Different forms of Questions

1. TYPES OF TEST ITEMS
Presented by: Surekha V S
Assistant Professor in Commerce Education
Sree Vivekananda Teacher Education Centre, Akkikkavu.

2. TYPES OF TEST ITEMS
 Free response
 Fixed response
 Objective type test items
 Short answer type test items
 Essay type test items

3. Objective type test items
• Responses are fixed and objective.
• Number of questions.
• Short duration for answering.
• Scoring is quite objective.
• Easily scored
• Easy to administer & control
• More valid & reliable

4. CLASSIFICATION OF OBJECTIVE TYPE TEST ITEMS
SELECTION TYPE / RECOGNITION TYPE SUPPLY TYPE/ RECALL TYPE
True/false Questions
Multiple choice Questions
Completion or Fill in the blanks
Matching type Questions

5. True/ False Items ( Alternate Response Type)
Points to be remembered:
 Avoid too many negatives
 Number of true items & false items should be balanced
 Avoid stating of personal opinion
 Avoid the words or expressions as hints to correct answers
Not be very long

6. Merits & Demerits
Merits Demerits
Easily constructed Examinee makes guesses.
Scored quickly 50% chance for guess work
Suitable for pupils who have poor
vocabulary

7. Multiple Choice Items
Two parts:
STEM: First part may be a question / an incomplete statement
KEYED RESPONSE: Correct response
DISTRACTORS: Rest of the choice.

8. Points to be kept in mind while constructing:
The item:
 Should be clear & accurate
 Should have only one correct answer
 Not copy exact same sentences from the text book
 Provide distractors that grammatically fit with the stem.
 Respones should not overlap with one another.
 Should not be ambigous.

9. Matching Type Items
• Modified version of MCQ
• Economical
Precaution:
 The items as short as possible
 Number of options should be more than that of the stems
 Items in the stem part must be homogeneous
 Give clear directions

10. Completion type test items
• Test requires the examinee to fill in the blanks
• A word or phrase should be omitted.
Points to be kept in mind:
 Avoid ambiguous statements
 Don”t omit too many words
 Avoid grammatical hints leading to answers
 Correct response should be only key words.

11. Objective type test items- Advantages
• Easily & objectively scored.
• Wide content coverage
• Reliable & valid
• Economy of time
• Eliminates irrelevant factors
• Motivates to build up broad base to students
• Can also be used to measure HOTS

12. Limitations
• Possibility of guessing
• Difficulty to prepare good items
• Problem of cheating
• Takes more time to construct
• High printing cost
• Inefficient in testing complicated skills
• Content validity cannot be tested

13. Short Answer type test items
• Question having 3 value points at the most
• Can be answered by a word or a few sentences
• Uses direct question
• Lies between objective & essay type test items
• Value points- points to be credit in the correct answer
• Expected length of the answer should be very short
• Can be answered in few seconds
• Covering wide content area

14. Advantages
• Wide area should be covered
• Easy to construct
• Little opportunity for guessing
• Helpful in interpreting of charts, diagrams etc.

15. Disadvantages
• More subjective
• Develop poor study habits
• Mechanical scoring can not be possible

16. Essay type test items
• Traditional
• Free response

17. Advantages
• Easy to construct
• Simple administration
• Used to measure complex skills
• Examinee can get the opportunity to respond freely
• Promote originality & creativity
• Reduce the chance for spot copying

18. Disadvantages
• Subjective
• Content coverage is not possible
• Develop poor study habits
• Not valid & reliable
• Develops unhealthy competition
• Leads to selective study