Guidelines developed specifically for cases in which objectively scored written tests are to be used are described. When objective cognitive tests are properly built and used, they can serve four educationally important functions. These tests provide the instructor information on what a student can and cannot do. The instructor needs this…

Answer changes on tests are more likely to be made on items early in a group of questions, toward the end of a test, and on difficult items. The reasons for this student behavior are examined. (Editor/JD)

The author presents a formula for scoring true-false and multiple-choice questions which produces a score directly related to the number of incorrect alternatives the student is able to eliminate on each question.

This study examined the relationship between direct (essay) and indirect (objective) assessment of writing skills using 320 college students in remedial courses as subjects. Correlations and results of factor analysis are discussed. (MT)

Describes the structured overview, a chart that helps students associate known terms with new terms. Discusses a method of introducing the structured overview. The author then presents two exercises that reinforce learning of vocabulary and the relationship between key concepts: the scrambled overview and label-object matching. More advanced…

The objective of this study was to determine the relationships between different types of objective test formats: Fill in the Blanks; Matching; Multiple Choice; and True False. (Author)

Presents expert advice on how to write effective tests and offers suggestions for teaching children how to take tests. (JMB)

Compares methods of scoring multiple-choice tests and discusses right-number scoring, guessing, and omitted items. Test instructions and answer changing are addressed, and attempts to weight test items are reviewed. It is concluded that, since innovations in test scoring are not well-established, the number right method is most appropriate. (RAO)

A correlation matrix of right and wrong answers to Gorham's Proverbs Test was reordered into a Simplex pattern which clearly supported the possibility of a developmental sequence. (JC)

An experimental study of 170 undergraduate biology students at a suburban community college revealed that the final evaluation of these students was based more heavily on verbal and written aspects of biology than on practical application of concepts. (IAH)

Suggests methods for developing higher level objective test questions. Taxonomies that define learning outcomes are discussed; and examples for various test types are presented, including multiple correct answers; more complex forms, including classification and multiple true-false; relations and correlates; and interpretive exercises. (LRW)

In the research of environmental impact assessment (EIA), the problem of weight distribution for a set of parameters has not yet been properly solved. Presents an approach of objective weighting by using a procedure of Pij principal component-factor analysis (Pij PCFA), which suits specifically those parameters measured directly by physical…

This study investigated the generality of the negative suggestion effect in objective tests. College students read text passages and took objective tests. Later, they rated statements' validity, including statements from the initial test. Students were more likely to consider objectively false statements true if they had appeared on the earlier…

Pigeons' choice in concurrent chains can adapt to rapidly changing contingencies. Grace, Bragason, and McLean (2003) found that relative initial-link response rate was sensitive to the immediacy ratio in the current session when one of the terminal-link fixed-interval schedules was changed daily according to a pseudorandom binary sequence (e.g.,…