PAPER

NATURE OF STUDENT ASSESSMENT

MULTIPLE CHOICE ITEMS

by:

Kurnia Nurfitria (08303241021)

Dwi Agustina Romiyatun (08303241026)

CHEMISTRY EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

SCHOOL OF SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS EDUCATION

YOGYAKARTA STATE UNIVERSITY

2010
 CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

A. Background

The multiple-choice (MC) item is one of the most popular item formats used in
educational assessment. Most multiple-choice test questions are not as replete with errors as
this example, but you have probably seen many of the errors before. In addition to confusing
and frustrating students, poorly-written test questions yield scores of dubious value that are
inappropriate to use as a basis of evaluating student achievement. Compare the example
above with the following one: While this example may still leave room for improvement, it is
certainly superior to the first one. Well-written multiple-choice test questions do not confuse
students, and yield scores that are more appropriate to use in determining the extent to which
students have achieved educational objectives.
MC items can be constructed to assess a variety of learning outcomes, from simple
recall of facts to Bloom’s highest taxonomic level of cognitive skills – evaluation. It is
common knowledge that the correct answers should be distributed evenly among the
alternative positions of MC items, but there are many other important guidelines for writing
good items. For example, Haladyna (1999) describes 30 guidelines for writing MC items.
Space limitation precludes a discussion of all these guidelines here. We focus on eight
guidelines that we believe are generally not well recognized by chemistry teachers in
Indonesia. Illustrative examples are provided to demonstrate how these guidelines can be
applied to construct chemistry items.

B. Problems

To know about the multiple choice items play such an important role in achievement
testing, there are some important things which have to be considered. Here, we’re going to
discuss about:

1. How are the characteristic of multiple choice items ?

2. How are the strengths and limitation of multiple-choice items ?
3. How to distinguish between well stated and poorly stated multiple choice items ?
4. How to identify and correct faults in poorly stated multiple choice items ?
5. How is the match multiple choice to intended learning outcomes?

2
 6. How to construct multiple-choice items that are well stated, relevant to important
learning outcomes and free of defects ?
C. Purposes

Based on the problems above, the purposes of this discussion are to:

1. Describe the characteristic of multiple-choice items ?

2. Describe the strengths and limitation of multiple-choice items ?
3. Distinguish between well-stated and poorly stated multiple choice?
4. Identify and correct faults in poorly stated multiple choice items ?
5. Match multiple-choice items to intended learning outcomes ?
6. Construct multiple-choice items that are well stated, relevant to important learning
outcomes and free of defects ?

3
 CHAPTER II

MULTIPLE CHOICE ITEMS

A. Nature of Multiple Choice

Multiple-choice questions are selection-type items. Students are given three or more
possible answers and are asked to choose the correct answer or the "best" answer. A standard
multiple-choice test item consists of two basic parts: a problem (stem) and a list of suggested
solutions (alternatives). The stem may be in the form of either a question or an incomplete
statement, and the list of alternatives contains one correct or best alternative (answer) and a
number of incorrect or inferior alternatives (distracters).
The purpose of the distracters is to appear as plausible solutions to the problem for
those students who have not achieved the objective being measured by the test item.
Conversely, the distracters must appear as implausible solutions for those students who have
achieved the objective. Only the answer should appear plausible to these students.
In this paper , an asterisk (*) is used to indicate the answer.

Example :

What is the main function of the salt bridge in an electrochemical cell? Stem
Answer *A. supply ions moving to the two half-cells
Distracter B. draw electrons from one half-cell to the other half-cell Alternative
Distracter C. keep the levels of solutions equal in the two half-cells
Distracter D. supply electrons to complete the circuit

B. Uses of Multiple Choice Items

The multiple choice items can be used to measure knowledge outcomes and various
type of complex learning outcomes. The single item format is probably most widely used for
measuring knowledge, comprehension, and application outcomes. The interpretive exercise
consisting of the series of multiple choice item based on introductory material (e.g.
paragraph, picture, or graph ). Is especially useful for measuring analysis, interpretation, and
other complex learning outcomes. Here we confine the discussion to the use of single ,
independent, multiple choice items.

4
1. Knowledge Items

Knowledge items typically measure the degree to which previously learned

material has been remembered. It focus on the simple recall of certain information
and can be concerned with the measurement of terms, fact, or other specific aspects of
knowledge. Test questions focus on identification and recall of information. Sample
verbs for stating specific learning outcomes are : Cite, define, identify, label, list,
match, name, recognize, reproduce, select, state .

Examples

Outcome: Identifies the meaning of a term.

Reliability is the same as:

*A. consistency.
B. relevancy.
C. representativeness.
D. usefulness.

Outcome: Identifies the order of events.

What is the first step in constructing an achievement test?
A. Decide on test length.
*B. Identify the intended learning outcomes.
C. Prepare a table of specifications.
D. Select the item types to use.

2. Comprehension Items
Comprehension items typically measure at the lowest level understanding.
Involves students’ ability to read course content, extrapolate and interpret important
information and put other’s ideas into their own words. Test questions focus on use of
facts, rules and principles. Sample verbs for stating specific learning outcomes are :
classify, convert, describe, distinguish between, explain, extend, give examples,
illustrate, interpret, paraphrase, summarize, translate.

Example

Outcome: Identifies an example of a term.

5
Which one of the following statements contains a specific determiner?
A. America is a continent.
B. America was discovered in 1492.
*C. America has some big industries.
D. America’s population is increasing.

Outcome: Interprets the meaning of an idea.

The statement that “test reliability is a necessary but not sufficient condition of test
validity” means that:
A. a reliable test will have a certain degree of validity.
*B. a valid test will have a certain degree of reliability.
C. a reliable test may be completely invalid and a valid test completely unreliable.

Outcome: Identifies an example of a concept or principle.

Which of the following is an example of a criterion-referenced interpretation?
A. Derik earned the highest score in science.
B. Erik completed his experiment faster than his classmates.
C. Edna’s test score was higher than 50 percent of the class.
*D. Tricia set up her laboratory equipment in five minutes.

Outcome: Predicts the most probable effect of an action.

What is most likely to happen to the reliability of the scores for a multiple-choice test,
where the number of alternatives for each item is changed from three to four?
A. It will decrease.
*B. It will increase.
C. It will stay the same.
D. There is no basis for making a prediction.

In this last example, the student must recognize that increasing number of
alternative in the items produces the same effect as lengthening the test.

3. Application Items
Application items also measure understanding, but typically at higher level
than that of comprehension. The students must take new concepts and apply them to

6
another situation. Thus, application items determine the extent to which student can
transfer their learning and use it effectively in solving new problem. Such items may
call for the application of various aspects of knowledge, such as facts, concepts,
principle, rules, methods and theories. Both comprehension and application items
are adaptable to practically all area of subject matter, and they provide the basic
means of measuring understanding. Test questions focus on applying facts or
principles. To assess students, teacher must specify the learning outcomes so the
students will be more focus on what they’re going to perform. Sample verbs for
stating specific learning outcomes are : apply, arrange, compute, construct,
demonstrate, discover, modify, operate, predict, prepare, produce, relate, show,
solve, use.

Example
Outcome: Distinguishes between properly and improperly stated outcomes.
Which one of the following learning outcomes is properly stated in terms of
student performance?
A. Develops an appreciation of the importance of testing.
* B. Explains the purpose of test specifications.
C. Learns how to write good test items.
D. Realizes the importance of validity.

Outcome: Improves defective test items.

Directions: read the following test item and then indicate the best change to make
to improve the item.
Which one of the following types of learning outcomes is most difficult to
evaluate objectively?
A. A concept.
B. An application.
C. An appreciation.
D. None of the above.
The best change to make in the previous item would be to:
A. change the stem to incomplete-statement form.
B. use letters instead of numbers for each alternative.
C. remove the indefinite articles “a” and “an” from the alternatives.
7
 *D. replace “none of the above” with “an interpretation.”
When writing application items, care must be taken to select problem that the
student have not encountered previously and therefore cannot solved on the basic
of general knowledge alone.
C. Strengths and Limitation of Multiple-Choice Items

Multiple-choice test items are not a best test item. They have advantages and limitations just
as any other type of test item. Teachers need to be aware of these characteristics in order to
use multiple-choice items effectively.

1. Advantages

a. Versatility.
Multiple-choice test items are appropriate for use in many different subject-
matter areas, and can be used to measure a great variety of educational objectives.
They are adaptable to various levels of learning outcomes, from simple recall of
knowledge to more complex levels, such as the student’s ability to:
1) Analyze phenomena
2) Apply principles to new situations
3) Comprehend concepts and principles
4) Discriminate between fact and opinion
5) Interpret cause-and-effect relationships
6) Interpret charts and graphs
7) Judge the relevance of information
8) Make inferences from given data
9) Solve problems
The difficulty of multiple-choice items can be controlled by changing the
alternatives, since the more homogeneous the alternatives, the finer the distinction
the students must make in order to identify the correct answer. Multiple-choice
items are amenable to item analysis, which enables the teacher to improve the item
by replacing distracters that are not functioning properly. In addition, the
distracters chosen by the student may be used to diagnose misconceptions of the
student or weaknesses in the teacher’s instruction.
b. Validity.

8
 In general, it takes much longer to respond to an essay test question than it
does to respond to a multiple-choice test item, since the composing and recording
of an essay answer is such a slow process. A student is therefore able to answer
many multiple-choice items in the time it would take to answer a single essay
question. This feature enables the teacher using multiple-choice items to test a
broader sample of course content in a given amount of testing time. Consequently,
the test scores will likely be more representative of the students’ overall
achievement in the course.
c. Reliability.
Well-written multiple-choice test items compare favorably with other test item
types on the issue of reliability. They are less susceptible to guessing than are
true-false test items, and therefore capable of producing more reliable scores.
Their scoring is more clear-cut than shortanswer test item scoring because there
are no misspelled or partial answers to deal with. Since multiple-choice items are
objectively scored, they are not affected by scorer inconsistencies as are essay
questions, and they are essentially immune to the influence of bluffing and writing
ability factors, both of which can lower the reliability of essay test scores.
d. Efficiency.
Multiple-choice items are amenable to rapid scoring, which is often done by
scoring machines. This expedites the reporting of test results to the student so that
any follow-up clarification of instruction may be done before the course has
proceeded much further. Essay questions, on the other hand, must be graded
manually, one at a time.
2. Limitations
a. Versatility.
Since the student selects a response from a list of alternatives rather than
supplying or constructing a response, multiple-choice test items are not adaptable
to measuring certain learning outcomes, such as the student’s ability to:
2) Articulate explanations
3) Display thought processes
4) Furnish information
5) Organize personal thoughts
6) Perform a specific task
7) Produce original ideas
9
 8) Provide examples
Such learning outcomes are better measured by short answer or essay
questions, or by performance tests.
b. Reliability.
Although they are less susceptible to guessing than are true false-test items,
multiple-choice items are still affected to a certain extent. This guessing factor
reduces the reliability of multiple-choice item scores somewhat, but increasing
the number of items on the test offsets this reduction in reliability. The following
table illustrates this principle.

For example, if your test includes a section with only two multiple-choice
items of 4 alternatives each (a b c d), you can expect 1 out of 16 of your students to
correctly answer both items by guessing blindly. On the other hand if a section has
15 multiple-choice items of 4 alternatives each, you can expect only 1 out of 8,670
of your students to score 70% or more on that section by guessing blindly.
c. Difficulty of Construction.
Good multiple-choice test items are generally more difficult and time-
consuming to write than other types of test items. Coming up with plausible
distracters requires a certain amount of skill. This skill, however, may be increased
through study, practice, and experience.

D. Guidelines for Constructing MC Items

1. The stem should be meaningful by itself and should present a definite problem.

10
 A common fault in MC item writing is to have a brief, meaningless stem with
problem definition revealed in the options. In such cases, it can be difficult to see the intent of
the item after reading the stem. To write a focused item, we should include the central idea in
the stem instead of the options. In Item 1, the stem does not present a definite problem.

ITEM 1
Non-metals
A. cannot exist as solids at room temperature.
B. can combine only with metals to form stable compounds.
*C. usually have more than three electrons in the outermost shell of the atom.
D. are usually found on the left hand side of the Periodic Table.

The correct answer is indicated with an asterisk. Students are faced with four true-
false options; each is about non-metals, but only option C is correct. Furthermore, the four
options cover a set of widely dissimilar chemical ideas so that evaluation by comparison is
not possible. The stem can be judged to be clearly presenting a problem if it forces the
options to be parallel in type of content.
Item 2 demonstrates one way to make the stem become a definite problem. Students
can think about the correct answer rather than figuring out what the problem is. Also, the
clearly stated problem in the stem has forced the four options to be parallel in content.

ITEM 2
How many electrons could be found in the outermost shell of a non-metal atom?
A. 1
B. 2
C. 3
*D. 4
Similarly, Item 3 is a poorly written MC item. The stem fails to present a definite
problem and the four options appear to be a hodgepodge of chemical ideas. Clearly, Item 4 is
more focused than Item 3.The stem of Item 4 poses a clear, definite problem and assesses a
single learning objective.

ITEM 3
Which of the following statements concerning electrochemical cells is correct?
11
 *A. There is a spontaneous chemical reaction in each electrochemical cell.
B. The e.m.f. of an electrochemical cell is measured in joules.
C. The anode is labeled (+) while the cathode is labeled (–).
D. The salt bridge provides electrons to complete the circuit.

ITEM 4
What is the main function of the salt bridge in an electrochemical cell?
*A. supply ions moving to the two half-cells
B. draw electrons from one half-cell to the other half-cell
C. keep the levels of solutions equal in the two half-cells
D. supply electrons to complete the circuit

2. The use of internal or beginning blanks in completion-type MC items should be

avoided.
The stem may be written as an incomplete statement that needs to be completed by
insertion of the correct option. Measurement specialists have advised not to use the
completion format because a student has to retain the stem in short-term memory while
completing the stem with each option. Test anxiety is even higher if the student is not a native
English speaker. If the completion format is unavoidable, the omission should occur toward
the end of the stem rather than in the middle or at the beginning of the stem as shown in Item
5. Item 6 shows an improved version.

ITEM 5
have the molecular formula CnH2n.
A. Alkanes
*B. Alkenes
C. Alkanols
D. Alkanoic acids

ITEM 6
Which type of organic substance has the molecular formula CnH2n?
A. alkanes
*B. alkenes
C. alkanols

12
 D. alkanoic acids

3. Use a negatively stated stem only when significant learning outcomes require it.
Most students have difficulty understanding the meaning of negatively phrased items.
They often read through the negative terms such as not, no, and least, and forget to reverse
the logic of the relation being tested. For example, Items 7 and 8 assess the same concept of
chemistry, but some students may answer Item 7 incorrectly merely because of the word
least. Since least and concentrated are opposites, the phrase least concentrated is more
difficult to understand than the phrase most concentrated. Research by Cassels and Johnstone
(1984) has confirmed that the change from least concentrated to most concentrated will
increase the percent of correct responses.

ITEM 7
Which of the following solutions is the least concentrated?
A. 50 g of calcium carbonate in 100 cm3 of water
B. 60 g of sodium chloride in 200 cm3 of water
C. 65 g of potassium nitrate in 100 cm3 of water
*D. 120 g of potassium sulphate in 200cm3 of water

ITEM 8
Which of the following solutions is the most concentrated?
A. 50 g of calcium carbonate in 100 cm3 of water
B. 60 g of sodium chloride in 200 cm3 of water
*C. 65 g of potassium nitrate in 100 cm3 of water
D. 120 g of potassium sulphate in 200 cm3 of water

Although negatively phrased stems should generally be avoided, they are useful if we
want to assess whether students can identify dangerous laboratory practices that may damage
expensive equipment or result in bodily injury, and which should not be carried out. Item 9 is
an example of such an item. However, when a negative term is used, it should be emphasized
by being underlined or capitalized. Replacing the negative term with the word except can
sometimes improve clarity, as illustrated in Item 10. Few students would overlook the
negative element in the stem because the word except is deliberately placed at the end of the
stem and is capitalized.
13
 ITEM 9
Water-type extinguisher is not suitable for putting out fire caused by burning
*A. alcohol.
B. cotton.
C. paper.
D. wood.

ITEM 10
Water-type extinguisher is suitable for putting out fire caused by burning all of the
following
EXCEPT
*A. alcohol.
B. cotton.
C. paper.
D. wood.

4. Irrelevant difficulty should be avoided.

The difficulty of an item should not be increased by incorporating more complicated
information in the stem than is necessary. For example, if we want to assess whether students
can solve dilution problems using the concept of molarities, Item 11 contains confounding
detail. The values used in Item 12 will assess the same learning outcome and will avoid
irrelevant sources of difficulty and error.

ITEM 11
What volume of water should be added to 57.35 cm3 of 1.96 M NaCl in order to dilute it
to
1.50 M?
*A. 17.59 cm3
B. 42.65 cm3
C. 74.94 cm3
D. 112.41 cm3
ITEM 12

14
 What volume of water in cubic centimeters should be added to 60 cm3 of 2.0 M NaCl in
order to dilute it to 1.5 M?
*A. 20
B. 40
C. 80
D. 120
Similarly, we should not attempt to increase the difficulty of an item by using
unnecessarily complex or unfamiliar vocabulary, such as the word Topaz in Item 13. This
item aims at testing students’ understanding of the types of ions that give a yellow color. But
if students do not know that Topaz is yellow, they are lost. Item 14 is a better measure of the
same learning objective. The purpose of chemistry MC tests is to assess students’ knowledge,
understanding and problem solving, not reading proficiency.

ITEM 13
Which ion below is responsible for the colour of the gemstone called Topaz?
A. Cr3+
B. Cu2+
*C. Fe 3+
D. Mn3+
ITEM 14
Which ion below is probably responsible for the colour of yellow gemstones?
A. Cr3+
B. Cu2+
*C. Fe 3+
D. Mn3+

5. All distracters should be plausible.

Designing plausible distracters is the most difficult part of MC item writing. A good
distracter should be selected by low achievers and not by high achievers. To construct
plausible distracters, teachers are encouraged to use common misconceptions of chemistry
students for distracters. For example, the correct answer in both Items 15 and 16 is pH 3.
Many students have the misconception that a solution is drinkable only if its pH is 7±2 (Cros
et al., 1986). Thus, distracters with a pH value within this range are plausible (see Item 16).

15
 ITEM 15
Ordinary soft drinks like Coca-Cola have a pH about
A. 1
B. 2
*C. 3
D. 4

ITEM 16
Ordinary soft drinks like Coca-Cola have a pH about
*A. 3.
B. 5.
6
C. 6.
D. 8.
For Items 17 and 18, the correct answer is CuS2. According to research (Schmidt,
1987), students have two common misconceptions. Some tend to use the mass-ratio strategy
(Cu:S = 1:1) and select option A in Item 18 as the answer. Other students like to employ the
molar-mass-ratio strategy (Cu:S = 64:32) and think that option C in Item 18 is the correct
answer. Thus, CuS and Cu2S are good distracters and useful for diagnosis of students’
learning difficulties. Arbitrary distracters such as CuS3, Cu2S3 and Cu3S should be avoided.

ITEM 17
2 g of a compound contains 1 g copper, the rest is sulphur. Which one of the following
formulae correctly represents this compound?
*A. CuS2
B. CuS3
C. Cu2S3
D. Cu3S

ITEM 18
2 g of a compound contains 1 g copper, the rest is sulphur. Which one of the following
formulae correctly represents this compound?
A. CuS
*B. CuS2
16
 C. Cu2S
D. Cu2S3

6. Avoid the use of complex MC format.

Sometimes, teachers like to design complex MC items to make them harder. A
complex MC item consists of a list of potentially correct answers called primary responses
and a list of combinations of the primary responses called secondary options. Students have
to select one of the secondary options in answering the item, as shown in Item 19. This item
is equivalent to a set of four true-false items, but knowing that a particular primary response
is correct or incorrect would help the examinee identify the correct secondary option by
eliminating distracters (Ebel & Frisbie, 1991; Haladyna, 1999). For example, if students
know that the primary response “sulphur dioxide” is untrue, they tend to pick option D
because sulphur dioxide does not appear in options A and D and more than one primary
response are usually included in the correct answer to a complex MC item. Although the
complex MC format may make the items more difficult, research (Albanese, 1993;
Rodriguez, 1997) has revealed that it is less discriminating and reliable than the single-
answer format. Item 20 shows an improved version.

ITEM 19
Which of the following chemicals is/are contained in town gas?
(1) hydrogen
(2) sulphur dioxide
(3) carbon monoxide
(4) gaseous naphtha
A. (3) only
B. (1) and (2) only
C. (2) and (4) only
*D. (1), (3) and (4)

ITEM 20
What is the major constituent of the town gas in Hong Kong?
A. carbon monoxide
B. gaseous naphtha
*C. hydrogen
17
 D. methane

7. The relative length of the options should not provide a clue to the answer.
Teachers are mostly unaware of this item-writing principle (Rodriguez, 1997). It is
common to express the correct response more carefully and at greater length than the
distracters. However, research (Chase, 1964) has indicated that longer options tend to result
in higher response rates. In Item 21, test wise students will notice that option D is much
longer than the other options. Even without a good understanding of the concept of sacrificial
protection, they will guess that the correct answer is D because it stands out from the others.
In Item 22, the correct answer is shortened and two distracters are rephrased to the desired
length. Although expanding the distracters can increase their specificity and plausibility,
teachers should not load them with irrelevant lengthiness or false technicality.

ITEM 21
Why is zinc better than tin if we want to protect a piece of iron from rusting by
electroplating?
A. Zinc is cheaper than tin.
B. Tin is toxic.
C. Zinc can prevent iron from contacting with water and air.
*D. Zinc is more reactive than iron and thus rusting is prevented even when the metal

ITEM 22
Why is zinc better than tin if we want to protect a piece of iron from rusting by
electroplating?
A. The cost of extraction of zinc from ores is lower than that of tin.
B. Tin is a toxic metal and causes incurable diseases.
C. Zinc can prevent iron from contacting with water and air.
*D. Rusting is prevented even when the zinc layer is broken.

8. Avoid using “none of the above” or “all of the above” as an option.

The use of none of the above and all of the above as options in MC items is tempting
to many teachers because they appear to fit easily into many items. However, many
measurement specialists do not recommend the use of the option none of the above. For
example, the correct answer for Item 23 is option D. A student may explain this way: “The
18
correct answer is none of the above because, as everyone knows, hydrogen relights a glowing
splint.” Another student may be surprised to hear that explanation: “What! The correct
answer is not hydrogen, but sulphur dioxide.” It does not matter; neither gas is listed. Thus,
the correct answer could be selected with misinformation. This item may be modified to form
Item 24.

ITEM 23
Which of the following substances would relight a glowing splint?
A. carbon dioxide
B. chlorine
C. nitrogen
*D. none of the above

ITEM 24
Which of the following substances would relight a glowing splint?
A. carbon dioxide
B. chlorine
C. nitrogen
*D. oxygen

The use of the option all of the above is also problematic. For example, Item 25 is
poorly constructed because a student may know that two of the three options offered are
correct and this information can clue the student into selecting all of the above. Thus, the
option format allows students to select the correct answer on the basis of only partial rather
than complete knowledge of the item. Item 26 shows an improved version.

ITEM 25
Which statement is true of most plastics?
A. They have no reaction with acids.
B. They can be molded easily.
C. They are flammable.
*D. All of the above.

ITEM 26
19
 Which statement is true of most plastics?
*A. no reaction with acids
B. difficult to be molded
C. nonflammable
D. good conductors of heat
The option all of the above is still faulty even though it is not designed as the correct
answer in MC items. When a student recognizes that at least one option is incorrect, he or she
may immediately note that the all of the above option must be wrong. In such a case, the
option all of the above is not a functional distracters.

Checklist for Reviewing Multiple-Choice Items

 Has the item been constructed to assess a single written objective?

 Is the item based on a specific problem stated clearly in the stem?
 Does the stem include as much of the item as possible, without including irrelevant
material?
 Is the stem stated in positive form?
 Are the alternatives worded clearly and concisely?
 Are the alternatives mutually exclusive?
 Are the alternatives homogeneous in content?
 Are the alternatives free from clues as to which response is correct?
 Have the alternatives “all of the above” and “none of the above” been avoided?
 Does the item include as many functional distractors as are feasible?
 Does the item include one and only one correct or clearly best answer?
 Has the answer been randomly assigned to one of the alternative positions?
 Is the item laid out in a clear and consistent manner?
 Are the grammar, punctuation, and spelling correct?
 Has unnecessarily difficult vocabulary been avoided?
 If the item has been administered before, has its effectiveness been analyzed?

20
 CHAPTER III

CONCLUSION

Based on the discussion above we can conclude that:

1. The multiple-choice item provides the most useful format for measuring achievement
at various levels of learning.When selection-type items are to be used (multiple-
choice, true-false, matching, check all that apply) an effective procedure is to start
each item as a multiple-choice item and switch to another item type only when the
learning outcome and content make it desirable to do so. It means that multiple choice
is the most highly regarded and useful selection type items
2. Multiple choice items consist of stem and a set of alternative answer. It can be
designed to measure various intended learing outcomes, ranging from simple to
complex
3. The multiple choice items in single item format is probably most widely used for
measuring knowledge, comprehension, and application outcomes.
a). Knowledge items typically measure the degree to which previously learned
material has been remembered.
b). Comprehension items measure the extent to which students have grasped the
meaning of material.
c). Application items measure the extent to which Students take new concepts and
apply them to another situation.
4. However, poorly written multiple choice items will introduce bias or distortion and
thus lower the dependability of test scores. More importantly, poorly written multiple
choice items cannot provide us with information to inform teaching and learning.

21
 REFERENCE

Albanese, M. A. (1993). Type K and other complex multiple-choice items: An analysis of

research and item properties. Educational Measurement: Issues and Practice, 12, 28-
33.
Cassels, J. R. T., & Johnstone, A. H. (1984). The effect of language on student
performance on multiple choice tests in chemistry. Journal of Chemical Education,
61(7), 613-615.
Chase, C. I. (1964). Relative length of option and response set in multiple choice items.
Educational and Psychological Measurement, 24(4), 861-866.
Cheung, dherek. Robert Bucat.(2002).How can we construct good multiple choice items.
Hong Kong :Science and Technology Education Conference

Cros, D., Maurin, M., Amouroux, R., Chastrette, M., Leber, J. & Fayol, M. (1986).
Conceptions of first-year university students of the constituents of matter and the
notions of acids and bases. European Journal of Science Education, 8(3), 305- 313.
Ebel, R. L. & Frisbie, D. A. (1991). Essentials of educational measurement. Englewood
Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Haladyna, T. M. (1999). Developing and validating multiple-choice test items. Mahwah:
Lawrence Erlbaum.
Rodriguez, M. C. (1997). The art & science of item writing: A meta-analysis of multiple-
choice item format effects. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American
Educational Research
Association.
Schmidt, H. J. (1987). Secondary school students’ learning difficulties in stoichiometry. In J.
Novak (Ed), Misconceptions & educational strategies in science and mathematics
(pp.396-404).Ithaca: Cornell University.
From http://www3.fed.cuhk.edu.hk/chemistry/files/constructMC.pdf

22
23