Selection of

Appropriate
Item Format
 GUIDELINES IN
TEST CONSTRUCTION
Prof. REBY M. BASKIAL
 The Objective Test Item

 Recall Types  Recognition Types

1. Simple Recall Type 1. True-False or Alternative-
Response Type
2. Completion Type
2. Yes-No Type
3. Enumeration Type
3. Multiple-Response Type
4. Identification Type
4. Best Answer Type
5. Matching Type
 SIMPLE RECALL/SHORT-ANSWER

 Consists of questions calling for a single word or

expression as an answer.

 Items usually begin with Who, Where, When, and

What.

 Score is number of correct answers.

 COMPLETION TYPE
 Only important words or phrases should be omitted to avoid
confusion.

 Blanks should be of equal lengths.

 The blank as much as possible is placed near or at the end of

the sentence.

 Articles a, an, and the should not be provided before the

omitted word or phrase to avoid clues for answers.

 Score is number of correct answers.

Advantages & Limitation of Simple Recall & Completion
Type

1. Easy to construct

2. Since pupils supply the answer, possibility of

guessing is reduced.

3. Not suitable for measuring complex learning

outcomes.
 Sample Test Item
Simple Recall
What is the name of the man who invented the
steamboat? __________
What measure of central tendency is greatly
affected by extreme values? __________

Completion Type
The name of the man who invented the
steamboat is __________.
The measure of central tendency that is greatly
affected by extreme values is __________.
 Uses of Simple Recall & Completion
Type Test Item
1. Knowledge of terminology
Ex. Lines on a weather map that join points of the same
barometric pressure are called ________ .
A straight line that runs from one side of a circle is called
________ .
2. Knowledge of specific facts
Ex. A member of the Philippine senate is elected to a term of
________ years.
The value of pi is ________ .
The product of two negative integers is ________.
3. Knowledge of principles
Ex. If the temperature of a gas is held constant while the pressure
applied to it is increased, what will happen to its volume?
________
The absolute value of a number is always ________.
The value of distance is always ________.
The null hypothesis is rejected if the p-value is ______ the level
4. Knowledge of method or procedure
Ex. What device is used to detect whether an electric
charge is positive or negative? ________
To convert feet to inches we ________ the number by
12.
5. Simple Interpretation of data
Ex. How many syllables are there in the word
Philippines? ________
In the number 369, what value does 3 represent?
________
4”
In the triangle below, what is the number of
degrees in each angle? ________
4”
4”
 Suggestions for Constructing SHORT-
ANSWER and COMPLETION Type Test Item

1. Word the item so that the required answer is both

brief and specific.
Poor: An animal that eats the flesh of the animals is
________.
Better: An animal that eats the flesh of the animals is
classified as ________.
The difference between the largest value and the
smallest value is _______ .
The measure of variability which is The difference
between the largest value and the smallest value is
_______
2. Do not take statements directly from textbooks.

Poor: Chlorine is a ________.

Better: Chlorine belongs to a group of elements that combine with

metals to form salt. It is therefore called a ________.
3. A direct question is more desirable than an
incomplete statement.
Poor: John Glenn made his first orbital flight around the
earth in ________.
Better: When did John Glenn make his first orbital flight
around the earth? ________

Best: In what year did John Glenn make his first orbital
flight around the earth? ________
4. If the answer is to be expressed in numerical units,
indicate the type of answer wanted.
Poor: If oranges weigh 5 2/3 oz. each, how much
will a dozen oranges weigh? ________

Better: If oranges weigh 5 2/3 oz. each, how much

will a dozen oranges weigh?
____lb. ____ oz.
5. Blanks for answers should be equal in length and in a column to the right of
the question.

Poor:
What is the part of speech that connect words,
clauses, and sentences? (conjunction)

What is the part of speech that declares, asserts, or

predicts something? (verb)

Better:
What is the part of speech that connect words,
clauses, and sentences? (conjunction)

What is the part of speech that declares, asserts,

or predicts something? (verb)
6. When completion items are used, do not include
too many blanks.
Poor:
_______ animals that are born _______ and _______
their young are called _______.

Better:
Warm-blooded animals that are born alive and
suckle their young are called _______.
 True-False or Alternative- Response Items

- Consists of a declarative statement that the

pupil is asked to mark true or false, right or wrong,
correct or incorrect, yes or no, fact or opinion,
agree or disagree, and the like.
 Use of True-False Items

- Measures the ability to identify the

correctness of statements of fact, definitions
of terms, statements of principles, and the
like.
 Advantages & Limitations of
True-False Test Item

 Ease of Construction

 A wide sampling of course material can be obtained.

 The learning outcomes measured is largely limited to

knowledge area (with the exception of distinguishing fact
and opinion and identifying cause-and-effect relationships.

 Susceptible to guessing.
 Suggestions for Constructing
True-False Items

1. The desired method of marking true or false should be

clearly explained before students begin the test.

Direction: Put a G in the space next to the items you believe are
good true-false items and a P next to the items you feel
are poor (10 pts.)
2. Construct statements that are definitely true or definitely
false , without additional qualifications. If opinion is used,
attribute it
to some source.

Poor:
T F The President of the Republic of
the Philippines is elected to that
office.
If x =2, then x+3 = 5
12 < 5
The product of two negative numbers is positive.
1 feet equals 12 inches.
To convert feet to inches we divide inches to 12.
Poor:
T F Adequate medical care can
be best provided through
socialized medicine.

Better:
T F The Philippine Medical
Association favors
socialized medicine as the
best means of providing
adequate medical care.
 3. Avoid terms denoting indefinite degree (e.g., large,
long time, regularly, or absolutes (e.g., all ,
never, only, always, usually)

Poor :

T F The President of the Republic of the Philippines is

usually elected to that office.
 4. Use relatively short statements and
eliminate extraneous materials.

Poor:

T F Joseph Estrada was the 13th president of the

Philippines.

Poor:

T F The United States declared war

in Japan on December 7, 1941.
 5. Avoid the use of negative statements, especially
double negatives.

Poor:

T F None of the steps in the

experiment was unnecessary.
Poor:

T F All of the steps in the

experiment were necessary.
 6. True statements and false statements should be
approximately equal in length.

7. The number of true statements and false statements

should be approximately equal.
8. A void placing items in a systematic order (e.g., TTFF,
TFTF ).
9. Avoid taking statements directly from the
text and presenting them out of context.
 Sample Objective and Test Item using True or False

OBJECTIVE:

The students will recognize whether certain events

occurred.
TEST ITEM:

Direction: Here is a list of incidents in Huckleberry Finn. Circle T if it

happened in the story and F
if it did not.

1. The thieves were killed in the storm on the river. T F

2. Jim gained his freedom. T F

3. Tom broke his leg. T F

EXERCISES
Direction: Put a G in the space next to the items you believe are good true-false items
and a P next to the items you feel are poor (5 pts.)

____ 1. High-IQ children always get high grades in school.

____ 2. Althea said “I never met a man I didn’t like.”
____ 3. Prayer should not be out lawed in school.
____ 4. The use of double negatives is not an altogether undesirable characteristic of
diplomats and academicians.
____ 5. Of the objective items, true-false items are the least time-consuming to
construct.
4. Avoid long, complex sentences.

Poor: T F Despite the theoretical and experimental difficulties of

determining the exact pH value of a solution, it is
possible to determine whether a solution is acid by the red color
formed on litmus paper when it is inserted into the solution.

Better: T F Litmus paper turns red in an acid

solution.
 MATCHING EXERCISE
- Consists of two parallel columns with each word,
number, or symbol in one column being matched to a
word, sentence, or phrase in the other column.

Premises – the items in the column for which a match is

sought.
Response – the items in the column from which the
selection is made.
 Uses of Matching Exercises

- Is limited to measuring factual information based on

simple associations.

- The learning outcomes emphasize the ability to identify

the relationship between two things.
Examples of relationships in a matching exercise:

Persons – Achievements
Dates – Historical events
Terms – Definitions
Symbols – Concepts
Authors – Title of Books
Foreign words – English equivalents
Machines – Uses
Plants or Animals – Classification
Objects – Name of Objects
Parts - Functions
 Advantages & Limitations of
Matching Exercise

1. Its compact form, makes it possible to measure a

large amount of related factual material in a
relatively short time.
2. Ease of Construction.
3. The main limitation of matching exercise is that it is
restricted to the measurement of factual
information.
 Suggestions for Constructing Matching
Exercises
1. Use only homogeneous material in a single matching exercise.
 Example:
Direction: On the line to the left of each achievement listed in Column A, write the letter of the man’s name in Column B
who is noted for the achievement. Each name in Column B may be used once, more than once, or not at all.
Column A Column B

__(A)__ 1. Invented the telephone A. Alexander Graham Bell

__(B)__ 2. Discovered America B. Christopher Columbus
__(C)__ 3. First United States astronaut to C. John Glenn
orbit the earth D. Abraham Lincoln
__(F)__ 4. First president of the United States E. Ferdinand Magellan
F. George Washington
G. Eli Whitney


2. Include an unequal number of responses and premises, and
instruct the pupil that responses maybe used once, more than
once, or not at all
3. Keep the list of items to be matched brief, and place the shorter
responses on the right.
4. Arrange the list of responses in logical order.
5. Indicate in the directions the basis for matching the responses
and premises.
 MULTIPLE-CHOICE FORM

 The most widely applicable, useful and the most versatile type of
objective test item.
 It can more effectively measure many of the simple learning
outcomes measured by the short-answer item, the true-false item
and matching exercise.
 It can measure a variety of more complex outcomes in the
knowledge, comprehension and application areas.
Characteristics of Multiple-Choice Items
1. A multiple-choice item consists of a problem and a list of
suggested solutions.

Stem of the Item – is the problem stated in question form or

an incomplete statement.

Alternatives – consists of a list of suggested solutions which

may include words, numbers, symbols or phrases. It is also
called choices or options.
2. The pupil is typically requested to read the stem and the list of
alternatives and to select the one correct or best alternative.

Answer – is the correct alternative in each item

Distracters – are the remaining alternatives.
 Example of Direct-Question Form

In which one of the following cities is the capital of California?

A Los Angeles
B Sacramento
C San Diego
D San Francisco
 Example of Incomplete-Statement Form

The capital of California is in

A Los Angeles
B Sacramento
C San Diego
D San Francisco

To convert feet to inches, you _____ feet to 12.

A. Add
B. Subtract
C. Multiply
D. divide
 Correct-Answer Type of Multiple-Choice Item - there is
only one correct answer and all other alternatives are
wrong

 Best-Answer Type – is especially useful for measuring

learning outcomes that require the comprehension,
application, or interpretation of factual information.
Example of Best-Answer Type of Multiple-Choice Item

Which one of the following factors contributed most to the selection

of Sacramento as the capital of California?

A Central location
B Good climate
C Good highways
D Large population
Or

Which one of the following factors is given most consideration when

selecting a city for a state capital?

A Central location
B Good climate
C Good highways
D Large population