This document discusses various test item formats including dual choice, multiple choice, matching, cloze, essay, and interpretative exercises. It provides examples of each type of test item and discusses principles of good assessment including validity, reliability, discrimination, and washback. For each test item format, the document outlines pros and cons, highlighting that various formats can assess different cognitive levels but multiple choice is most widely used due to ease of scoring.

1. Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdallah
University
Faculty of Arts and Human
Sciences
Dhar Mehraz, Fez
Applied Language
Studies and Research
in Higher Education
Master Program
Test Item Formats
Examples and Issues
Academic Year: 2014/2015
Presented by:
Mohamed Benhima
Mohamed Lazrak
Supervised by:
Dr. Mohamed
Ouakrime

2. Outline
Introduction ……………………………………………………..
• Prinsiples of a good assessment……………………………………
• Dual Choice ……………………………………………………………….
• Multiple Choice…………………………………………………………..
• Matching Item…………………………………………………………….
• Cloze Tests………………………………………………………………….
• Essay …………………………………………………………….………….
• Interpretative Exercise………………………………………………..
Conclusion …………………………………………………………………..

3. Introduction
Chapelle and Brinlley (2002),
“act of collecting information and making
judgments about the learner’s knowledge of a
language and ability to use it” (Ibid: p267).
Richards and Shmidt (1992)
“an individual question in a test which requires the
student to produce an answer.” (Ibid: p566)

4. Principles of a good assessment:
1. Validity: It should measure what it is supposed to
measure
2. Reliability: in order to be reliable, a test must be
consistent in its measurements,i.e. if the test is given
to the same learners on different occasions,the same
scores are obtained.
3. Discrimination: a test has to have power to
discriminate between testees.
4. Washback: means the effect of test has on language
teaching in the classroom so as to improve teaching
and learning.

5. Dual- Choice tests
• True or False Item:
A type of test item or test task that requires test takers to
decide whether a given statement is either true or false, which
is a dichotomous choice, as the answer or response. (Richards
and Shmidt , p.566)

6. Dual Choice (Bac. 2010)

7. Multiple- Choice tests
• It is the most popular and useful of all
objective item-types.it can be used to measure
rote memory as well as complex skills,it is
simple to score and administer.

8. • The Stem: The primary purpose of the stem is to present the problem
clearly and concisely. It is the first part of a multiple choice items.
• The stem may take the following statements:
1. An incomplete statement: example: (Extracted from Bac., 2011)
The Moroccan constitution gives parliament……to pass laws
A- the power
B- has the power
C-the power is
D- of the power
2- A complete statement: example:
People think of salt mostly as a seasoning for food:
A-exclusively
B- nutritionally
C- mainly
D- necessarily
3. A passage: example (CRMEF entrance exam,2013)
Choose the correct answer
The author of this text is primarily concerned with:
A- Food shortage in developing countrues
B- causes of natural disasters
C- the advert effects of climate change
D- hot and dry climate

9. •The Key
 Usually one correct option or best option is
recommended, more correct options confuse the
students
 Keep answer options short and simple

10. •The Distractors
 Their role is to divert or distract the majority of
learners from the correct option
 Be reasonably attractive and plausible to any
testee
 Be grammatically correct
 Don’t begin with: none of the above/all of
these
 Be sure that the distractors are clearly incorrect.
 Avoid absurd distractors
 Use simple direct sentences, careful layout,the
appropriate use of emboldening.

11. Pros of Multiple Choice Tests
Flexible and versatile
A large number of items can be answered
during a brief period of time
 there are no scoring errors
It may be scored rapidly,accurately and
objectively
Scoring is completely objective

12. Cons of Multiple Choice Item
Tests only factual knowledge
Penalises the creative students
Is difficult to write a good multiple choice
items
Requires more time to answer
Can’t be used to measure testees’ ability to
organize material

13. • A type of test item or test task that requires test
takers to indicate which entries (e.g. words or
phrases) on one list are the correct matches for
entries on another list.
• Selected response item is a type of test item or
test task that requires test takers to choose
answers from a ready made list rather than
providing an answer; examples of sri include
multiple choice, true or false items, matching
items.
Matching Item

14. Matching Item (Bac. 2012)

15. Matching Item (Bac. 2005)

16. • It is a test consisting of a portion of text within certain
words removed,where the participants are asked to
replace the missing words.
• Cloze tests require the ability to understand context and
vocabulary in order to identify the correct words that
belong in the deleted passages of a text.
Cloze Tests

17. • Words may be deleted from the text in question either
mechanically ( every nth word) or selectivey( depending
on what aspect it is intended to test for)
• In this form, the testees should read the text and
understand the context. Then based on the context, they
should select and write the appropriate words in each
blank.

18. Examples of Cloze tests
.
1. Subjective: students are to fill cloze with words that
would make a given sentence grammatically correct.
2. Objective: Students are given a list of words to use in
a cloze.
3. Neutral: Ss are given the first letter and asked to
complete the word.
Examples of Cloze Items:
•« Today, I went to the….. And bought some milk
and eggs. I knew it was going to rain, but I forgot
my …… and ended up getting wet on the way…. »

19. Fill in The Gaps

20. Pros of Cloze Test Item
• It covers broad range of topic in a short span
of time
• It is easier to prepare and less time consuming
• It can assess effectively the lower level of
Bloom’s taxonomy
• It covers greater amount of contents than
matching type tests

21. Cons of Cloze Test Item
• It is only appropriate for questions that can be
answered with short responses
• It can assess only knowledge,comprehension
and application levels in Bloom’s taxonomy of
cognitive domain

22. ‘A subjective test in which a person is
required to write an extended piece of test
on a set topic.’(Richards and Shmidt ,1992, p. 186)
ESSAY

23. Bac. 2010

24. Bac. 2009

25. Criteria (the Moroccan Guidelines for Scoring Baccaleuriate Exams, 2009)

26. • According to Airisian(1994) and Mitchell(1992),
interpretative exercise provides students with
some information or data followed by a series of
questions on that information. In responding to
the questions in an interpretative exercise, the
students have to analyze , interpret, or apply the
material provided, like a map, excerpt of a story,
passage of a poem, data matrix, table or cartoon.
It is a form of multiple choice type of test that
can assess higher cognitive behaviors
Interpretative tests

27. A B C D
 Pictorial material can measure the ability to interpret
graphs, cartoons, maps and other pictorial materials
Circle the letter that indicate the clock of choice:
 what clock shows when school starts?
A B C D
 What clock shows the time closest to lunch time?
A B C D
 What clock shows half past the hour?
A B C D

28. Pros
Tests students’ ability to apply and
transfer prior knowledge to new material.
The interpretative exrcises present new
map, a short reading, or their introductory
material that the students must analyse.
 Useful in assessing analysis, synthesis,
application.

29. Cons
Difficulty of construction/ hard to design
 students with good reading skills are at an
advantage.

30. Conclusion
All in all, testing is the most practical way in
which one goes about assessing students’ ability.
Tests, in fact, consist for the most part of dual
choice, multiple choice, matching items, cloze
items, essay items and interpretative items
among others.

31. Conclusion
• Chapelle, C.A. & Bindley, G. (2000). Assessment, An
Introduction to Applied Linguistics, Oxford University Press
• Ebel, R.L. & Frisbie, D.A. (1991). Essentials of Educational
Measurement (5th ed). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
• Richards J.C. & Schmidt R. (1992). Longman Dictionary of
Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics. London: Longman
Group UK Limited
Bibliography

32. 2014/2015