We investigated how item formats influence test takers' response tendencies under uncertainty. Adult participants solved content-equivalent math items in three formats: multiple-selection multiple-choice, grid with forced-choice (true-false) options, and grid with non-forced-choice options. Participants showed a greater tendency to commit (rather…

The current study investigated how item formats and their inherent affordances influence test-takers' cognition under uncertainty. Adult participants solved content-equivalent math items in multiple-selection multiple-choice and four alternative grid formats. The results indicated that participants' affirmative response tendency (i.e., judge the…

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…

Multiple true-false (MTF) items are a widely used supplement to the commonly used single-best answer (Type A) multiple choice format. However, an optimal scoring algorithm for MTF items has not yet been established, as existing studies yielded conflicting results. Therefore, this study analyzes two questions: What is the optimal scoring algorithm…

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…

This study aimed to discover subject-specific science teachers' views of alternative assessment. The questionnaire by Okur (2008) was adapted and deployed for data collection. The sample consisted of 80 subject-specific science teachers drawn from the cities of Trabzon, Rize and Erzurum in Turkey. In analyzing data, descriptive analysis was…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the influence of constructivism on assessment approach, where the type of question (true or false, multiple-choice, calculation or essay) is used productively. Although the student's approach to learning and the teacher's approach to teaching are concepts that have been widely researched, few…

This study investigated the effects of two different true-false questions on memory awareness and long-term retention of knowledge. Participants took four subsequent knowledge tests on curriculum learning material that they studied at different retention intervals prior to the start of this study (i.e. prior to the first test). At the first and…

This work starts with a brief overview of education in developing countries, to contextualise the use of the guidelines. Although this document is intended to be a practical tool, it is necessary to include some theoretical analysis of the concept of online assessment. This is given in Sections 3 and 4, together with the identification and…

It was hypothesized that matching test formats would reduce test anxiety. Three experiments were conducted in which high school juniors and seniors took parallel matching and multiple-choice tests covering topics of prior knowledge or recently learned information. Results showed that matching tests were superior to multiple choice formats.…

Complex multiple choice (CMC) items are frequently used to test knowledge about repetitive information. In two independent comparisons, performance on the CMC items surpassed that of the multiple true-false clusters. Data indicate that performance on CMC items is inflated, and distractors on CMC items fail to prevent guessing. (Author/PN)

Do choice-type tests (multiple-choice, true-false, etc.) measure the same abilities or traits as free response (essay, recall, completion, etc.) tests? A large number of studies conducted with several different methodologies and spanning a long period of time have addressed this question. In this review, attention will be focused almost…

Use of latent class models to examine strategies that examinees (92 college students) use for a specific task is illustrated, via a multiple-choice test of spatial ability. Under an answer-until-correct scoring procedure, models representing an improvement over simplistic random guessing are proposed. (SLD)

A taxonomy of 43 rules for writing multiple-choice test items is presented, based on a consensus of 46 textbooks. These guidelines are presented as complete and authoritative, with solid consensus apparent for 33 of the rules. Four rules lack consensus, and 5 rules were cited fewer than 10 times. (SLD)

An alternate-choice test item is a simple declarative sentence, one portion of which is given with two different wordings. For example, "Foundations like Ford and Carnegie tend to be (1) eager (2) hesitant to support innovative solutions to educational problems." The examinee's task is to choose the alternative that makes the sentence…