Multiple Choice

An assessment in which examinees are asked to select the best possible answer out of the

choices from a list. Multiple-choice items can be used to measure knowledge outcomes and

various types of learning outcomes.

It is composed of three parts which are the following:

Stem – The stem is the beginning part of the item question asked for the examinees

Key – The correct answer

Distractors – The incorrect answers

The following are the different rules to follow in constructing Multiple Choice:

Write the items first

Be sure the stem is grammatically correct

Stems should not contain a lot of irrelevant information

Stems phrased as questions are usually easier to write

Try to avoid negatively stated stems

Be sure the stem asks a clear question

Write the correct response next

Be sure it is correct

Avoid too many qualifiers

Keep the reading level of the stem and the response consistent

Be sure the stem is grammatically correct

Assign the response to a random position in the answer sequence right away

Generate the distractions

Be cautious in the use of "all" or "none" of the above

Avoid obscure words distractors.

Use common misconceptions.

Keep the statements simple

When possible, state the stem as a direct question rather than as an incomplete

statement.
 Present a definite and singular question or problem in the stem.

Eliminate irrelevant information from the stem.

Include in the stem any word(s) that might otherwise be repeated in each alternative.

Use negatively stated stems sparingly. When used, underline and/or capitalize the

negative word.

Make all alternatives plausible and attractive to the less knowledgeable or skillful

student.

Make the alternatives mutually exclusive.

Make alternatives approximately equal in length.

Different Advantages of Multiple Choice:

Scoring is easy, objective, and reliable.

Scores are more reliable than subjectively scored items.

A broad sample of achievement can be measured.

Item analysis can reveal how difficult each item was and how well discriminated

between the strong and weaker students in the class.

Different Disadvantages of Multiple Choice:

Constructing good items is time consuming.

It is frequently difficult to find plausible distractors.

This item is ineffective for measuring some types of problem solving and the ability

to organize and express ideas.

May encourage guessing.

Does not provide a measure of writing ability.

 True or False
In the most basic format, true-false questions are those in which a statement is presented and

the student indicates in some manner whether the statement is true or false. In other words,

there are only two possible responses for each item, and the student chooses between them.

The following are the different rules to follow in constructing True or False:

Base true-false items upon statements that are absolutely true or false, without

qualifications or exceptions.

Express the item statement as simply and as clearly as possible.

Express a single idea in each test item.

Include enough background information and qualifications so that the ability to

respond correctly to the item does not depend on some special, uncommon

knowledge.

Avoid the use of extreme modifiers or qualifiers.

Avoid lifting statements from the text, lecture or other materials so that memory alone

will not permit a correct answer.

Avoid using negatively stated item statements

Avoid the use of unfamiliar vocabulary

Different Advantages of True or False:

can test a large body of material and it is easy to score

useful for outcomes where there are only two possible alternatives

less demand is placed on reading ability than in multiple choice

a large number of items can be answered in a typical testing period

objective and reliable

Different Disadvantages of True or False:

Difficult to construct questions that are definitely or unequivocally true or false.

Scores are more influenced by guessing.

 Matching Type
Guidelines in Constructing a Matching Type:

Check your objectives to make sure this type of question is appropriate.

In developing matching items, there are two columns of material

The items in the column on the left (Column A) are usually called premises and

assigned numbers (1, 2, 3, etc.).

Those in the column on the right (Column B) are called responses and designated by

capital letters.

Capital letters are used rather than lower case letters in case some students have

reading problems. Also there are apt to be fewer problems in scoring the student's

handwritten responses if capital letters are used.

Include more responses than premises OR allow responses to be used more than once.

Put the items with more words in Column A.

Put the items with more words in Column A.

Arrange items in Column B in either a logical or natural order or alphabetically if

there is no apparent organizational basis.

Premises (Column A) should NOT be listed in the same order as the responses and

there should NOT be a pattern in the correct answers.

Directions to the students should explain how many times responses can be used.

The items should all be part of a common set. It should NOT be possible to subdivide

the premises and responses into two or more discrete subsets.

Correct answers should not be obvious to those who don't know the content being

taught.

All of the responses and premises for a matching item should appear on the same

page.

There should NOT be keywords appearing in both a premise and response providing

a clue to the correct answer.

Correct answers should not be obvious to those who don't know the content being

taught.
Different Advantages of Matching Type:

One matching item can replace several true-false or short answer items (and require

less reading for the students).

Matching items are generally easy to write and score when the test content and

objectives are suitable for matching questions.

Different Disadvantages of True or False:

  The matching format is an effective way to test students' recognition of the

relationships between words and definitions, events and dates.

Possible difficulties in using matching items may arise due to poor student

handwriting or printing, or students' being able to guess correct answers through the

process of elimination.
 Essay
It is an assessment technique that requires students to thoroughly respond to a question or

prompt by developing, organizing, and writing an original composition. The essay test is the

traditional type of examination in which the subject or the examinee is made to discuss,

enumerate, compare, state, explain, analyze, or criticize. Essay format questions are excellent for

measuring higher level cognitive learning and overall comprehension of a subject. They allow the

student to select content for their response, to organize their thoughts in a logical manner and

to present their ideas on a given subject matter. These types of questions are often more

applicable to real life situations that the student may be presented with in the future. These

types of test questions allow the teacher to test the student's broader understanding of a

subject matter.

The following are the different rules to follow in constructing Essay:

Be sure that the test question clearly states the answer that you are seeking from the

student. For example, 'discuss the recent election outcome' is a poor test question.

If you are requiring the student to prepare a longer essay (2-3 pages), include several

questions that are intended to be in addition to the primary question for the student to

respond to rather than only a single question to answer.

If you are seeking to test the student's ability to analyze a concept, a good opening

phrase for your test question is, 'compare and contrast....."

If you are looking to test comprehension, a good opening line for the test question is,

'Explain the following..."

Give adequate directions as to the content of the desired response, i.e., don't just say

"discuss," say "discuss in terms of x, y, and z."

Teach students how to respond to the types of essay questions to be asked, e.g., how

to construct an argument citing evidence, logic and the null hypothesis.

Indicate the length of the response desired

 Provide the structure of response wanted in the directions, e.g., compare and contrast,

analyze, synthesize, evaluate from (what/whose?) perspectives, develop in the manner

of (what/who).

Write longer rather than shorter questions. Use novel questions when feasible.

Don't start essay questions with words such as name, list, who, what, where, etc.

These do not indicate that thinking beyond recall is required; use a different kind of

question instead.

Don't provide optional questions, i.e., answer two of the following four questions.

Different Advantages of Essay:

All cognitive levels can be addressed with essay questions.

It measures higher levels of knowledge.

It takes less time to write an essay test.

It helps the students organize their thoughts and ideas logically.

It can be used in any subject.

It is harder to cheat in an essay test.

Different Disadvantages of Essay:

Essay questions are time-consuming to answer and answers take more time to score.

Less content can be sampled. Few questions can be included and hence, coverage is

limited.

The validity and reliability of essay tests are low. The causes of the low validity and

reliability of essays are:

Different standards of excellence of different teachers scoring the papers or different

standards of the same teacher checking the papers at different times. Two teachers

checking the same paper may not be able to give the same score if he scores the same

paper at another time especially if he does not remember the first score he gave.

The physical and mental conditions of the person checking a paper may also affect

the scoring. An indisposed person or one with emotional problems may have the

tendency to give low marks to a paper.

 Irrelevant factors such as poor spelling, faulty grammar, limited vocabulary, illegible

handwriting, language difficulty, and the like may adversely affect the scoring of a

paper. These factors may cause the lowering of a score.

Fill in the Blanks

Fill in the blank questions require the student to know the correct answer rather than having

the ability to guess from a list of possible answers.

Tips to remember in constructing Fill in the Blanks:

Ensure that there is only one possible correct answer to avoid confusion and difficulty

grading

Blanks should come at the end or as close to the end of the question or statement as

possible

Questions should recall important information taught within the lesson plans

Leave only important terms blank

Try to put blanks near the end of the statement

Make the blanks uniform in length

Give students credit for unanticipated yet correct responses

Do not lift statements directly from the book

Do not count misspelled words

Different Advantages of Fill in the Blanks:

A lot of vocabulary can be assess in minimal time

Construction is relatively easy

Different Disadvantages of Fill in the Blank:

The understanding assessed is likely to be trivial

Difficult to avoid ambiguity in constructing questions

Scoring requires careful reading for unanticipated but correct answers

 Oral Question
Allows you to determine from time to time if you are maintaining essential

communication. It improves the effectiveness of student learning when it is properly

planned and implemented. It must be good and thought provoking question.

Purposes of Oral Question

To stimulate the students to think.

Provides you with a practical means for establishing the level of instruction.

It arouses interest in the subject matter.

It focuses attention upon particular area of the subject matter.

It drills students on the subject matter they must recall precisely, such as correct

terminology, functions of parts and safety precautions.

Benefits of Oral Question:

Discover each student’s interests, abilities and depth knowledge.

Arouse student’s interest in the subject matter of the lesson.

Stimulate discussion and keep it closely tied to the subject matter.

Review and summarize important points.

Test students’ knowledge of what the lesson has covered and check the effectiveness

of the instruction.

Steps/Techniques of Oral Questioning

Ask the question

- The intent of questioning is to provoke thought.

- ask the question before calling on a person to answer.

 - It encourages each member of the class to formulate an answer.

Pausing

- Pause to allow students time to think through their answers.

- vary the duration of the pause depending on the difficulty of the question and the

level of the students.

Calling upon a student

Comment on the given answer / acknowledge the response

- provide feedback to the responder and class on the quality of the answer.

- be critical only by the answer and not the student.

- provide positive reinforcement for correct answers.

5. Emphasize / repeat the answer given

- insist that answer be clearly spoken, heard by all, and stated in the

terminology of the lesson.

Steps/Techniques of Oral Questioning

Remembering:

Who were the main characters in the story?

What is the title of the story?

When did __ happen?

Which one...? Who was...?

Understanding:

What is the value of 8 in 9865?

What is the main idea of the selection?

How can you classify the type of...?

Explain what is happening.....

Applying:

Can you solve the value of variables using scientific formulas?

How can you use...?

What approach can you used to....?

Analyzing
 What conclusion can you draw from the given research?

Can you determine the point of view of the author of an essay in terms of

his/her political perspective?

How is ___ related to....?

What ideas justify....?

Evaluating

What judgement can you make the validity of arguments for and against

constitutional change?

Can you assess the value or importance of money into our lives?

What is your opinion of....?

How can you prove...? Or disprove...?

Creating

How can you generate useful solutions to decrease the use of papers?

Can you make changes to solve the problem of global warming?

How can you improve the....?

Can you predict the outcome if.....?

Do’s of Oral Question:

Ask questions that suit to the presentation of course material

Ask questions that require students to think before answering

Feel free to ask factual, thought-provoking and interesting-arousing question

Don’ts of Oral Question:

Don’t use questions that away from the answer

Avoid the use of catch or trick questions as a teaching device

Avoid over using the questioning technique of asking “are there any question?”