The following material has been adapted from "Assessment Handbook: A Guide for Developing Assessment Programs in Illinois Schools." Illinois State Board of Education, 1995. The first caution is that since each type of test has strengths and weaknesses, teachers have to be careful to use the question formats that do the best job of measuring the skills and knowledge they want to evaluate. A good testing program for a classroom will use a mixture of the formats listed below as well as performance based assessments.

Multiple-Choice Questions

The multiple-choice item consists of two parts:
(a) the stem, which identifies the question or problem, and
(b) the response alternatives. Students are asked to select the one alternative that best completes the statement or answers the questions.

Advantages in using multiple-choice items

Multiple-choice items can provide:

• versatility in measuring all levels of cognitive ability
  
• wide sampling of content or learning outcomes in a short amount of time
  
• measurement of sophisticated thinking skills
  
• a reduced guessing factor when compared to true-false items
  
• different response alternatives which can provide diagnostic feedback
  
• highly reliable test scores
  
• scoring efficiency and accuracy

Limitations in using multiple-choice items

Multiple-choice items:

• only measure the outcome of a thought process, not the steps along the way
  
• are difficult and time consuming to construct
  
• lead an instructor to favor simple recall of facts
  
• place a high degree of dependence on the student's reading ability and the instructor's writing ability

Suggestions for writing multiple-choice test items

The stem

1) When possible, state the stem as a direct question rather than as an incomplete statement.

Undesirable: The process of adding light and shadows to a drawing is called
Desirable: Which item describes the process of adding light and shadows to a drawing?

2) Present a definite, explicit and singular question or problem in the stem.

Undesirable: When dancers perform for their own pleasure it is called...
Desirable: Which dance is performed primarily to please the dancers themselves?

3) Eliminate excessive verbiage or irrelevant information from the stem.

Undesirable: Gesture is essential for the actor's portrayal of a character, it should be...
Desirable: In dramatic performance, gestures should be

4) Include in the stem any word(s) that might otherwise be repeated in each alternative.

Undesirable: Movement becomes dance when it is
a. organized and performed with partners
b. organized and performed in space and time
Desirable: Movement becomes dance when it is organized and performed
a. with partners
b. in space and time

5) Use negatively stated stems sparingly. When used, underline and/or capitalize the negative word.

Undesirable: The modern American composer, George Gershwin did not write
Desirable: The modern American composer, George Gershwin did NOT write

Item alternatives

6) Make all alternatives plausible and attractive to the less knowledgeable or skillful student.

Which term is used to provide directions regarding dynamics?

Undesirable:	Desirable:
a. Forte*	a. Forte*
b. Rubato	b. Rubato
c. Lagato	c. Lagato
d. Flute	d. Pizzicato

7. Make the alternatives grammatically parallel with each other, and consistent with the stem.

Which statement best describes pop art?

Undesirable: a. color and form in art b. presenting optical illusions to the viewer c. Artists reacted against realistic forms of painting. d. everyday objects as symbols of mass culture*

Desirable: a. Artists experimented with color and form in their work. b. Artists presented optical illusions to the viewer. c. Artists reacted against realistic forms of painting. d. Artists painted everyday objects as symbols of mass culture*

8. Make the alternatives mutually exclusive.

Shakespeare lived from

Undesirable:	Desirable:
a. 406-456 B.C.	a. 406-456 B.C.
b. 1564-1616*	b. 1564-1616*
c. 1600-1652	c. 1620-1677
d. 1764-1816	d. 1764-1816

10. If you have decided to use a traditional single correct answer format, be sure there is only one correct or best answer.

The two most desired characteristics in a classroom test are validity and

Undesirable: a. precision b. reliability* c. objectivity d. consistency

Desirable: a. precision b. reliability* c. objectivity d. standardization

11. Make alternatives approximately equal in length.

Which costume color might best symbolize the villain?

Undesirable: a. Delicate, rose-like pink b. Black* c. Orange d. Sky blue with a brocade motif of fleur-de-lis

Desirable: a. Pink b. Black* c. Orange d. Blue

12. Avoid irrelevant clues such as grammatical structure, well known verbal associations or connections between stem and answer.

13. Use at least four alternatives for each item to lower the probability of getting the item correct by guessing.

14. Randomly distribute the correct response among the alternative positions throughout the test having approximately the same proportion of alternatives a, b, c, d and e as the correct response.

15. Use the alternatives "none of the above" and "all of the above" sparingly. When used, such alternatives should occasionally be used as the correct response.

Teachers > Assessment > Forced Answer > True-False Test Items

A true-false item can be written in one of three forms: simple, complex, or compound. Answers can consist of only two choices (simple), more than two choices (complex), or two choices plus a conditional completion response (compound).

Sample true-false item:

• simple
  Conflict is essential in a play        True     False
• complex
  Conflict is essential in a play        True     False     Opinion
• compound
  Conflict is essential in a play        True     False
  If this statement is true, what makes it true?

Advantages in using true-false items

True-false items can provide:

• the widest sampling of content or objects per unit of testing time
  
• scoring efficiency and accuracy
  
• versatility in measuring all levels of cognitive ability
  
• highly reliable test scores
  
• an objective measurement of student achievement or ability

Limitations of using true-false items

True-false items:

• incorporate an extremely high guessing factor
  
• can often lead an instructor to write ambiguous statements due to the difficulty of writing statements which are unequivocally true or false
  
• do not discriminate between students of varying ability as well as other item types
  
• can often lead an instructor to favor testing of trivial knowledge

The compound questions can allow for more sophisticated questioning of understanding, but the fill-in-the blank portion of the question takes more time and leads to scoring ambiguities.

Suggestions for writing true-false test items

1. Base true-false items upon statements that are absolutely true or false, without qualifications or exceptions.

Undesirable: Costumes and setting tell an audience the time period represented in a play.

Desirable: Costumes and setting may be used to tell the audience the time period represented in a play.

2. Express the item statement as simply and as clearly as possible.

Undesirable: In presenting dramatic improvisations it is important to have props and some costumes and to know the whole story.

Desirable: In presenting dramatic improvisations the actors must know the characters and how the story begins.

3. Express a simple idea in each test item.

Undesirable: Twentieth Century American art included pop art and abstract expressionism.

Desirable: Abstract expressionism is an American painting style that stresses color and form for their own sake and has few identifiable objects.

4. Include enough background information and qualifications so that the ability to respond correctly to the item does not depend on some special, uncommon knowledge.

Undesirable: The second principle of education is that the individual gathers knowledge.

Desirable: According to John Dewey, the second principle of education is that the individual gathers knowledge.

5. Avoid lifting statements from the text, lecture or other materials so that memory alone will not permit a correct answer.

Undesirable: A dramatic text must, of necessity, mean different things to different individuals at any given moment. (Esslin)

Desirable: WAITING FOR GODOT will have a different meaning for an inmate in a prison than for a citizen on the street.

6. Avoid using negatively stated item statements.

Undesirable: Lighting does not suggest the time of day.

Desirable: Lighting does suggest the time of day.

7. Avoid the use of unfamiliar vocabulary.

Undesirable: Rhombus and trapezoid shapes might be the subject of Op Art.

Desirable: Geometric and other abstract shapes might be the subject of OP Art.

8. Avoid the use of specific determiners which would permit a test-wise but unprepared student to respond correctly. Specific determiners refer to sweeping terms like "all," "always," "none," "never," "impossible," inevitable," etc.. Statements including such terms are likely to be false. On the other hand, statements using qualifying determiners such as "usually," "sometimes," "often," etc., are likely to be true. When statements do require the use of specific determiners, make sure they appear in both true and false items.

9. False items tend to discriminate more highly that true items. Therefore, use more false items than true items (but no more that 15% additional false items.)

Teachers > Assessment > Forced Answer > Matching Test Items

In general, matching items consist of a column of stimuli presented on the left side of the exam page and a column of responses placed on the right side of the page. Students are required to match the response associated with a given stimulus.

Sample matching test item

Directions: On the line to the left of each painting style, write the letter of the statement that best explains the style. There is one more definition than painting styles.

Painting Styles	Explanation
___ 1. Abstract expressionism	a. style which combines naturally unrelated events, images, objects, or situations in a dreamlike scene
___ 2. Surrealism	b. style which makes geometric shapes of color that interact subtly with the backgrounds of similar intensities
___ 3. Pop art	c. style in which the artists use a spontaneous method for creating art
	d. style that depicts objects or scenes from everyday life and employs techniques of commercial art

Advantages in using matching items

Matching items:

• require short periods of reading and response time, allowing you to cover more content
  
• provide objective measurement of student knowledge
  
• provide highly reliable test scores
  
• provide scoring efficiency and accuracy

Limitations in using matching items

Matching items:

• have difficulty measuring learning objectives requiring more than simple recall of information
  
• are difficult to construct due to the problem of selecting a common set of stimuli and responses

Suggestions for writing matching test items

1. Include directions which clearly state the basis for matching the stimuli with the responses. Explain whether or not a response can be used more than once and indicate where to write the answer.

Undesirable Directions: Match the following.

Desirable Directions: On the line to the left of each identifying location and characteristics in Column I, write the letter of the country in Column II that is best defined. Each country in Column II may be used more than once

2. Use only homogeneous material in matching items.

Undesirable Directions: Match the following

Desirable Directions: On the line to the left of each art style in Column I, write the letter of a representative artist from Column II. Use each name only once.

3. Arrange the list of responses in some systematic order if possible (e.g. chronological, alphabetical)

4. Avoid grammatical or other clues to the correct response, e.g. avoid sentence completion due to grammatical clues.

5. Keep matching items brief, limiting the list of stimuli to under 10.

6. Include more responses than stimuli to help prevent answering through the process of elimination.

7. When possible, reduce the amount of reading time by including only short phrases or single words in the response list.

Teachers > Assessment > Forced Answer > Completion Test Items

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.