5 General Things that Impede Writing Good Test Items

1. 5 General Things that Impede Writing Good Test Items • Unclear directions • Ambiguous statements • Unintended clues • Complicated syntax • Difficult vocabulary

2. Unclear Directions • Assume that test takers are novices. • Explain if a student can use the same answer more than once. • Writing test directions for early elementary students can be difficult. • Directions should not be an after thought

3. Ambiguous Statements • Students may come up with an incorrect answer because of the ambiguity, even if they know the correct answer. • An ambiguous True-False item: • There is substantial research evidence that many teachers become hostile toward students because of their low self-concepts. • Teacher may fail to recognize the problem because to them, it may be obvious.

4. Unintended Clues • Teacher inadvertently tosses in clues that permit students to come up with the correct answer. • Example: • The annual award received by a musical recording artist for outstandingly successful recordings is called a: A. Oscar B. Emmy C. Obie D. Grammy

5. Complicated Syntax • Items are written that incorporate convoluted syntax. • Example of a True-False item: • Having slain Hector, the feared Trojan warrior, Achilles, who was considered by all to be the most valiant of the Greeks, was destined to perish because of a flaw which, incurred while being immersed in the River Styx as an infant, he possessed. • A teacher who writes a question like this needs a workshop in “lean sentence structure.”

6. Difficult Vocabulary • Students should not have to use a copy of the Oxford English Dictionary to take the test! • Make the test so that all the takers can understand the vocabulary, not only the ones that come from highly verbal families.

7. Binary-Choice Items • Provides only two choices and asks students to select one. • True-False items are the most common. • By chance alone, a student who knows nothing at all can get 50% right. • Some teachers have tried to modify it by asking test takers to correct a false statement.

8. Multiple Binary-Choice Items • A cluster of items is presented, requiring a binary response to each in the cluster. • Example: • Imagine that a dozen of your advanced students completed a 10 item Right-Wrong quiz and earned the following number-correct scores: 5,6,7,7,7,7,8,8,8,8,9,10 • Now, indicate whether each of the following two statements is true of false: • The range of the students’ scores is 5.0. • The mode for the set of scores is 8.0.

9. Binary-Choice Item Writing Guidelines • Conceptualize Binary-Choice items in pairs, not singly. • Phrase the item so that a superficial analysis by the student suggests a wrong answer. • Rarely use negative statements, and never use double negatives. • Don’t include two concepts in the same statement. • Have an approximately equal number of items representing the two categories being tested. • Keep similar the length of items representing both categories being tested.

10. Matching Items • Consists of two lists of words or phrases that require the student to match an item from the first list to an item in the second list. • Imperfect match- more choices in column B than in column A so that there are more choices of answers than questions. • Increases the effectiveness

11. Matching Item Writing Guidelines • Use relatively brief lists, and place shorter words or phrases at the right. • Employ homogeneous lists in a matching item. • Include more responses than premises. • List the responses in a logical order. • Describe the basis for matching and the number of times a response may be used. • If possible, place all premises and responses for a matching item on the same page.

12. Multiple Choice Items • Most popular type of question. • Stem- question or incomplete statement • Alternatives- possible answers • Distractors- wrong answers

13. Multiple Choice Item Writing Guidelines • The stem should contain a self-contained question or problem. • The stem should contain as much of the item’s content as possible • If possible, avoid negatively stated stems. • Be sure that only one alternative represents the correct or best answer. • Each alternative should be grammatically consistent with the item’s stem.

14. Multiple Choice Item Writing Guidelines Continued • Avoid creating alternatives whose relative length provides an unintended clue. • Make all alternatives plausible. • Randomly use each alternative position for correct answers in approximately equal numbers. • Unless important, avoid alternatives such as “none of the above” or “all of the above.”