College professors often regard their time in the classroom fulfilling and rewarding; the chance to affect the academic and professional development of their students is most likely a key reason why they chose to be professional educators. Unfortunately, with college courses come college credits, which necessitate a course grade for each student,…

College undergraduates (n=38) were administered identical multiple choice tests with randomly presented answer-sheets numbered either vertically or horizontally. Of the originally-scheduled four tests during the semester, tests one and three were retested with entirely different test questions, also multiple choice, resulting in scores from tests,…

A solution to reduce the likelihood of one examinee copying another's answers on large scale tests that require all examinees to answer the same set of questions is to use multiple test forms that differ in terms of item ordering. This study was conducted to determine whether varying the sequence in which blocks of items were presented to…

Compares the effect of content ordering and scrambled ordering on examinations in courses, such as economics, that require quantitative skills. Empirical results suggest that students do no better if they are given a content-ordered rather than a scrambled examination as student performance is not adversely affected by scrambled ordered…

Investigates the effects on multiple choice test performance of altering the order and placement of questions and responses. Shows that changing the response pattern appears to alter significantly the apparent degree of difficulty. Response patterns become more dissimilar under certain types of response alterations. (LS)

This book offers specific how-to advice to college faculty on every stage of the testing process, including planning the test and classifying objectives to be measured, ensuring the validity and reliability of the test, and grading in such a way as to arrive at fair grades based on relevant data. The book examines the strengths and weaknesses of…