Test Construction

http://www.utc.edu/Administration/WalkerTeachingResourceCenter/FacultyDevelopment/
Assessment/test-questions.html The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga-Teaching Resource Center outlines advantages and disadvantages of different test types.

http://www.oic.id.ucsb.edu/TA/hdbk/ta2-4.html This site is good for those who are just beginning to experiment with different types of tests.

The following list of Do’s and Don’ts for test construction are among the hints at the University of California Santa Barbara. Other useful information is on this site.

DO'S:

• Write the test items simply and clearly
• If an item represents a particular opinion, identify the author of the opinion.
• Write clear and unambiguous directions for the test as a whole and for each specific section of the test.
• Assemble items into a test according to some systematic plan, e.g., similar item-types grouped together.
• Devise a system to facilitate scoring the test (e.g., a separate answer sheet and an answer key in the same format).

DON'TS:

• Don't lift a statement verbatim from a textbook.
• Don't provide clues in one item for answers to other items.
• Don't intersperse item-types on the test.
• Avoid writing interdependent items such that the answer to one item is necessary to respond to the next item.
• Avoid items dealing with trivia.
• Avoid trick questions.
• Avoid ambiguity in items.

http://www3.fed.cuhk.edu.hk/chemistry/files/constructMC.pdf This paper by Cheung and Bucat is a good discussion of the construction of multiple-choice items.

http://testing.byu.edu/info/handbooks/betteritems.pdf The paper from Brigham Young University also contains good information for multiple-choice item writers.

http://testing.byu.edu/info/handbooks/bettertests.pdf The booklet from Brigham Young University covers many aspects of testing.

http://www.idea.ksu.edu/papers/Idea_Paper_17.pdf The IDEA paper by William Cashin contains information about strengths and weaknesses of essay tests.

http://www.e-publishing.af.mil/pubfiles/af/36/afh36-2235v12/afh36-2235v12.pdf This handbook was written for the United States Air Force and contains information about the learning theory behind the design and development of criterion-referenced tests.

http://www.clt.cornell.edu/campus/teach/faculty/Materials/TestConstructionManual.pdf The paper from Cornell University is in outline form and provides steps involved in constructing teacher-made tests.