Gilman and Ferry have shown that when the student's score on a multiple choice test is the total number of responses necessary to get all items correct, substantial increases in reliability can occur. In contrast, similar procedures giving partial credit on multiple choice items have resulted in relatively small gains in reliability. The analysis…

Percentile scores for Vancouver students in grades 9, 10, 11 and 12 on the AAHPER Cooperative Physical Education Tests are presented. Two of the six forms of the tests were used in these administrations. Every form consists of 60 multiple-choice questions to be completed in 40 minutes. A single score, based on the number of questions answered…

Violations of four selected principles of writing multiple-choice items were introduced into an undergraduate religion course mid-term examination. Three of the flaws significantly increased test difficulty. KR-sub-20 values were lower for all of the tests containing the flawed items than for the "good" versions of the items but significantly so…

Gibb (1964) defined test-wiseness (TW) as the ability to respond advantageously to item clues in a multiple-choice setting and therefore to obtain credit without knowledge of the subject matter being tested. This study investigated TW in a sample of 6th grade pupils. A test instrument was developed utilizing fictitious material similar to the…

Retroactive inhibition, a loss of memory due to learning other materials between recall and exposure to the original materials, was investigated in relation to prose. Two variables were manipulated in the study: similarity of interpolated stories (dissimilar or similar), and the response requirements (completion-recall or multiple-choice). The 190…

The results of a series of factor analyses of a new test of literal comprehension using a multiple-choice cloze format are summarized. These analyses were conducted in the validation of a test design to measure for the most part a factor of literal comprehension independent of IQ and inferential reading processes, yet marked by certain related…

According to conventional wisdom, a test taker should not change his/her first response to a multiple-choice, although empirical evidence has consistently supported such changes. Quizzes for masters level students in educational measurement and evaluation showed increments due to answer changing. Low anxious students tended to make more changes…

The reading comprehension items for the Nelson Reading Skills Test, a revision of a widely used standardized reading test, were administered to several hundred fourth- and sixth-grade students in order to determine whether the student's ability to answer correctly actually depended on his comprehension of the accompanying passage. All the…

To date a theoretical basis has not been developed for determining changes in reliability when score points from random guessing are eliminated and those from non-randon guessing are retained. This paper presents a derivation of an expression for the reliability coefficient which displays the effect of deleting score components due to random…

Investigated the instructional effects of externally controlled pacing of multiple choice questions on the achievement of students when tested by means of projected slides. (Author)

Reviews techniques to consider when writing multiple-choice objective test items. (SL)

Two approaches for determining the optimal number of choices for a test item, presently in the literature, are compared with two new approaches. (Author)

Students know more than they think they know, so guessing gives better scores even when there's a penalty for errors. (JM)

This study compared the item difficulty, item discrimination, and test reliability of three forms of multiple-choice items: (1) one correct answer; (2) "none of the above" as a foil; and (3) "none of the above" as the correct answer. Twelve items in the three formats were administered in a college statistics examination. (BS)

To test further for efficacy of three-option achievement items, parallel three- and five-option item tests were distributed randomly to college students. Results showed no differences in mean item difficulty, mean discrimination or total test score, but a substantial reduction in time spent on three-option items. (Author/BS)