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3 each option should be gramatically correct when placed in he stem.except of course

In the case spesific grammar test items.for example,stems ending with the determiner a,followed by
options in the form of nouns or nouns phrases,sometimes trap the unwary test constructer.in the
item below,the correct answer C ,when move up to complete the stem.makes the sentece
grammatically incorrect :

Someone who designs houses is a.....................................................

A.designer B .builder C.architect D.plumber
The item can be easily recast as follows:
Someone who designs houses is .................................
A.a designer B.a builder C.an architect D.a plumber

Stems ending in are,were,etc.may have the same weaknesses as the following and will
reQuire complete rewriting:

the boy’s hobbies refered to in the first paragraph of tge passage were
A.camping and fishing
B.tennis and golf
C.cycling long distances
D.fishing,rowing,and swimming
E.collecting stamps

Any fairy intelligent student would soon be aware thats optons C and Ewere obviously not in the
tester’s mind when first constructing the item above because they are ungramatical answers.such as
student would ,therefore ,realise that they had been added latter simply as distractors.
Stems ending in prepositons may also create certain difficulties.in the following
readingComprehension item.option Ccan be ruled out immediatelly:

Jhon soon returned to.......................

A.work B.the prison C.home D.school

4.All multiple- choice items should be at a level appropriate to the proficiency level of the
testees.The context,it self,should be at a lower level than the actual problem which the item is testin
g :a grammar test item should not contain other grammatical features as difficult as the area being
tested.and a vocabulary item should not contain more difficult semantic features in the stem than
the area being tested .

5.Multiple-choice items should be as brief and as clear as possible (though it is desirable to provide
short context for grammar items ).

6.In many tests, items are arranged in rough order of increasing difficulty .it is generaly considered
important to have one or two simple items to ‘lead in’the testees,especially if they are not too
familiar with the kind of test being administered.nevertheless,areas of language which are trivial and
not worth testing should be excluded from the test.

1.The primary purpose of the stem is to present the problem clearly and consicely.the testee should
be able to obtain from the stem a very general idea of the problem and the answer required.at the
same time ,the stem should not contain extraneous information or irrelevant clues ,there by
confusing the problem being tested .Unless students understand the problem being tested ,there is
no way of knowing whether or not they could have handled the problem correctly .although the
stem should be short ,it should convey enough information to indicate the basis on which the
correct option should be selected .

2.The stem may take the following forms:

(a) an incomplete statement
He accused me of ............lies.
A.speaking B.saying C.telling D.talking
(b)a complete statement
Everything we wanted was to hand .
A.under control C.well cared for
B.within reach D.being prepared
(c) a question
According to the writter,what did tom immediatelly do?
A.he ran home C.he began to shout.
B.he met bob D.he phoned the police.

3 the stem should ussually conyain those words of phrases which would otherwise have to be
repeated in each option.
The word’astronauts’is used in the passsage to refer to
A.travellers in an ocean liner
B.travellers in a space-ship
C.travellers in a submarine
D.travellers in a balloon

The stem here should be rewritten so that it reads :

The words ‘astronauts’in used passage to refer to travellers in
A.an ocean liner C.a submarine.
B.a space-ship D.a balllon.
The same principle applies to grammar items.The following items:
I enjoy ..............the children playing in the park.
A.looking to C.looking at
B.looking about D.looking on
Should be rewritten in this way:
I enjoy looking................the children playing in the park.
A.to B.about C.at D.on
If, however ,one of the errors made by students in their free written work has been the ommision
of the preposition after look (a common error),then it will be necessary to incude look in the options.

I enjoy ................the children playing in the park.

A.looking on C.loooking at
B.looking D.looking to
4.The stem should allow for the number of choices which have been decided upon.This is
particularly relevant,for example ,when comparisons are involoved in reading comprehension.there
is not possible fourth option which can be added in the following item :
Tom was .............the other two boys.
A.talller than
B.smalller than
C.as tall as
For normal purposes of testing ,this shoud be clearly the correct or best option:thus,it is most
important that each item should be checked by another person .
 It can be argued that a greater degree of subtlety is sometimes gained by having more than one
correct option in each item.The correct answers in the following reading comprehension and
grammar items are circled:
According to the writer ,jane wanted a new racquest because
A.her old one was damaged slightly
B.she had lost her old one
C.her father had given her some money for one
D.Mary had a new racquest
E.Ann often borrowed her vold racquest

Who............you cycle here to see us?

A.ordered B.caused C.made D.asked E.let