The document summarizes principles for writing different types of test items, including multiple choice questions (MCQs), true/false, matching, short answer, and essays. It provides guidelines for writing item stems and distractors, as well as tips for each item type. The presentation was given by group 4 to their instructor to share knowledge on item writing principles for developing tests. Key principles discussed include ensuring item stems are clear and distractors are plausible, avoiding trick questions, and providing scoring criteria for open-ended items.

1. Salale University
College of Medical and Health Sciences
Department of pediatric and child health nursing
Seminar presentation on
ITEMS WRITTING PRINCIPLES
Presented by: G.4
Presented to Mr. Dejene H.(BSC,MSCPN , Assistant prof.)
Oromia,Fitche/ 2023
23/05/2023 group-4
1

2. Group members
1.AHMED MUZEYEN
2.KIBRE MOSISA
3.SHAMBEL DEBELE
4.ALEMNESH GIRMA
5.AYALESH DAMISSE
6.MULUNESH MOSISA
7.ETHIOPIA NUGUSU
8.DESTA SHAWUL
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3. Presentation out line
 Introduction
 Guide line for Test Development
 Type of items and their principles
 Advantage and disadvantage of items
 Reference
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4. Objective
At the end of the presentation learner will be able
Identify common test items
Apply principles of items writing
Understand advantage and disadvantage of common test
items
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5. Introduction
 Item are specific question or problem that make up a test
 Creating exam questions – or items – that are relevant and
reflective of current practice can be a difficult task.
 Item writing requires not only subject matter expertise but
also training and practice.
 In writing test items to appropriately elicit /to get/ knowledge
from others.
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6. Guide line for Test Development
 Ensure there are items for all the objectives
 Keep the language simple and clear
 Use correct grammar
 State the problem clearly and completely
 Avoid controversial questions
 Is there double meaning, wordiness or vagueness?
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7. Guide line for Test Development cont…
 Are the distracters reasonable?
 What is the difficulty of the questions?
 Avoid cueing /misspelling / and hinging
 Provide clear directions for each type of item
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8. 23/05/2023 group-4 8

9. Tips for Writing: Stem
Relate items to learning objectives
Clearly establish the problem
Write items for different levels of learning
Provide a complete statement
Keep stem as short as possible
Word the stem positively
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10. Principles of constructing the stem:
Items of the form “what would you do?” should be
avoided
Avoid clues to the correct answer
When several items have the same alternative , consider
presenting the subject matter a matching test item
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11. Tips for Writing: Distractor
Consider the number of distracters
Write plausible /likely / but not trivial /little / options
Place options in logical order
Write mutually exclusive options
Use technical jargon /terminology / from other parts
of the course
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12. Tips for Writing: Distractor
cont…
Use partially correct answers
Use straight recall answer unrelated to the stem
Link options to each other
Use of “none of the above” sparingly /carefully /
Keep choices homogenous
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13. Principles of developing the distracters
Try to avoid using “all of the above” as an alternative
Avoid “none of the above” or multiple choices like
‘a’ and ‘c’ are correct
Avoid specific determiners and absolute terms in
developing distracters
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14. Principles of developing the distracters
cont..
When words or phrases are common to all alternatives,
place them in the stem
At least four alternative responses are necessary for a
reasonable degree of difficulty
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15. Principles of developing the correct
response Or KEY:
 All the alternatives should be roughly parallel
 Be sure that there is only one correct clearly
best answer
 Vary the placement of the correct answer
randomly among the alternatives
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16. Sample MCQ Direction/instruction
Each of the items on this test is followed by four possible
responses.
For each item, select the best response.
Indicate your answer by circling the appropriate letter
next to your answer.
Each correct response is worth one point.
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17. MCQ cont…
Advantages
Low guessing score
Easily analyzed using statistics
Easy to score
Can test MOST levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy
Highly reliable
Disadvantages
More challenging to write, especially at higher levels
Test-wise students can raise basement score
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18. True/False - Advantages
Advantage
Can be written short and clear
Can quickly test many objectives
Disadvantages
High chance of guessing (50 %)
Difficult to write
Encourage memorization of rote / learned / fact
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19. True/False-Disadvantages cont…
May disadvantage the knowledgeable
Correct false answer may not mean knowledge
Test-wise student can raise basement score
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20. Tips for Writing True/False
Statement should be unambiguous / clearly /
Test one proposition at a time
Avoid trick /Confuse/ questions
Avoid words that frequently identify a statement as true
or false
Avoid negatives when possible
Avoid imprecise//vague terms
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21. Sample Question 1
 There are several methods for preventing sexual
transmission of HIV/AIDS.
T/F
 The word SEVERAL is vague and may confuse
learners
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22. Sample Question 2
 HIV I is not MORE prevalent than HIV II.
T/F
Has a negative
 NOT
 NOT with MORE makes the item even MORE difficult
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23. Matching Items
Consists of two lists of words and phrases that are to be
matched.
The first list is known as a list of premises, the second, as a
list of responses.
Can be difficult to construct
High basement score depending on how it is written
May be confusing to some students
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24. Tips for Writing Matching
Provide clear directions
Make lists uneven to decrease guessing
Make lists no shorter than 4 options
Make lists no longer than 10 options
items within each list should be similar (e.g., possible
diagnoses, medications, etc.).
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25. Sample Direction: Matching
 The two columns below are lists of contraceptive
methods and their effective life.
 Read the contraceptive method in the left column and
select its effective life from the right column. Write the
corresponding letter of the response in the blank
provided in the left column. Note that each answer may
be used only once and that there is one extra response.
Two points will be earned for each correct response.
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26. Sample Question
Contraceptive Method
1. Copper T 380 A
2. Norplant implants
3. DMPA
4. Vasectomy
Effective Life
A. 3 months
B. 3 years
C. 5 years
D. 10 years
E. Permanent
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27. Short Answer Questions /Items /
Design for recall of specific
Names
Facts
Symbols and
Basic knowledge
Could be question or incomplete statement
Used when recalling is desired than recognizing
facts
Used where computational problems are used
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28. Advantages of Short Answer Questions
Easy to construct and provides a wide sampling of
content
Excellent format for measuring who, what, when, and
where information
Guessing is minimized
Students must know the material, rather than simply
recognize the answer
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29. Disadvantages of Short Answer Questions
Difficult to phrase so that only one answer is correct
Grading can be time consuming
More than one answer can be correct
May not measure higher order knowledge
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30. Tips Writing of Short Answer Questions
Better to supply the term and require a definition
Use direct questions rather than incomplete statements
Limit the number of items to be listed to 6 or so
Try to phrase items so that there is only one correct
response
Use one blank space at the end of the statement
Avoid verbal clues and specific determiners (e.g., the, an,
a)
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31. Sample Question of Short Answer
Questions
What is a red corpuscle?
What structure in the blood carries oxygen to the cells of
the human body?
Which of the cells found in the human body carries
oxygen to all other living cells?
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32. Essay
Answer to a question in the form of continuous prose
/ordinary manner /
Allows to assess what students know, believe or are able
to do
Ideal for assessing how well a student can:
Summarize
Hypothesize
Find relations
Apply known procedures to new situations
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33. Sample Questions Of Essay
Discuss essay and MCQ type tests
Compare and contrast the relative advantages &
disadvantages of essay and MCQ tests with respect to
reliability, validity, objectivity, and usability
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34. Advantages Of Essay
Measures higher order learning
Less likely to be answered by guessing
Requires superior study methods
Demonstrates ability to organize knowledge, express
opinions
Easier to construct than an objective test
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35. Disadvantages of Essay
 Subjective nature of scoring
 Good or bad previous level of performance
 Written expression and handwriting legibility
 Grammatical and spelling errors
 Tedious /boring / to score
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36. Tips for Writing of Essay
Test the ability to discuss, analyze, evaluate, summarize
and criticize
Compose questions with specific and measurable
criterion for response
Provide restricted but appropriate space for the response
Develop a key with measurable scoring criterion
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37. Tips for Writing cont…
Provide reasonable time limit
Avoid permitting choice of questions
If possible, score the test anonymously
Score answers to one question at a time
If possible, score each set of answers within the same
timeframe
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38. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
We would like to acknowledge our instructor Mr. Dajane H.
(BSC, MCSPN & Assistant professor) for give us the
opportunity of doing this group assignment, which has give
us an extensive knowledge on items writing principles.
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39. REFERENCE
 Dolan, R.P., & Hall, T.E. (2007). Developing accessible tests with
universal design and digital technologies:
 Ensuring we standardize the right things. In L. L. Cook & C. C.
Cahalan (Eds.), Large-scale assessment and
accommodations: What works (pp. 95-111). Arlington, VA: Council
for Exception Children.
 Mislevy, R.J., Almond, R.G., & Lukas, J.F. (2003). A brief introduction
to evidence-centered design. ETS (Research
Report RR-03-16). Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing Service.
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40. END
THANKS!!
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