The completion item requires the student to answer a question or to finish an incomplete statement by filling in a blank with the correct word or phrase. For example:

Neil Simon is a __________, Marshall Mason is a __________, Ming Chou Lee is a ___________.

Advantages in using completion items
Completion items

• can provide a wide sampling of content
  
• can efficiently measure lower levels of cognitive ability
  
• can minimize guessing as compared to multiple-choice or true-false items
  
• can usually provide a reliable measure of student achievement or ability

Limitations in using completion items
Completion items

• are difficult to construct so that the desired response is clearly indicated
  
• have difficulty measuring learning objectives requiring more than simple recall of information
  
• can often include more irrelevant clues than do other item types
  
• are more time consuming to score when compared to multiple-choice or true-false items
  
• are more difficult to score since more than one answer may have to be considered correct if the item was not properly prepared

Suggestions for writing completion test items
1. Omit only significant words from the statement.

2. Do not omit so many words from the statement the intended meaning is lost.

3. Avoid grammatical or other clues to the correct response.

4. Be sure there is only one correct response.

5. Make the blanks of equal length.

6. When possible, delete words at the end of the statement after the student has been presented a clearly defined problem.

7. Avoid lifting statements directly from the text, lecture or other sources.

8. Limit the required response to a single word or phrase.