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…

This study examined the reliability and difficult indices of Multiple Choice (MC) and True or False (TF) types of objective test items in a Mathematics Achievement Test (MAT). The instruments used were two variants- 50-items Mathematics achievement test based on the multiple choice and true or false test formats. A total of five hundred (500)…

A model of examinee behavior was used to generate hypotheses about the operation of true-false scores. Confirmation of hypotheses supported the contention that true-false scores contain an error component that makes these tests less reliable than multiple-choice tests. Examinee response style may invalidate a total true-false score. (Author/DWH)

Indices were constructed to measure individual differences in the effects of the automated testing format and repeated testing on Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) responses. Two types of instability measures were studied within a data set from the responses of 150 undergraduate students who took a computer-administered and…

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…

Two-option multiple-choice vocabulary test items are compared with comparably written true-false test items. Results from a study with 111 high school students suggest that multiple-choice items provide a significantly more reliable measure than the true-false format. (SLD)

Seventeen educational measurement textbooks were reviewed to analyze current perceptions regarding true-false achievement testing. A synthesis of the rules for item writing is presented, and the purported advantages and disadvantages of the true-false format derived from those texts are reviewed. (TJH)

Despite the popularity of both multiple-choice (MC) and true-false (TF) items, most investigations comparing the two formats have done so to determine the optimum number of choices to be given to students within a given time period. The purpose of this investigation was to compare the reliabilities and the validities of both formats when the items…

Reports that no significant difference in reliability appeared between a heterogeneous and a homogeneous form of the same general science matching-item test administered to 316 sixth-grade students but that scores on the heterogeneous form of the test were higher, independent of the examinee's sex or intelligence. (SB)

A 100-item five-choice multiple choice (MC) biology final exam was converted to multiple choice true-false (MTF) form to yield two content-parallel test forms comprised of the two item types. Students found the MTF items easier and preferred MTF over MC; the MTF subtests were more reliable. (Author/GK)

Coded, as opposed to free response items, in a multiple choice physiology test had a cueing effect which raised students' scores, especially for lower achievers. Reliability of coded items was also lower. Item format and scoring method had an effect on test results. (GDC)

Four threats to validity of an alternative objective test item format, the multiple-mark format, were studied with data from a state-mandated assessment with about 30,000 students at each of three grade levels. Reliability and validity coefficients show that the format has promise as an objective format that can be aligned with new curriculum…

The third administration of the California State University and Colleges Freshman English Equivalency Examination, a test consisting of an objective examination graded by the Educational Testing Service and an essay examination scored by California State University and College faculty, is analyzed in this report. After a short preface, the first…

The fourth administration of the California State University and Colleges Freshman English Equivalency Examination, a test consisting of an objective examination graded by the Educational Testing Service and an essay examination scored by California State University and College faculty, is analyzed in this report. After a short index of previous…

The fifth administration of the California State University and Colleges Freshman English Equivalency Examination, a test consisting of an objective examination graded by the Educational Testing Service and an essay examination scored by California State University and College faculty, is analyzed in this report. After a short index of previous…