Thursday, January 27, 2011

Modern Measurement – Chapter 8 : Constructing Items and Exercises for Tests



Importance of Test Items and Exercises to Measurement

-          Role of items in tests
o   We employ items and exercises as sole source to excite mental processes that evoke a measured response – the raw info we evaluate.

-          Difficulty in producing meritorious items and exercises
o   Requires good writing, which is difficult

-          Raw material needed for writing good test items

-          Current sources for item preparation

Theory of Test Item Development

Practicalities: Item Types and Their Classification

-          Examples
o   Multiple choice
o   True / false
o   Completion
o   Likert type statements
o   Essay
o   Performances

-          Types
o   Selected responses
o   Constructed responses

-          Definition of Test Items and Exercises

-          Anatomy of an item

-          Test Item Nomenclature

o   Avoid using word question, as this implies an interrogative statement , many items and exercises are not so worded.

o   Terms
§  Direction
§  Graphic
§  Text
§  Stem
§  Distractors
§  Correct Response

o   Testlets as Item Format
§  Several questions share common info

Multiple Choice Items and Sophisticated Thinking Skills


Characteristics of Meritorious Test Items and Exercises

-          Be congruent with key objectives or psychological constructs

-          Have clearly defined key objectives or psychological constructs

-          Contribute minimally to error in measurement

-          Be presented in a format that is suitable to test goals

-          Meet specified technical specifications

-          Be well written and follow prescribed editorial standards

-          Satisfy ethical and legal concerns

Techniques for Item Writing

-          Considerations in Item Development

-          Consolidated approach to test development

-          Test content specifications

-          Congruence of item or exercise to the specification

-          More consideration for items

-          Case against Lists of Dos and Don't's

Automatic Generation of Test Items and Exercises

-          What is item generation
-          Linguistic roots of item generation






GW Comments / Questions :
-          How different is it preparing a test item vs a questionnaire question

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