakukan analisis tingkat kesukaran adalah penentuan proporsi dan kriteria soal yang termasuk mudah, sedang, dan sukar. Ada beberapa dasar pertimbangan dalam menentukan proporsi jumlah soal kategori mudah, sedang dan sukar. Pertimbangan pertama adalah adanya

38

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keseimbangan, yakni jumlah soal sama untuk ketiga kategori tersebut. Artinya, soal mudah, sedang dan sukar jumlahnya seimbang. Misalnya teks objektif pilihan berganda dalam pelajaran matematika disusun sebanyak 60 pertanyaan. Dari ke-60 pertanyaan tersebut, soal kategori mudah sebanyak 20, kategori sedang 20 dan kategori sukar 20. Pertimbangan kedua adalah proporsi jumlah soal untuk ketiga kategori tersebut didasarkan atas kurva normal. Artinya, sebagian besar soal berada dalam kategori sedang, dan sebagian lagi termasuk kategori mudah dan sukar dalam proporsi yang seimbang. In English version: “Another assumption besides validity and reliability that used to get the balance proportion. For example, the English objective test is arranged for 60 item questions. It can be divided into 20 questions for easy category, 20 item questions for moderate category, and 20 item questions for difficult category. The second assumption is the proportion of three categories is based on the normal curve. It means that most of item question belongs to easy category; some of the other belongs to moderate and difficult category in the balance proportion. 39

Based on some definitions above, the writer can conclude that by analyzing the students’ response to the items, the level of difficulty of each item can be seen clearly then the information the information will be helpful for teacher in identifying concepts to reteach the study material and giving the students feedback

39

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(

)

n

pL

pH

P

=

+

about their learning.40 In the writer’s opinion the balance result of l level difficulty from a test is important in order the test is not too difficult ant not too easy but has the equal index.

There are several ways to measure the level of difficulty. One of the most common used is the steps of item analysis on the index difficulty based on Kenneth D. Hopskin that is written in his book “Educational and Phsychological Measurement and Evaluation”. The steps are:

1. Order the N papers by score, placing the one with the highest score on top and continuing sequentially until the one with the lowest score is on the bottom. 2. Take the highest third of the tests; this is the “high” group.

3. Take the lowest third of the tests; this is the “lowest” group.

4. Determine the proportion in the high group (pH) answering a particular item correctly by dividing the number of correct answers for the high group by n; that is PH= ( number of correct responses to the item)

n

5. Determine the proportion in the low group (pL) answering a particular item correctly by dividing the number of correct answers for the low group by n; that is PL= ( number of correct responses to the item)

n

6. To obtain an estimated item difficulty index, p (that is, the proportion of the total group that answered the item correctly), average pH and pL:

Some samples of the multiple choice items result are shown in the next table

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Table 2.2

Samples of the multiple choice items result

Item difficulty which is more than 0,63 it means that these items are moderate. Thus, it will be still used. While, item 2 will be revised because it too easy which only has the difficulty index more than 0.70.

There are some criteria of interpretation the index difficulty in item analysis explained by some experts such as:

Robert L. Thorndike in his book Measurement in Psychology Education formulated:

Less than 0,30 : Difficult Between 0,30- 0,70 : Moderate More then 0,70 : Easy

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Ngalim Purwanto in his book Prinsip- Prinsip dan Teknik Evaluasi Pengajaran formulated:

Less than 0,24 : Difficult About 0,50 : Moderate More then 0,76 : Easy

Prof. Dr. Suharsimi Arikunto in her book Dasar- Dasar Evaluasi Pendidikan formulated:

Between 0,00- 0,30 : Difficult Between 0,30- 0,70 : Moderate Between 0,70- 1,00 : Easy

Dr. Nana Sudjana in his book Penilaian Hasil Proses Belajar Mengajar formulated:

Between 0,00- 0,30 : Difficult Between 0,31- 0,70 : Moderate Between 0,71- 1,00 : Easy

The table 4 below shows the differences of expert opinion in interpreting the difficulty index .

Table 2.3

The differences of expert opinion in interpreting the difficulty index . Robert L. Thorndike Less than 0,30 : Difficult

Between 0,30- 0,70 : Moderate More then 0,70 : Easy

Witherington Less than 0,25 : Difficult

Between 0,25- 0,75 : Moderate More than 0,75 : Easy

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Ngalim Purwanto Less than 0,24 : Difficult About 0,50 : Moderate More than 0,76 : Easy

Prof. Dr. Suharsimi Arikunto Between 0,00- 0,30 : Difficult Between 0,30- 0,70 : Moderate Between 0,70- 1,00 : Easy

Dr. Nana Sudjana Between 0,00- 0,30 : Difficult Between 0,31- 0,70 : Moderate Between 0,71- 1,00 : Easy

In this research paper the writer uses Robert L. Thorndike’s interpretation because his formulation of interpreting the index difficulty is much easier to be identified than the others formulation. Based on some definitions above, the writer can conclude that as good teacher, we should be able to make a good index difficulty (the balance index of easy, moderate, and difficult items) of a test in order the test that the teacher gives to the students really can function well. Therefore, measuring the balance index of difficulty level is very important to produce the good test items.

b. Discriminating power

The discriminating power of a test item is an index that shows its ability to differentiate between pupils who achieved well (the upper group) and those who have achieved poorly (the lower group).41 The tests that do not have discriminating power will not yield the proper description of the student’s ability.

According to J. Stanley Ahmann in his book Evaluating Pupil Growth of Tests and Measurement the maximum size of the index is +1.00 and the minimum size is -1.00. any negative value means that the test item discriminates-to some

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degree-in the wrong direction. Positive values show that the test item discriminates in the desired direction, even though it may not be completely satisfactory.

c. The effectiveness of distracters

The effectiveness distracter is a choice that can distract the doer of a test in choosing the correct answer. The distracters are usually found on the multiple choice item. One important aspect affecting the difficulty of multiple choice test items is the quality of distracter, in fact, might not be distracting at all, all therefore serve no purpose.42 A good distracter will attract more the lower group of the students than the upper group. On the contrary, a poor or weak distracter will not be selected by the lower group.

According to Harold S. Madsen, there are three common causes of the week distracters first, sometimes an item that was drilled heavily in class-an item that almost everyone has mastered. Therefore, the answer is obvious; the distracters cannot “distract. Second, sometimes a well-recognized pair is used (this/these, is/are, etc.) even though not everyone has control of these yet, students know that one of the two is right answer; no other choices seems likely. Here we need to choose another test format. And the third, the use of obviously impossible distracters, for example “did he do the work?” a. Yes, he did. B. Birds eat worms C. Trains can’t fly.43

Based on some definitions above, the writer can conclude that In a good test item, the distracter must be functioned effectively, if the distracter are not functioned, they should be rewritten or discarded. In the writer’s opinion the effectiveness of distracters in a good test item, the distracter must be functioned effectively, if the distracter are not functioned, they should be rewritten or discarded.

42

Kathleen M. Bailey, Learning about Language Assessment, (Boston: ITP an International Thomson Publishing Company, 1988), p. 134

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CHAPTER III

THE PROFILE OF SMP NEGERI 1 CIPUTAT

A. SCHOOL PROFILE

School name : SMP Negeri 1 Ciputat

NSS : 201280310001

Address : Jl. Cireundeu Raya No. 2 Ciputat

Kab. Tangerang – Banten Telp. (021) 7401084

School status : State school

Accredits : Terakreditasi A

Year established : 1974

Field Owner : Government

Field wide : 4.850 m2/ SK Governor

Building status :

a. Field licensee : -

b. Total of field wide : 2.128 m2

Headmaster name : Drs. H. Kuswanda, M. Pd. Previous education : Strata Dua (S2)

Year of Position : 8 tahun

School accreditation level : 92,30

B. General information about SMPN 1 CIPUTAT

SMPN 1 Ciputat is started to be established since Januari 2, 1974 based on the control of SMP 48 Jakarta which located on Madrasah Nurul Falah which has 2 classes. In 1975 this school starts to have their new building in swadaya dan swadana Desa Cireundeu.

The school’s name has been changed many times, in 1975- 1979 the name was SMP 48 filial Jakarta, 1979 the name was SMP Negeri Cileduk and also in

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this year is changed again become SMP Negeri Cireundeu. In 1999 the name is changed become SMP Negeri 1 Ciputat.

After that since July 5, 2004 based on the policy of Dirjen Dikdasmen Depdiknas No. 1147A/C3/SK/2004 SMP Negeri 1 Ciputat got the predicate Sekolah Standar Nasional (SSN). First, this predicate motivate either the students or the teacher to try to create the school based on its function, that is as the central of the advance of academic mobility, ”etika dan estetika” through the development of facilities and non facilities like building rehabilitation and the formed of Moving Class. Second, creating the good condition to improve the teaching learning process and improving the teacher’s capability by CTL, KBK dan KTSP

C. Students general information

Table 3.1

The students general information Total of students Mutation

Out In Level

grade

Total

classes M F Total

M F M F

Total

Entire total

VII 9 182 165 347 347

VIII 10 205 186 391 391

IX 10 191 202 393 393

Jumlah 29 578 553 1131 1131

D. The general information of teachers and administration employee Table 3.2

The general information of teachers and administration employee

Total teachers Employee

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7

49 14 5 5 2 4

Note:

PNS : ‘Pegawai Negeri Sipil ‘ GTT : ‘Guru Tidak Tetap (Honorer)’ GBS : ‘Guru Bantu Sekolah’

PTT : ‘Pegawai Tidak Tetap (Honorer)’ PSR : ‘Pesuruh’

STP : ‘Satpam’

E. The headmaster of SMPN 1 Ciputat from era to era : Table 3.3

The headmaster of SMPN 1 Ciputat from era o era

1. Drs. H. Munadjat Indria 1974 - 1989 2. Drs. Dadang Suyatna, BA 1989 - 1997 3. PYMT Drs. Dadang Suyatna, BA 1997 - 1998

4. H. Soemarmo, BA 1998 - 2001

5. Drs. H. Nurhadi, MM 2001 - 2006 6. Drs. H. Kuswanda, M.Pd 2006 - now

F. The building facility:

1. Learning class, SMP Negeri 1 Ciputat has 30 classes consisting of two floors.

2. Laboratory, SMP Negeri 1 Ciputat has 3 laboratories consisting of: a. Science laboratory, It was built since 2004. It is still in the process of

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place for students doing practice either in teaching learning process or extra curricular

b. Language laboratory, SMP Negeri 1 Ciputat has language labolatory with the 45 set audio equipment. It is used either in teaching learning process or in extra foreign language learning.

c. Computer laboratory, SMP Negeri 1 Ciputat use an air conditioner room as the computer laboratory. There are 40 computers that is connected in one net, and a LCD that is connected to internet

3. Sport Facility, SMP Negeri 1 Ciputat has many sport facilities, such as basket ball field, volley ball field, badminton field, and futsal field.

4. Mosque, SMP Negeri 1 Ciputat has a mosque, its name AT Taqwa mosque that is built based on school Swadaya in 1999

5. Auditorium, SMP Negeri 1 Ciputat has an Auditorium, it can shelter about 900 people. It is used for meeting, culture and art show, and etc.

G. VISSION,MISSION, AND THE PURPOSE OF SCHOOL

Vission: “UNGGUL DALAM PRESTASI, SOPAN SANTUN DALAM PRILAKU“

Mission:

1. Improving the development of “perangkat pembelajaran”: Syillabus and the lesson plan.

2. Improving the development of scoring system. 3. Improving the development of extra curriculum.

4. Improving the development of professionalisme and competence of teacher and administration

5. Improving monitoring and evaluating to teacher and the staf of administration. 6. Improving the development in creating the active, creative, and fun teaching

learning process.

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8. Improving the development of scoring and implementation the type of measurement evaluation formative test, sumative test, final test, « Ujian Akhir Sekolah » to create the valid measurement.

9. Improving the development of materials and the source of materials. 10.Improving the development of “media pembelajaran”.

11.Improving the development of the quality of educational facility. 12.Improving the development of the good school condition.

13.Improving the efforts to develop “standar ketuntasan belajar minimum (SKBM)”.

14.Improving the efforts to develop the standar graduated.

15.Improving the development of implementation of school base management. 16. Improving the development of students’academical and non academical

achievement

17.Improving the development of creating “Standar Peningkatan Mutu (SPM)”. 18.Improving the development of using academical information by school

website.

19.19 Improving the development of a good link in funding in order to do “Subsidi Silang

20.Improving the development of good ‘Iman, Takwa, Salam, Salim, and Senyum’ (3S).

H. The purpose of SMP Negeri 1 Ciputat:

In 2010/2011, SMP Negeri 1 Ciputat Tangerang purposed to:

1. Being able to do the learning process based on the syllabus and lesson plan for all subject and the entire grade by having good criteria.

2. Being able to do the good system of scoring by using the tool, form, and model scoring that have validity and reliability treated

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5. Having the professional supervision and evaluation to the teacher’s capability in teaching and education administration.

6. Being able to do active, effective, and fun teaching learning process. 7. Being able to do models and strategy in learning that is appropriate with

national standard education.

8. Being able to do the types of evaluation and the valid measurement tool.

9. Being able to use the source and the material that appropriate with the students’ need.

10. Being able to use the media that appropriate with the students’ need. 11. Having the good quality facilitate that appropriate with the school need. 12. Having conducive condition for active, effective, and fun teaching

learning process.

13. Being able to do the good strategy to improve the ‘standar ketuntasan belajar minimum’ (SKBM).

14. Being able to do the good strategi to improve the standar graduated. 15. Being able to do the good school base management.

16. Having the good academical and non academical achievementt in the Tangerang regency.

17. Having ‘Standar Peningkatan Mutu’ (SPM).

18. Being able to use the effective and efficient network information by school website.

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CHAPTER IV

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND FINDINGS

A. Research Method 1. The data

The data will be used in this research are the students’ correct answer sheet which is taken from three classes that covers 116 students. Actually there are 10 classes as the population but the writer does random sampling and the data only taken from 3 classes such as 8.1, 8.2, and 8.3. Besides that, in this research paper the writer also use the data of the students’ answer sheet of English summative test in SMPN 1 Ciputat, the test script, the key answer, and the profile of SMP Negeri 1 Ciputat.

The method that will be used in this research is the quantitative method where the writer is going to analyze the statistic data. In interpreting the data the writer is going to try to find how many item of the English summative test of SMP Negeri 1 Ciputat which has the easy, moderate, and difficult index difficulty. After that the writer will find out wether the proportion of each item is balance each other such as for the easy, moderate and difficult item in a test.

In another side, the writer found that most of the score result of English summative test in eight grade of SMP Negeri 1 Ciputat is a high score. Because of this reason the writer wonders whether the English summative test really has a good balancing degree of index difficulty level or not. The writer will use quantitative method to analyze the index difficulty of English summative test by using a statistic formula. In this research paper the writer will use the formulation based on the steps of item analysis on the index difficulty which is formulated by Kenneth D. Hopskin that is written in his book “Educational and Psychological Measurement and Evaluation”. The