True-false questions require students to judge whether statements are true or false. Guidelines for constructing true-false questions include using clear, unambiguous statements and avoiding clues that may give away the answer. True-false questions can reliably and efficiently measure a wide variety of learning outcomes and are well-suited for questions with only two possible answers or testing for common misconceptions. Examples demonstrate good true-false questions are concise and avoid unnecessary details, while poor questions contain unnecessary information or negatives that make the statement hard to judge.

1. TRUE -FALSE
Type of Test
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2. Definition
• True-false questions are typically used to measure
the ability to identify whether statements of fact
are correct. The questions are usually a declarative
statement that the student must judge as true or
false
• A true/false question requires that the learner
choose an either/or response from two choices. The
choices can be true or false, yes or no, agree or
disagree.

3. Guidelines for Constructing
True-False Test
1. CLARITY - Use statements upon which
clear judgments can be made
 Avoid ambiguous/ indefinite terms.
 Avoid broad, general statements.
 Both parts of a cause-effect relationship must
be true - the student should determine if the
relationship is true or false.

4.  Avoid long or complex sentences.
 Avoid negative statements, especially two
negatives in one sentence.
 Attribute statements of opinion to a source
unless discrimination between fact and
opinion is specifically being measured.

5. 2. CLUES - Avoid unintentional clues:
 Avoid the use of specific determiners; for
example, all, none, never, always, generally.
 Avoid answer patterns. Responses should be
both randomly sequenced and approximately
evenly proportioned.
 Avoid length cues, all sentences should be of
similar length.

6. 3. RELEVANCE - Relate to Objects
 Relate items to specific learning objectives.
 Avoid trivial content.

7. • Versatility - True-false
items are adaptable to the
measurement of a wide
variety of learning
outcomes.
• Scoring accuracy and
economy – Scoring keys can
be economically applied by
machine or clerical
assistants.
Advantages
of True-
False Items
(True-false items share
most of the advantages of
"objective" or selected-
response item forms: )

8. • Reliability - True-false
tests that are highly
reliable can be
constructed.
• Amenable to item analysis -
Item difficulty (the
percentage of students who
select the correct response)
and item discrimination
(a correlation coefficient that
indicates how well the item
separates students who know the
material well from those who do
not) can be used to improve
true-false items and inform
instruction.
Advantages
of True-
False Items

9. • Efficiency -- More test
responses can be obtained
from a given amount of
written material and in a
given amount of time from
true-false items than from
other forms. Three true
false items can be answered
for every two multiple-
choice items. Consequently,
true-false items permit the
widest sampling of content
Advantages
of True-
False Items
(In comparison with other
selected-response items,
e.g., multiple-choice, true-
false items have several
additional advantages)

10. • True-false items are
especially useful for
questions where there are only
two reasonable answers.
• True-false items are
especially useful in testing
misconceptions.
• True-false items can be
expressed in few words, making
them easy to understand and
less dependent on reading
ability.
Advantages
of True-
False Items

11. Examples: True or False
Good
1. All spiders have
exoskeletons.
2. A subject pronoun is used
to replace another noun.
Poor
1. All spiders have
exoskeletons and only
prey on insects.
2. Subject pronouns, which
can be found only in the
beginning of sentences
and have no bearing on the
word order, are used to
replace nouns.

12. 3. Solar energy is an
alternative energy
source.
4. Bread and grain are at
the bottom of the food
pyramid.
3. Solar energy is often
used as an alternative
energy source.
4. Bread and grains are
not at the top of the
food pyramid.

13. 5. Sulfur dioxide
produces sulfuric acid
because of oxidation.
6. The nous form of the
verb, when used in a
command, means let's.
5. Sulfur dioxide produces
sulfuric acid because
sulfur gases are
emitted from industrial
smoke stacks.
6. The nous form of the
imperative always
means let’s.

14. References
• Bradfield, J.M., & Moredock, H.S. (1957).
Measurement and evaluation in education. New
York, NY: The Macmillan Company.
• Ebel, R.L. & Frisbie, D.A. (1991). Essentials of
Educational Measurement (5th ed). Englewood Cliffs,
NJ: Prentice Hall