Argues that multiple-choice tests, if correctly constructed, are still effective assessment tools. Focuses on constructing multiple-choice questions that address course content objectives but also require higher order thinking. Lists and defines concepts and curriculum objectives. Includes standard and database multiple-choice questions that offer…

A study compared university chemistry students' (n=19) performances in creativity exercises, concept mapping, and traditional examinations. Performance in all three correlated with deep study strategy, but low correlations between the three methods suggests that they test different aspects of chemistry knowledge. Use and integration of all three…

Effects of item wording on questionnaire reliability and validity were studied, using 280 undergraduate business students who completed a questionnaire comprising 4 item types: (1) regular; (2) polar opposite; (3) negated polar opposite; and (4) negated regular. Implications of results favoring regular and negated regular items are discussed. (SLD)

The degree to which statistical item selection reduces direction-of-wording effects in balanced affective measures developed from relatively small item pools was investigated with 171 male and 228 female undergraduate and graduate students at 2 U.S. universities. Clearest direction-of-wording effects result from selection of items with high…

This paper describes the use of the Rasch model to help implement computerized administration of the standard and advanced forms of Raven's Progressive Matrices (RPM), to compare relative item difficulties, and to convert scores between the standard and advanced forms. The sample consisted of 95 girls and 95 boys in Australia. (SLD)

Three test administration procedures for making placement decisions in adult education were compared (paper-based, computer-based, and computerized-adaptive tests) with 90 adult-education students. Test performance was not differentially affected by the mode of administration, but the computerized adaptive test always yielded more precise ability…

A study involving 25 students (grades 3-5) with and without attentional deficits assessed generality to a standardized reading test when noninformational color was added to one of two alternate forms. Students with attentional deficits read as accurately as their classmates with color added and read worse in the black-white condition. (Contains…

Examines the strategies used in answering a computerized multiple-choice test where all questions on a semantic topic were grouped together or randomly distributed. Findings indicate that students grouped by performance on the test used different strategies in completing the test due to distinct cognitive processes between the groups. (AEF)

This article provides in-depth information regarding the most commonly used instruments for the screening or diagnosis of autistic spectrum disorders. Reliability, validity, format, and target population are presented to help clinicians select appropriate diagnostic measures. Future directions in the development of new instruments are discussed.…

The present study examined how a reader's subject knowledge, the analogy versus nonanalogy difference in text type, and type of test (written recall, sentence completion, and multiple choice) affect first language (L1) and second language (L2) reading comprehension. There were three participant groups: (a) 53 native Costa Ricans enrolled in…

In the United States, tests are held to high standards of quality. In developing countries such as Malawi, psychometricians must deal with these same high standards as well as several additional pressures such as widespread cheating, test administration difficulties due to challenging landscapes and poor resources, difficulties in reliably scoring…

The purpose of the study was to determine comparability of an online version to the original paper-pencil version of Defining Issues Test 2 (DIT2). This study employed methods from both Classical Test Theory (CTT) and Item Response Theory (IRT). Findings from CTT analyses supported the reliability and discriminant validity of both versions.…

Whether the presence of bidimensionality has any effect on the adaptive recalibration of test items was studied through live-data simulation of computer adaptive testing (CAT) forms. The source data were examinee responses to the 298 scored multiple choice items of a licensure examination in a health care profession. Three 75-item part-forms,…

Contrasts between constructed response items and stem-equivalent multiple-choice counterparts typically have involved averaging item characteristics, and this aggregation has masked differences in statistical properties at the item level. Moreover, even aggregated format differences have not been explained in terms of differential cognitive…

In order to evaluate the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) vocabulary item format and to determine the effectiveness of alternative vocabulary test items, this study investigated the functioning of eight different multiple-choice formats that differed with regard to: (1) length and inference-generating quality of the stem; (2) the…