Chapter 6 is based on using guidelines to keep in mind for teachers as they create their own test items. The information presented in my opinion were very useful and can certainly be referenced.

1. WELCOME ED 450-01
CLASS!
 Agenda
 Introduction
 Reflection
 Mini Lecture
 Activity
 Mini Lecture
 Activity
 Conclusion

2. Chapter 6
Selected-Response Tests
Dora Jo Ada
ED450-01
Soledad Camacho
Fall 2012

3. NORMS
 Respect others
 Cell phones and other electronic
devices on silent or put away
 One person speaks at a time
 Active and positive participation
 Have fun learning !

4. Student Learning Objectives
 Identify the five(5) general item-writing
commandments.
 Differentiate between binary-choice
items, multiple binary-choice items,
multiple choice items, and matching
pairs
 Discuss and identify appropriate ways
of creating a test with the item-writing
guidelines.

5. Reflection
Reflect back to past experiences when
you were in the classroom. Have you
ever had that one teacher whose tests
were made to set you up for failure?
What were your feelings towards that
class?
Take a couple of minutes. Be ready to
share with the class.

6. Five (5) General Item-Writing
Commandments
1. Thou shall not provide opaque directions to students
regarding how to respond to your assessment
instruments.
2. Thou shall not employ ambiguous statements in
your assessment items.
3. Thou shall not provide students with unintentional
clues regarding appropriate responses.
4. Thou shall not employ complex syntax in your
assessment items.
5. Thou shall not use vocabulary that is more advanced
than required.

7. Opaque Directions
 o·paque
[oh-peyk] Show IPA adjective, noun, verb, o·paqued, o·paqu·ing. adjective
1. not transparent or translucent; impenetrable to light; not allowing light to pass through.
2. not transmitting radiation, sound, heat, etc.
3. not shining or bright; dark; dull.
4. hard to understand; not clear or lucid; obscure: The
problem remains opaque despite explanations.
5. dull, stupid, or unintelligent.
(Reference taken from Dictionary.com)
Unclear test-taking directions lead to
confused test takers
(Popham, 2011, p. 140-141)

8. Ambiguous Statements
 In all kinds of assessments, this is
to be avoided.
 Leads to misinterpretation
 Keep in mind…
 Of how wording sounds
 Look at the test from your students’
perspective
 Modify statements that may sound even the
slightest ambiguous
(Popham, 2011, p. 141)

9. Unintended Clues
 Intentionally avoid something
unintentional!
 Teachers tend to create unintentional
cues for students about appropriate
responses, therefore, allowing for a
student to answer the question correctly
without attaining the knowledge
(Popham, 2011, p. 141)

10. Complex Syntax
 Avoid complicated sentence
construction
 WHY?
 Lessen the confusion
 Keep it concise, simple, and easy to
understand!
(Popham, 2011, p. 142)

11. Difficult Vocabulary
One must circumlocute
a disarranged
pronouncement of
systemization.

12. Difficult Vocabulary
In other words…
 Avoid complicated sentence construction.
Vocabulary should be kept at an
appropriate level where students
understand the content.
(Popham, 2011, p. 143)

13. Any questions,
comments, and/or
concerns so far?

14. Role Play
Having just learned the five
commandments of item writing,
you will be divided into five
groups.
Your group will be demonstrating
teachers breaking these
commandments.

16. ITEM-WRITING
GUIDELINES

17. Binary-Choice Items
 Gives the students only two options from
which to select
***binary – double or dual
 Forms of binary-choice items:
 True/false
 Yes/no
 Accurate/inaccurate
 Fact/opinion
 Correct/incorrect
(Popham, 2011, p. 143)

18. Item-Writing Guidelines for
Binary-Choice Items
1. Phrase items so that a superficial analysis by the
student suggests a wrong answer
2. Rarely use negative statements; never use double
negatives
3. Include only one(1) concept in each statement
4. Have an approximately equal number of items
representing the two(2) categories being tested
5. Keep item length similar for both categories being
tested
(Popham, 2011, p. 144)

19. Multiple binary-choice item
 A cluster of items are presented to the student
requiring a binary response to each items in the
cluster
 Formatted similarly to a multiple choice question,
but requires two(2) answers
(Popham, 2011, p. 145)

20. Item-Writing Guidelines for
Multiple Binary-Choice Items
 In addition to the guidelines explained,
teachers must be aware of the following
when constructing a test that consists of
two(2) answers:
1. Separate item clusters vividly from one
another.
2. Make certain that each item meshes well with
the cluster’s stimulus material.
(Popham, 2011, p. 146)

21. Multiple-Choice Items
 Measures a student’s possession of
knowledge or a student’s ability to engage in
higher thinking
 Contains several answers differing in relative
correctness
 Students make subtle distinctions among
answer options
 Weakness: Students recognize the answer
and don’t generate it

22. Multiple-Choice Items
 Stem: part preceding the response option,
also known as the stimulus material.
 Item alternatives: potential answer options
 Distractors: incorrect alternatives
When creating the item stem, make it a
direct question or an incomplete sentence.
(Popham, 2011, p. 148)

23. Example
1. Our instructor’s name for
ED450-01 is…
a. Ms. Solidad Camacho
b. Mr. Soledad Camacho
c. Ms. Soledad Camacho
d. Ms. Soledod Camacho

24. Item-Writing Guidelines for
Multiple-Choice Items
1. The stem should consist of a self-contained
question or problem.
2. Avoid negative stated stems.
3. Do not let the length of alternatives supply
unintentional clues.
4. Randomly assign correct answers to alternative
positions.
5. Never use “all of the above” alternatives, but do
use “none of the above” alternatives to increase
item difficulty.
(Popham, 2011, p. 149)

25. Matching Items
 Consists of two(2) parallel lists of words or
phrases requiring the student to match
entries on one list with appropriate entries
on the second list.
 Easily scored by simply holding a correct
answer template next to the list of
premises where students are to supply
theirs selections from the list of responses.
(Popham, 2011, p. 153)

26. Item-Writing Guidelines for
Matching Items
1. Employ homogeneous lists.
2. Use relative brief lists. Placing the shorter words or
phrases at the right.
3. Employ more responses and not promises.
4. Describe the basic for matching and the number of
times a response may be used.
5. Place all premises and responses for an item on a
single page.
(Popham, 2011, p. 154)

27. Activity Time
Divided into four groups, create an
example test question following the
guidelines for item-writing.
You may pick a subject of your choice,
and when ready for presentation,
assign one to two people to come to the
board, write the question out, and
explain how the item was created.

28. Referring Back…
Did we…
 Identify the five(5) general item-writing
commandments?
 Differentiate between binary-choice items,
multiple binary-choice items, multiple choice
items, and patching pairs?
 Discuss and identify appropriate ways of
creating a test with the item-writing guidelines?

29. Thank You !!!

30. References
Popham, W. J. (2011). Classroom Assessment: What
Teachers Need to Know 6th ED. Boston, MA.
Pearson.
Reference taken from
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/opaque
Comic strip taken from
http://www.cartoonstock.com/directory/t/test_taking.a
sp
Picture taken from http://www.servitokss.com/question-
marks/
Picture taken from
http://app.downloadatoz.com/iphone/the-super-