Background: Within undergraduate science courses, instructors often assess student thinking using closed-ended question formats, such as multiple-choice (MC) and multiple-true-false (MTF), where students provide answers with respect to predetermined response options. While MC and MTF questions both consist of a question stem followed by a series…

Writing multiple-choice test items to measure student learning in higher education is a challenge. Based on extensive scholarly research and experience, the author describes various item formats, offers guidelines for creating these items, and provides many examples of both good and bad test items. He also suggests some shortcuts for developing…

Does correctly answering a test question about a multiterm fact enhance memory for the entire fact? We explored that issue in 4 experiments. Subjects first studied Advanced Placement History or Biology facts. Half of those facts were then restudied, whereas the remainder were tested using "5 W" (i.e., "who, what, when, where",…

Two problems are investigated: (1) the fact that statistics from pretests sometimes vary widely from those for the actual test; (2) whether or not a correction factor should be applied for guessing. (DF)

THIS STUDY PROVIDES A PORTFOLIO OF SEVERAL THOUSAND FIELD-TESTED MULTIPLE CHOICE TEST ITEMS COORDINATED WITH THE CHAPTERS OF THE BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES CURRICULUM STUDY (BSCS) YELLOW VERSION TEXTBOOK. THE ITEMS WERE DEVELOPED BY A TEAM OF HIGH SCHOOL BIOLOGY TEACHERS AND WERE EVALUATED UNDER CLASSROOM CONDITIONS WITH GRADE 10 STUDENTS. A…

This concise guide to objective testing, prepared by the Centre for Studies in Science Education at the University of Leeds, is intended as a manual for those science teachers who wish to understand the scope and limitations of objective questions and to construct satisfactory test items for their own use. The first section discusses the nature of…

CONTAINED ARE QUESTIONS AND TESTS TO EVALUATE ACHIEVEMENT IN KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE THIRD LEVEL COURSE IN SCIENCE FOR THE HIGHER SCHOOL CERTIFICATE IN NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIA. THE QUESTIONS ARE BASED ON THE OFFICIAL SYLLABUS OF THE BOARD OF SENIOR SCHOOL STUDIES. THE QUESTIONS REFLECT THE LEVELS OF UNDERSTANDING AS DEVELOPED BY…

Describes the practical workup of a multiple choice examination system in electrical engineering. Discusses some of the pedagogical advantages obtained by statistical handling of the data. Provides some examples of items. (TW)

The Australian Science Item Bank consists of three volumes of multiple-choice questions. Book 1 contains questions on Physics and Astronomy. The questions are designed to be suitable for high school students (year 8 to year 12 in Australian schools). The questions are classified by the subject content of the question, the cognitive skills required…

The Australian Science Item Bank consists of three volumes of multiple-choice questions. Book 2 contains questions on Earth Sciences and Chemistry. The questions are designed to be suitable for high school students (year 8 to year 12 in Australian schools). The questions are classified by the subject content of the question, the cognitive skills…

The Australian Science Item Bank consists of three volumes of multiple-choice questions. Book 3 contains questions on the biological sciences. The questions are designed to be suitable for high school students (year 8 to year 12 in Australian schools). The questions are classified by the subject content of the question, the cognitive skills…

This handbook is designed to assist teachers in using the Science Item Bank to construct diagnostic tests and end-of-course achievement tests. The item bank consists of over 2,800 multiple-choice items, and teachers are encouraged to supplement this source of test items with other forms of test questions. Key answers to these questions are arrived…