2. Parts of a Test Item
1. Stimulus material - gives information on the
matter to be tested
2. Stem - gives the question
3. Alternatives - give options only in Multiple
Choice
a) Key - the correct answer
b) Distracters - incorrect answers
4. Rubrics - prescribe corresponding points for
some possible answers only in Closed
Constructed and Open Ended
4. Rules for Writing Multiple
Choice Questions
1. Design each item to measure an
important learning outcome.
2. Present a single, clearly formulated
problem in the stem of the item.
3. Put the alternatives at the end of
the question, not in the middle.
5. 4. Put as much (not too long or too
short) of the wording as possible in
the stem.
5. Omit unnecessary words.
6. Avoid starting an item with a
blank.
Rules for Writing Multiple
Choice Questions
6. 7. Avoid negatively worded items.
“Which of the following is not. . .”
Otherwise, highlight the NEGATIVE
word(s).
8. Avoid requiring personal opinion.
9. Avoid textbook wording.
Rules for Writing Multiple
Choice Questions
7. 10. Do not have linked or clued items.
11. All options should be
homogenous.
12. All options should be plausible.
13. Put repeated words in the stem,
not in the options.
Rules for Writing Multiple
Choice Questions
8. 14.Punctuation should be consistent.
15. Make all options grammatically
consistent with the stem.
16. List options vertically.
17. Order options logically.
Rules for Writing Multiple
Choice Questions
9. 18. Use “all of the above” and “none
of the above” sparingly.
19. Avoid double negative statements.
Rules for Writing Multiple
Choice Questions
10. Rules for Writing True or
False Questions
1. Make sure that the item is
definitely true or false.
2. Avoid verbal clues (specific
determiners like “always”) that
indicate the answer.
11. Rules for Writing True or
False Questions
3. Test important ideas rather than
trivia.
4. Keep the word-length of true
statements about the same as that
of false statements.
12. 5. Don’t present items in an easily
learned pattern.
6. Don't copy sentences directly from
textbooks and other written
materials.
Rules for Writing True or
False Questions
13. Rules for Writing Completion
(Closed Constructed) Questions
1. State the item so that only a single,
brief answer is possible.
2. Start with a direct question and
switch to an incomplete statement
only when greater conciseness is
possible by doing so.
14. Rules for Writing Completion
(Closed Constructed) Questions
3. Leave only one blank. This should
relate to the main point of the
statement.
4. Place the blanks at the end of the
statement.
5. Word the items to avoid irrelevant
clues or specific determiners.
15. Rules for Constructing Essay
(Open Ended) Questions
1. Define the behavior the student is
expected to exhibit before writing
the prompt.
2. Ask the student to use knowledge
in novel situations rather than
simply recalling information.
16. Rules for Constructing Essay
(Open Ended) Questions
3. Ask questions that are relatively
specific and focused and which will
elicit relatively brief responses.
4. If you are using many essay
questions in a test, ensure
reasonable coverage of the course
objectives.
17. Rules for Constructing Essay
(Open Ended) Questions
5. Follow the test specifications in
writing prompts. Questions should
cover the subject areas as well as
the complexity of behaviors cited in
the test blueprint. Pitch the
questions at the students' level.
18. Rules for Constructing Essay
(Open Ended) Questions
6. Formulate questions that present a
clear task to be performed.
7. Provide ample time for answering
and suggest a time limit for each
question.
8. Indicate the point value for each
question.
19. Matching Type Test
• a selection type of test.
• specialized to measure the learner’s ability
to the relationship between a set of similar
items.
• words vs. definitions; symbols and their
meanings; dates and events; people and
their accomplishments or contributions;
etc.
• generally easy to write and score.
21. General Guidelines in Writing
Matching Type Test
• Check your objectives to make sure this type
of question is appropriate.
• Include more responses than premises OR
allow responses to be used more than once.
• 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.
22. • Use numbers to identify items in Column A,
capital letters to identify responses in Column
B.
• Correct answers should not be obvious to those
who don't know the content being taught.
• Do NOT list premises in the same order as
responses, and there should NOT be a pattern
in the correct answers.
General Guidelines in Writing
Matching Type Test
23. • There should NOT be keywords appearing in
both a premise and response providing a clue
to the correct answer.
• 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.
• All of the responses and premises for a
matching item should appear on the same
page.
General Guidelines in Writing
Matching Type Test
24. • Directions to the students should explain
how many times responses can be used.
General Guidelines in Writing
Matching Type Test
27. Poor:
The perimeter of a rectangle is 48 cm. A triangle
has a perimeter of 50 cm. Find the difference
of the areas of the rectangle and the triangle.
a. 2 cm
b. 36 cm
c. 48 cm
d. 72 cm
28. The perimeter of a rectangle is 48 cm. If its
length is three times its width, find the width
of the rectangle.
a. 6 cm
b. 12 cm
c. 24 cm
d. 36 cm
Better:
29. The primary purpose of the stam is to
a. remove the carm
b. remove the denton
c. remove the menace
d. remove the stam bar
Poor:
30. The primary purpose of the stam is to
remove the
a. carm
b. denton
c. menace
d. stam bar
Better:
31. Systematic geography studies a single
phenomenon in its distribution over the Earth in
order to supply generalizations for regional
geography. Which is not a characteristic of
regional geography?
a. descriptive account of a region
b. study of the arrangement of phenomena in
one given area
c. list of famous people inhabiting or used to
inhabit an area
d. concerns itself with the field of human
geography
Poor:
32. Which is NOT a characteristic of regional
geography?
a. descriptive account of a region
b. study of the arrangement of phenomena
in one given area
c. information of physical and economic
indicators
d. concerns itself with the field of human
geography
Better:
33. ______ are the minor differences among
organisms of the same kind.
a. Heredity
b. Variations
c. Adaptation
d. Natural Selection
Poor:
34. The minor differences among organisms of
the same kind is/are known as
a. Heredity.
b. Variations.
c. Adaptation.
d. Natural Selection.
Better:
35. ______ are the minor differences among
organisms of the same kind.
a. Heredity
b. Variations
c. Adaptation
d. Natural Selection
Poor:
36. The minor differences among organisms of
the same kind is/are known as
a. Heredity.
b. Variations.
c. Adaptation.
d. Natural Selection.
Better:
37. How many pounds of pressure are exerted
by a callam?
a. 60
b. 2.6%
c. 260
d. 2600
Poor:
38. How many pounds of pressure are exerted
by a callam?
a. 26
b. 90
c. 260
d. 420
Better:
39. Systematic geography studies a single
phenomenon in its distribution over the Earth in
order to supply generalizations for regional
geography. Which is not a characteristic of
regional geography?
a. descriptive account of a region
b. study of the arrangement of phenomena in
one given area
c. list of famous people inhabiting or used to
inhabit an area
d. concerns itself with the field of human
geography
Poor:
40. Which is NOT a characteristic of regional
geography?
a. descriptive account of a region
b. study of the arrangement of phenomena
in one given area
c. information of physical and economic
indicators
d. concerns itself with the field of human
geography
Better:
41. Systematic geography studies a single
phenomenon in its distribution over the Earth in
order to supply generalizations for regional
geography. Which is not a characteristic of
regional geography?
a. descriptive account of a region
b. study of the arrangement of phenomena in
one given area
c. list of famous people inhabiting or used to
inhabit an area
d. concerns itself with the field of human
geography
Poor:
42. Which is NOT a characteristic of regional
geography?
a. descriptive account of a region
b. study of the arrangement of phenomena
in one given area
c. information of physical and economic
indicators
d. concerns itself with the field of human
geography
Better:
43. The primary purpose of the stam is to
a. remove the carm
b. remove the denton
c. remove the menace
d. remove the stam bar
Poor:
44. The primary purpose of the stam is to
remove the
a. carm
b. denton
c. menace
d. stam bar
Better:
45. ______ are the minor differences among
organisms of the same kind.
a. Heredity
b. Variations
c. Adaptation
d. Natural Selection
Poor:
46. The minor differences among organisms of
the same kind is/are known as
a. Heredity.
b. Variations.
c. Adaptation.
d. Natural Selection.
Better:
47. In patients with advanced dementia,
Alzheimer’s type, the memory defect
a. can be adequately treated with lecithin
b. is always a sequel of early
Parkinsonism
c. is never seen in patients with
neurofibrillary tangles
d. is never severe
Poor:
48. In patients with advanced dementia,
Alzheimer’s type, the memory defect
a. may never be severe.
b. can be adequately treated with lecithin.
b. can be a sequel of early Parkinsonism.
c. may be seen in patients with
neurofibrillary tangles.
Better:
49. Stammation does NOT normally occur
EXCEPT when the
a. anstels rupture
b. immon falls and the denton is in
place
c. octal rotates easily
d. ports pass over the cam
Poor:
50. Stammation normally occurs when the
a. anstels rupture.
b. octal rotates easily.
c. ports pass over the cam.
d. immon falls with denton in place.
Better:
52. Column A Column B
____ 1. three-sided polygon
____ 2. four-sided polygon
____ 3. five-sided polygon
____ 4. six-sided polygon
____ 5. seven-sided polygon
____ 6. eight-sided polygon
A. triangle
B. quadrilateral
C. pentagon
D. hexagon
Directions: Match the items in Column A with the items in column B.
Write the letter of your choice on the space provided before each
number.
Poor:
53. Better
Column A Column B
____ 1. three-sided polygon
____ 2. four-sided polygon
____ 3. five-sided polygon
____ 4. six-sided polygon
____ 5. seven-sided polygon
____ 6. eight-sided polygon
A. triangle
B. quadrilateral
C. pentagon
D. hexagon
E. heptagon
F. octagon
G. nonagon
H. decagon
Directions: Match the items in Column A with the items in column B.
Write the letter of your choice on the space provided before each
number.
54. Poor
Column A Column B
____ 1. ultraviolet
____ 2. global warming
____ 3. land breeze
____ 4. tropical cyclone
____ 5. atmosphere
A. increase in Earth’s
temperature caused by too
many greenhouse gases
B. most destructive weather
disturbance
C. movement of air from over
land toward sea during the
night
D. blanket of air around Earth
which is composed of a
mixture of gases, water vapor,
and dust
E. harmful rays of the sun
Directions: Match the items in Column A with the items in column B. Write
the letter of your choice on the space provided before each number.
55. Better
Column A Column B
A. ultraviolet
B. global warming
C. land breeze
D. tropical cyclone
E. atmosphere
____ 1. increase in Earth’s
temperature caused by too many
greenhouse gases
____ 2. most destructive weather
disturbance
____ 3. movement of air from over
land toward sea during the night
____ 4. blanket of air around Earth
which is composed of a mixture
of gases, water vapor, and dust
____ 5. harmful rays of the sun
Directions: Match the items in Column A with the items in column B. Write
the letter of your choice on the space provided before each number.
56. Poor
Column A Column B
____ 1. three-sided polygon
____ 2. four-sided polygon
____ 3. five-sided polygon
____ 4. six-sided polygon
____ 5. seven-sided polygon
____ 6. eight-sided polygon
A. triangle
B. quadrilateral
C. pentagon
D. hexagon
E. heptagon
F. octagon
G. nonagon
H. decagon
Directions: Match the items in Column A with the items in column B.
Write the letter of your choice on the space provided before each
number.
57. Better
Column A Column B
____ 1. three-sided polygon
____ 2. four-sided polygon
____ 3. five-sided polygon
____ 4. six-sided polygon
____ 5. seven-sided polygon
____ 6. eight-sided polygon
A. triangle
B. octagon
C. decagon
D. nonagon
E. hexagon
F. pentagon
G. heptagon
H. quadrilateral
Directions: Match the items in Column A with the items in column B.
Write the letter of your choice on the space provided before each
number.
58. Poor
Column A Column B
____ 1. a conventional fuel in the the
form of coal, oil and natural gas
____ 2. a force between two surfaces in
contact
____ 3. energy produced using thermal
energy beneath Earth’s surface
____ 4. a law that states that energy can
neither be created nor destroyed
____ 5. tides that is higher than the
average high tides and lower than the
average low tides
A. fossil fuel
B. spring tides
C. frictional force
D. geothermal energy
E. law of conservation of
energy
Directions: Match the items in Column A with the items in column B. Write
the letter of your choice on the space provided before each number.
60. Better
Column A Column B
____ 1. energy that comes directly
from the sun
____ 2. energy from hot materials
beneath Earth’s surface
____ 3. energy from fission or
fusion of atomic nuclei
____ 4. energy from moving water
____ 5. energy from stored thermal
energy in ocean waves
____ 6. energy from the remains of
plants and animals that inhabited
Earth long time ago
A. fossil fuel
B. biomass
C. solar
D. geothermal
E. hydroelectric
F. nuclear
G. OTEC
H. chemical
Directions: Match the items in Column A with the items in column B. Write
the letter of your choice on the space provided before each number.
61. Poor
Column A Column B
____ 1. Maria Christina Falls
____ 2. Lake Lanao
____ 3. Mt. Apo
____ 4. Philippine Eagle
____ 5. Tarsiers
____ 6. Chocolate Hills
A. Davao City
B. Bohol
C. Marawi City
D. Iligan City
Directions: Match the items in Column A with the items in column B.
Write the letter of your choice on the space provided before each
number.
62. Better
Column A Column B
____ 1. Maria Christina Falls
____ 2. Lake Lanao
____ 3. Mt. Apo
____ 4. Philippine Eagle
____ 5. Tarsiers
____ 6. Chocolate Hills
A. Davao City
B. Bohol
C. Marawi City
D. Iligan City
Directions: Match the items in Column A with the items in column B.
Write the letter of your choice on the space provided before each
number. Choices in Column B can be used more than once.
