Writing objective items (Assessment of Learning 1)
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This document provides guidelines for writing objective test items that effectively evaluate students' knowledge and understanding. It recommends that test questions focus on important concepts, be at an appropriate difficulty level, and be written clearly. Items should not duplicate content verbatim from textbooks, rely on other items, have only one right answer, use negative wording when possible, and avoid clues to the correct response. The document also suggests reviewing items independently and including a mix of difficulty levels and topics grouped together.
Writing objective items (Assessment of Learning 1)
- 1. WRITING OBJECTIVE ITEMS GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS
- 2. 1. TEST FOR IMPORTANT FACTS AND KNOWLEDGE. • give tests which are more on developing the understanding on the material, rather on mere terms and unnecessary phrases
- 3. 2. TAILOR THE QUESTIONS TO FIT THE EXAMINEES’ AND ABILITY LEVEL AS WELL AS THE PURPOSE OF THE TEST.
- 4. 3. WRITE THE ITEM AS CLEARLY AS POSSIBLE. •the question as written should ensure that the examinee will understand the task he is to perform.
- 5. 4. AVOID LIFTING STATEMENTS VERBATIM FROM THE •TaEvXoiTd. using statements found in the textbook, rephrase as much as possible.
- 6. 5. AVOID USING INTERRELATED ITEMS. •item number 6 should not be dependent with item number 1.
- 7. 6. THERE SHOULD ONLY BE ONE •ChOaRviRnEg CmTo rAe NthSaWn oEnRe. correct answer encourages them to challenge the correctness of their wrong answers.
- 8. 7. AVOID NEGATIVE QUESTIONS WHENEVER •tPhiOs SchSaIBnLgeEs. the examinee’s normal thought processes, overlook the negative aspect and answer incorrectly even though he knows the right answer
- 9. 8. GET AN INDEPENDENT REVIEW •AOnF in dYeOpeUnRde nTt EreSvTie wI TmEakMesS . sure that the items are just the right difficulty, adequate in content sampling, has plausible distracters, adequate scoring key, and technically qualified test items.
- 10. 9. IT IS NOT NECESSARY TO HAVE AN EQUAL NUMBER •OTFh rReeE oSpPtOioNnsS, EacSc.ording to many researches, are as effective as four options.
- 11. 10. MAKE RESPONSES ROUGHLY EQUAL IN LENGTH.
- 12. 11. AVOID USING “ALL OF THE ABOVE,” AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE, AS AN ALTERNATIVE.
- 13. 12. DO NOT GIVE THE ANSWER AWAY •a pupil should get the answer only because he has learned the material.
- 14. 13. INSTRUCT STUDENTS TO SELECT THE “BEST ANSWER,” NOT THE CORRECT ANSWER. •using the “correct answer” invites arguments from students that their answers are correct as well.
- 15. 14. INCLUDE A FEW EASY ITEMS AT THE BEGINNING OF THE TEST. •this can help reduce test anxiety by including a few easy items to start the test.
- 16. 15. GROUP TEST ITEMS RELATED TO THE SAME TOPICS. •this allows students to think about each topic and section of the material rather than jump from topic to topic.
- 17. 16. THE ITEM SHOULD NOT PROVIDE CLUES TO ANSWER OF OTHER ITEMS IN THE TEST.
- 18. IRRELEVANT CLUES THAT LEAD TO THE RIGHT ANSWER 1. Having information in the stem of one item provide the answer to another item.
- 19. IRRELEVANT CLUES THAT LEAD TO THE RIGHT ANSWER 2. Lack of parallelism between stem and responses in the multiple-choice item.
- 20. IRRELEVANT CLUES THAT LEAD TO THE RIGHT ANSWER 3. The length of the correct response (in multiple choice items)
- 21. IRRELEVANT CLUES THAT LEAD TO THE RIGHT ANSWER 4. The position and pattern of the correct answer
- 22. IRRELEVANT CLUES THAT LEAD TO THE RIGHT ANSWER 5. Grammatical clues preceding a blank in the short answer or at the end of the stem in the multiple choice.
- 23. IRRELEVANT CLUES THAT LEAD TO THE RIGHT ANSWER 6. Using textbook language verbatim
- 24. IRRELEVANT CLUES THAT LEAD TO THE RIGHT ANSWER 7. Using technical jargon.
- 25. Thanks!
- 26. REFERENCES Calmorin, L. Measurement and Evaluation. 2004. 24K Printing Co., Inc.,Valenzuela City. Oriondo, L.L. (1994). Evaluating Educational Outcomes: Tests, Measurement and Evaluation. Manila: Rex Book Store. Bill Cerbin: UW‐La Crosse, Center for Advancing Teaching & Learning
- 27. Reporter: Arnie A. Valera
Editor's Notes
- #4: The vocabulary used should be commensurate or appropriate with the age and ability of the examinees. The type of the objective item format to be used should be based on the examinees.
- #5: Lack of clarity may be due to: incorrect use of words, awkward arrangement of words used and excessive verbiage (adding words which do not contribute to the meaning of the sentence/query)
- #6: This results to poor testing because some students would, next time, tend to memorize key terms found in the definition cited in the book, which is a poor study habit, rather that understanding what is written and explained. Omitting words could also make the statement ambiguous.
- #7: This may penalize the students to get wrong. This is unfair because some students may have known the necessary knowledge to answer the next questions but failed since they have gotten the first item wrong. INTERDEPENDENCY.
- #12: Instructors tend to make the right answer longer.
- #13: If the student can identify one alternative that is not true then it eliminates that alternative plus “all of the above,” making it easier to guess.
- #14: This may penalize the students to get wrong. This is unfair because some students may have known the necessary knowledge to answer the next questions but failed since they have gotten the first item wrong. INTERDEPENDENCY.
- #15: acknowledge that sometimes the response options have elements of accuracy, but there is a best answer for each item.
- #17: This allows students to think about each topic and section of the material rather than jump from topic to topic. Consider using labels or headings to indicate topics and then group related items under the headings.