Salale University

College of Medical and Health Sciences

Department of pediatric and child health nursing
Seminar presentation on
ITEMS WRITTING PRINCIPLES
Presented by: G.4
Presented to Mr. Dejene H.(BSC,MSCPN , Assistant prof.)

20/05/2023 group-4
Oromia,Fitche/ 2023
1
 Group members

1.AHMED MUZEYEN
2.KIBRE MOSISA
3.SHAMBEL DEBELE
4.ALEMNESH GIRMA
5.AYALESH DAMISSE
6.MULUNESH MOSISA
7.ETHIOPIA NUGUSU
8.DESTA SHAWUL
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 Presentation out line

 Introduction
 Guide line for Test Development

 Type of items and their principles

 Advantage and disadvantage of items

 Reference

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 Objective

At the end of the presentation learner will be able

Identify common test items
Apply principles of items writing
Understand advantage and disadvantage of common test
items

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 Introduction
 Item are specific question or problem that make up a test

 Creating exam questions – or items – that are relevant and

reflective of current practice can be a difficult task.
 Item writing requires not only subject matter expertise but
also training and practice.
 In writing test items to appropriately elicit /to get/ knowledge
from others.

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 Guide line for Test Development

 Ensure there are items for all the objectives

 Keep the language simple and clear

 Use correct grammar

 State the problem clearly and completely

 Avoid controversial questions

 Is there double meaning, wordiness or vagueness?

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 Guide line for Test Development cont…

 Are the distracters reasonable?

 What is the difficulty of the questions?

 Avoid cueing /misspelling / and hinging

 Provide clear directions for each type of item

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20/05/2023 group-4 8
 Tips for Writing: Stem

Relate items to learning objectives

Clearly establish the problem

Write items for different levels of learning

Provide a complete statement

Keep stem as short as possible

Word the stem positively

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 Principles of constructing the stem:

Items of the form “what would you do?” should be

avoided

Avoid clues to the correct answer

When several items have the same alternative , consider

presenting the subject matter a matching test item

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 Tips for Writing: Distractor

Consider the number of distracters

Write plausible /likely / but not trivial /little / options

Place options in logical order

Write mutually exclusive options

Use technical jargon /terminology / from other parts

of the course

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 Tips for Writing: Distractor cont…

Use partially correct answers

Use straight recall answer unrelated to the stem

Link options to each other

Use of “none of the above” sparingly /carefully /

Keep choices homogenous

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 Principles of developing the distracters

Try to avoid using “all of the above” as an alternative

Avoid “none of the above” or multiple choices like

‘a’ and ‘c’ are correct

Avoid specific determiners and absolute terms in

developing distracters

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 Principles of developing the distracters
cont..

When words or phrases are common to all alternatives,

place them in the stem

At least four alternative responses are necessary for a

reasonable degree of difficulty

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 Principles of developing the correct
response Or KEY:

 All the alternatives should be roughly parallel

 Be sure that there is only one correct clearly

best answer
 Vary the placement of the correct answer

randomly among the alternatives

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 Sample MCQ Direction/instruction

Each of the items on this test is followed by four possible

responses.

For each item, select the best response.

Indicate your answer by circling the appropriate letter

next to your answer.

Each correct response is worth one point.

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 MCQ cont…

Advantages

Low guessing score

Easily analyzed using statistics

Easy to score

Can test MOST levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy

Highly reliable

Disadvantages

More challenging to write, especially at higher levels

Test-wise students can raise basement

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 True/False - Advantages

Advantage

Can be written short and clear

Can quickly test many objectives

Disadvantages

High chance of guessing (50 %)

Difficult to write

Encourage memorization of rote / learned / fact

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 True/False-Disadvantages cont…

May disadvantage the knowledgeable

Correct false answer may not mean knowledge

Test-wise student can raise basement score

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 Tips for Writing True/False

Statement should be unambiguous / clearly /

Test one proposition at a time

Avoid trick /Confuse/ questions

Avoid words that frequently identify a statement as true

or false

Avoid negatives when possible

Avoid imprecise//vague terms

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 Sample Question 1

 There are several methods for preventing sexual

transmission of HIV/AIDS.
T/F
 The word SEVERAL is vague and may confuse
learners

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 Sample Question 2

 HIV I is not MORE prevalent than HIV II.

T/F

Has a negative

 NOT

 NOT with MORE makes the item even MORE difficult

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 Matching Items

Consists of two lists of words and phrases that are to be

matched.

The first list is known as a list of premises, the second, as a

list of responses.

Can be difficult to construct

High basement score depending on how it is written

May be confusing to some students

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 Tips for Writing Matching

Provide clear directions

Make lists uneven to decrease guessing

Make lists no shorter than 4 options

Make lists no longer than 10 options

items within each list should be similar (e.g., possible

diagnoses, medications, etc.).

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 Sample Direction: Matching

 The two columns below are lists of contraceptive

methods and their effective life.

 Read the contraceptive method in the left column and

select its effective life from the right column. Write the
corresponding letter of the response in the blank
provided in the left column. Note that each answer may
be used only once and that there is one extra response.
Two points will be earned for each correct response.
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 Sample Question

Contraceptive Method Effective Life

1. Copper T 380 A A. 3 months

2. Norplant implants
B. 3 years
3. DMPA
C. 5 years
4. Vasectomy
D. 10 years
E. Permanent

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 Short Answer Questions /Items /

Design for recall of specific

Names
Facts
Symbols and
Basic knowledge
Could be question or incomplete statement
Used when recalling is desired than recognizing facts
Used where computational problems are used

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 Advantages of Short Answer Questions

Easy to construct and provides a wide sampling of

content

Excellent format for measuring who, what, when, and

where information

Guessing is minimized

Students must know the material, rather than simply

recognize the answer

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 Disadvantages of Short Answer Questions

Difficult to phrase so that only one answer is correct

Grading can be time consuming

More than one answer can be correct

May not measure higher order knowledge

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 Tips Writing of Short Answer Questions

Better to supply the term and require a definition

Use direct questions rather than incomplete statements

Limit the number of items to be listed to 6 or so

Try to phrase items so that there is only one correct

response

Use one blank space at the end of the statement

Avoid verbal clues and specific determiners (e.g., the, an,

a)
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 Sample Question of Short Answer Questions

What is a red corpuscle?

What structure in the blood carries oxygen to the cells of

the human body?

Which of the cells found in the human body carries

oxygen to all other living cells?

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 Essay

Answer to a question in the form of continuous prose

/ordinary manner /

Allows to assess what students know, believe or are able

to do

Ideal for assessing how well a student can:

 Summarize

 Hypothesize

 Find relations
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
 Sample Questions Of Essay

Discuss essay and MCQ type tests

Compare and contrast the relative advantages &

disadvantages of essay and MCQ tests with respect to
reliability, validity, objectivity, and usability

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 Advantages Of Essay

Measures higher order learning

Less likely to be answered by guessing

Requires superior study methods

Demonstrates ability to organize knowledge, express

opinions

Easier to construct than an objective test

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 Disadvantages of Essay

 Subjective nature of scoring

 Good or bad previous level of performance

 Written expression and handwriting legibility

 Grammatical and spelling errors

 Tedious /boring / to score

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 Tips for Writing of Essay

Test the ability to discuss, analyze, evaluate, summarize

and criticize

Compose questions with specific and measurable

criterion for response

Provide restricted but appropriate space for the response

Develop a key with measurable scoring criterion

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 Tips for Writing cont…

Provide reasonable time limit

Avoid permitting choice of questions

If possible, score the test anonymously

Score answers to one question at a time

If possible, score each set of answers within the same

timeframe

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We would like to acknowledge our instructor Mr. Dajane H.

(BSC, MCSPN & Assistant professor) for give us the
opportunity of doing this group assignment, which has give
us an extensive knowledge on items writing principles.

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 REFERENCE

 Dolan, R.P., & Hall, T.E. (2007). Developing accessible tests with
universal design and digital technologies:
 Ensuring we standardize the right things. In L. L. Cook & C. C.
Cahalan (Eds.), Large-scale assessment and
accommodations: What works (pp. 95-111). Arlington, VA: Council
for Exception Children.
 Mislevy, R.J., Almond, R.G., & Lukas, J.F. (2003). A brief
introduction to evidence-centered design. ETS (Research
Report RR-03-16). Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing Service.

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END

THANKS!!
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