Topic Progress:

UNPACKING SELECTED RESPONSE ITEMS

Selected Response Items

  • include multiple-choice, true-false, matching, short answer/fill-in-the-blank,
  • include short answer/fill-in-the-blank (with a listing of answer choices provided),
  • assess the student’s knowledge of factual information, main concepts, and basic skills.

Benefits of Selected Response

  • Can be scored quickly
  • Can be scored objectively as correct or incorrect
  • Can cover a wide range of content

Considerations of Selected Response

  • Tend to promote memorization of factual information rather than higher-level understanding
  • Inappropriate for some purposes (performance, writing, and creative thinking)
  • Lack of student writing in most cases, unless part of assessment design

Five Roadblocks to Effective Item Writing

Unclear directions

Unclear directions

Ambiguous statements

Unintentional clues

Complex phrasing

According to James Popham, some of the common roadblocks for writing test items include these 5 roadblocks. How many of you have experienced these? Another common roadblock is that sometimes teachers do not have a clear understanding of the standard targeted for assessment. Unless there is a clear understanding of the learning target being measured, it is impossible to write questions that produce the necessary evidence to determine whether or not the student has mastered the standard (Popham uses the term Roadblocks—this module uses the word considerations).

Key Points for Writing Selected Response Items

  • Write item stem first; then write distractors including the correct response or responses.
  • Choose an appropriate format.
  • Make sure the items will produce the needed evidence to determine mastery.
  • Include the vocabulary of the standard.
  • Match the rigor of the question with the rigor of the standard.

These are some general guidelines for writing selected response items. “Distracters” are generally defined as other possible answers that students might choose. Those distracters can tell us where students are in their point of the learning. In math, the responses might exhibit common math errors (process errors add, subtract, multiply, divide).  In reading, we look at common types of “thinking errors”, for example, did not give evidence from text, answered from a different point of view, different character/plot, etc. Can you think of any other important points for writing selected response items?

  1. An example of a predator-prey relationship would be
    1. tree – water.
    2. cow – grass.
    3. hawk – mouse.
    4. tick – dog.
  1. The food chain is
    1. the same as a food web.
    2. the line from producers to consumers.
    3. always the same number of levels.
    4. where we go to buy our groceries.
The Supreme Court is the highest court in the United States.  The Supreme Court hears cases that are appealed from lower courts.  Of the 7,500 cases that reach the Court each year, only about 80-100 cases are accepted.  Once the Court makes a decision, it can only be changed by another Supreme Court decision or by changing the Constitution.  This power is really important in the lives of many people.

  1. Based on the text, which answer shows how   previous Supreme Court decisions can be  changed?
    1. By amending the Declaration of Independence.
    2. By a process of impeachment.
    3. By a president’s executive decision.
    4. By another Supreme Court decision.
  2. Based on the text, what will most likely happen to a case that is sent to the Supreme Court?
    1. The Supreme Court will fail to accept it.
    2. The Supreme Court will send it to a higher court.
    3. The Supreme Court will begin a process of impeachment.
    4. The Supreme Court will make a decision that amends the Constitution.

  1. Before students begin working in the shop, they should:
    1. know how to operate every piece of equipment.
    2. know the safety rules for working in the shop.
    3. read the textbook to learn how to design plans.
    4. wash their hands, change clothes, and tie their shoes.
  2. Regardless of where students are working, the most important safety rule is
    1. return all tools to their proper location before leaving.
    2. sweep the area where work was completed after work is done.
    3. wear safety glasses or goggles at all times in the shop area.
    4. bring prints or drawings to the area before beginning work.