The study investigates the effect of the perception of text and task difficulty on adults' performance in reading tests in L1 and L2. The relationship between the following variables is studied: (a) readers' perception of text and task difficulty in L1 and L2 measured in a self-reported post-task questionnaire, (b) the number of correct answers to…

A common approach to increase test security in higher educational high-stakes testing is the use of different test forms with identical items but different item orders. The effects of such varied item orders are relatively well studied, but findings have generally been mixed. When multiple test forms with different item orders are used, we argue…

Whether visual information belongs in second language (L2) listening tests has long been a subject for scholarly debate, with L2 learners' performance on and perceptions of video-based tests being the primary sources of evidence. The research into L2 teachers' perceptions, however, is scarce, as is the research into stakeholders' views of content…

The "Next Generation Science Standards" calls for new assessments that measure students' integrated three-dimensional science learning. The National Research Council has suggested that these assessments utilize a combination of item formats including constructed-response and multiple-choice. In this study, students were randomly assigned…

The extent to which the targeted outcomes in education are achieved can be determined by the educational assessment process. Although various alternative ways of assessment have arisen in recent decades, written examinations are still widely used by teachers. This study aims to determine the quality of the questions used by middle school…

Multiple-choice questions (MCQ) are commonly used on histology examinations. There are many guidelines for how to properly write MCQ and many of them recommend avoiding negatively worded stems. The current study aims to investigate differences between positively and negatively worded stems in a medical histology course by comparing the item…

While previous research has identified numerous factors that contribute to item difficulty, studies involving large-scale reading tests have provided mixed results. This study examined five selected-response item types used to measure reading comprehension in the Pearson Test of English Academic: a) multiple-choice (choose one answer), b)…

Stopping rules for fixed-form tests with graduated item difficulty are intended to stop administration of a test at the point where students are sufficiently unlikely to provide a correct response following a pattern of incorrect responses. Although widely employed in fixed-form tests in education, little research has been done to empirically…

This study investigated the effects of linking potentially multidimensional test forms using the fixed item parameter calibration. Forms had equal or unequal total test difficulty with and without confounding difficulty. The mean square errors and bias of estimated item and ability parameters were compared across the various confounding tests. The…

Different versions of multiple-choice exams were administered to an undergraduate class in human physiology as part of normal testing in the classroom. The goal was to evaluate whether the number of options (possible answers) per question influenced the effectiveness of this assessment. Three exams (each with three versions) were given to each of…

The effects of question or task complexity on second language speaking have traditionally been investigated using complexity, accuracy, and fluency measures. Response processes in speaking tests, however, may manifest in other ways, such as through nonverbal behavior. Eye behavior, in the form of averted gaze or blinking frequency, has been found…

The role of context in cloze tests has long been seen as both a benefit as well as a complication in their usefulness as a measure of second language comprehension (Brown, 2013). Passage cohesion, in particular, would seem to have a relevant and important effect on the degree to which cloze items function and the interpretability of performances…

The aim of this study is to determine students' opinions about open-ended question exam practice during 2018-2019 academic year for the following programs of Anadolu University Open Education System: Economy, Hospitality Management, Philosophy, History, Sociology, and Turkish Language and Literature. The study was designed as a quantitative study…

This study explored the cognitive mechanism behind information integration in the test anxiety judgments in 140 engineering students. An experiment was designed to test four factors combined (test goal orientation, test cognitive functioning level, test difficulty and test mode). The experimental task required participants to read 36 scenarios,…

Research suggests that the three-option format is optimal for multiple choice questions (MCQs). This conclusion is supported by numerous studies showing that most distractors (i.e., incorrect answers) are selected by so few examinees that they are essentially nonfunctional. However, nearly all studies have defined a distractor as nonfunctional if…