This document provides information on alternate-choice items, their nature and variations, advantages and limitations, principles for constructing tests, and tips for test taking. Alternate-choice items include multiple choice, true-false, yes-no, checklist, and other formats that require selecting from two or more options. They can test recall and comprehension efficiently but are more susceptible to guessing than other item types. When constructing tests, items should be clear, concise, free of bias, varied in difficulty, and avoid negatives or complex sentences. Students should read carefully and watch for qualifiers when answering alternate-choice items.

1. Alternate-Choice Items Nature Variations Advantages and Limitations Test Construction Principles Tips in test taking

2. Measures the ability to identify whether statements of fact are correct Contains two possible responses for each item (“forced choice”) Requires students to select a response Tests student’s recall and comprehension Nature

3. A. Embedded Items : involve a series of underlined words or phrases whose accuracy students are asked to judge Example: Indicate whether each underlined word is correctly spelled. For each word, mark your answer sheet as follows: A. Correctly spelled B. Incorrectly spelled Variations

4. Construct validity is the most relevant type of validity if their is a need to determine whether a particuler test, in affect , measures a psychological construct. Examples of psychological constructs include intelligense , various specific aptitudes, such as math aptitude, music aptitude, and creativity ; and personeilty traits, such as anxiety and motivation .

5. B. Multiple True-False Items : consist of a stem and a list of options

6. Example: Read each option and indicate which are correct: In a comparison with multiple-choice items, an advantage of the true-false format is: 1. less items can be administered within a single test 2. each test item can be developed in less time 3. it can be scored objectively 4. higher scores are obtained by students

7. C. Sequential True-False Items : can be presented in sequence, with the correct response to each item dependent on conditions specified in the previous item : can be used when solution of a problem requires a series of steps, each providing information to the next stage

8. Example: Items one through four represent a student’s attempt to solve for X. Evaluate this solution by determining whether each equation is equivalent to the immediately preceding equation. A. This expression is equivalent to preceding equation. B. This expression is not equivalent to preceding equation. Solve for X: (4x-3)(3x+8)=(3x+4)(3x+6) 1. 12x-24=9x+24 2. 3x=48 3. x=16 4. x=8

9. D. Focused True-False Items : requires students to classify a proposition as true or false Examples: 1. The probability of precipitation increases as barometric pressure (a. increases b. decreases) 2. The atmosphere near the equator flows to the east (a. east b. west) 3. Wind direction between centers of high and low pressure is parallel to a line connecting the two centers (a. parallel b. perpendicular)

10. E. Yes-No Items : the student responds “yes” or “no” to each item Example: Which of the following terms indicate observable student performance? Circle Y for yes and N for no. 1. Explains Y N 2. Identifies Y N 3. Learns Y N 4. Predicts Y N 5. Realizes Y N

11. F. Checklist : requires students to check beside each answer for which the answer would be “Yes”, not marking beside the “No” responses Example: Which of the following terms indicate observable student performance? ________1. Explains _____4. Identifies ________2. Learns _____5. Predicts ________3. Realizes

12. F. True False Correction Items : statements are presented and each statement contains a key word or brief phrase that is underlined (what word can be changed in the sentence) Example: The Internal Revenue Service is the government agency established to monitor transportation.

13. Large number of items can be answered in a typical testing period Easy to construct Scoring efficiency and accuracy Versatility in measuring all levels of cognitive ability Useful for outcomes where there are only two possible alternatives Less demand is placed on reading ability than in multiple-choice items Advantages

14. Limitations Difficult to write items beyond the knowledge level. Making an item false provides no evidence that the student knows what is correct. Scores are more influenced by guessing than with any other item type. Can often lead an instructor to favor testing of trivial knowledge.

15. Test Construction Principles

16. Example: Bad: John Milton composed On his Blindness in 1673. Better: John Milton composed On his Blindness in 1673.  Each item should refer to only one concept.

17. Example: Bad: The Philippine Constitution is better than the Malaysian Constitution. Better: Part of the Constitutions of the Philippines and Malaysia are the same.  Must not include an opinion statement.

18. Example: Bad: Testing should play a major role in the teaching-learning process. Better: Gronlund believes that testing should play a major role in the teaching-learning process.  Statements of opinion should be attributed to some source, unless used to distinguish facts from opinion.

19. Existential Quantifiers (True) : “some”, “usually”, “often”, “generally” Universal Quantifiers (False) : “always”, “never”, “all”, “none”  Avoid specific quantifiers.

20. Example: Bad: President Aquino is the 6 th President of the Philippines.  Avoid trivial statement or bit of information that are not important.

21. Example: Bad: Sophocles wrote Oedipus Rex that is about a man who unintentionally killed his father, married his mother, and blinded himself. Better: Sophocles wrote Oedipus Rex.  Avoid long and complex sentences.

22. Example: Bad: Henry Otley Beyer did not formulate the Migration Theory. Better: Henry Otley Beyer formulated the Migration Theory.  Avoid using negatively stated statements.

23. Example: Bad: Conflagration is a source of forest destruction in the USA. Better: Large destructive fire is a source of forest destruction in the USA.  Avoid the use of unfamiliar vocabulary.

24.  Use more false items than true items (but no more than 15% additional false items).  Avoid using a pattern for the occurrence of true-false statements.  Be sure to include directions that tell students how and where to mark their responses.

25.  Make true and false statements equal in length.  Group questions by content.  Build up to difficulty (simpler questions first).

26. Watch out for long sentences. Read the statement thoroughly and decide if the answer is true. All parts of the statement must be true. Statements that contain negative words can sometimes be confusing. Look for words that are considered to be qualifiers. Tips in Test Taking