Running Head: TEST QUESTIONS 1

Assignment 3 Dropbox
EDF 612

Allison Whitener
TEST QUESTIONS

I. Describe the uses of true-false items as well as the uses of

matching exercises.
True-false and matching exercises are used quite frequently for student assessment. True-

false questions are mostly used in identification of knowledge and measuring lower levels of

Bloom’s Taxonomy. According to Pearson text (Miller, Linn, & Gronlund, 2013), one of the

many uses of true-false items is that students will need to tell the differences between fact and

opinion. For example, I could ask a student to differentiate between fact and opinion on a music

assessment: “Fact or opinion? Using a half note is m

Works Cited
Martin, E. (2015, June 26). 4 ways to outsmart any multiple-choice test. Retrieved from Business
Insider: http://www.businessinsider.com/4-ways-to-outsmart-any-multiple-choice-test-
2015-6
McLeod, S. (2007). Behaviorist Approach. Retrieved from SimplyPsychology:
https://www.simplypsychology.org/behaviorism.html
Miller, M. D., Linn, R. L., & Gronlund, N. (2013). Measurement and Assessment in Teaching (Vol.
11). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.
Paine, S. L. (2008, July 1). WVDE Instruction. Retrieved from West Virginia Department of
Education: https://wvde.state.wv.us/policies/p2520.10.pdf
Popham, W. J. (2001, March 1). Teaching to the Test? Helping All Students Achieve , 58(6), pp.
16-20.
Quinn, R. (2016, November 16). WV unveils A-F grades for schools. Charleston Gazette-Mail.
Charleston, WV, United States: Charleston Gazette-Mail.
Quinn, R. (2017, June 16). WV state school board considering no-labels school accountability
plan. Charleston Gazette-Mail. Charleston, WV, United States: Charleston Gazette-Mail.
Study Guides and Strategies. (1996, January 1). True/false tests. Retrieved from Study Guides
and Strategies: http://www.studygs.net/tsttak2.htm

ore effective to use in songs with a minor than a quarter note.” The correct answer would be

opinion due to its open-ended analytical nature. This use promotes higher level critical thinking

skills by asking students to distinguish their personal opinions from the factual information.

A second use of true-false items in exams is that students can identify cause and effect

relationships in the content. Each question needs to have a truthful element, but the student will
TEST QUESTIONS

need to think critically as to whether the whole question is true or not. In a music assessment

about the Baroque period of music, I could ask: “Yes or no? According to the short video

showed in class, musical ornaments, such as trills, turns, and appoggiaturas, helped characterize

the Baroque period.” This statement is true, but could easily be made false with the change of

musical time period or with one incorrect musical ornament in the list.

Matching exercises are also traditionally used by teachers when assessing student knowledge.

In its simplest form, students are to identify the pairs of information that are in two different

columns and, by process of elimination, figure out pairs of information they are unsure of. In

order for a matching exercise to be truly effect, all of the pairs must be in the same format. This

type of exercise is also believed to limit guessing among students. One method that the textbook

mentioned is using the matching exercise to pair pictures with terminologies. In my general

music courses, I could create a matching exercise where I use pictures of notes and rests and

have students match those to the name of the note and rest.

Each of these question types serve their own individual functions in identifying whether a

student mastered the content or not. True and false questions can be used a variety of ways to

determine a student’s comfort with the knowledge. Even though those questions are used for

simpler levels on Bloom’s Taxonomy, they open doors to use of critical thinking of the content,

particularly when questions can be worded in a plethora of ways. Matching exercises are also

very useful when dealing with standards that ask a student to identify information. These

exercises limit student guessing and open opportunities for students to display their knowledge in

a different manner.

II. Describe the advantages and limitations of true-false and

matching exercises.
TEST QUESTIONS

Like all other types of test questions, true-false items have their pros and cons of being used

in the classroom. The immediate major advantage of true-false questions is their efficiency. Not

only can students answer these more quickly, but teachers say that the simplicity of their

construction saves teachers time. Unfortunately, creating poor true-false questions can stem

from open-endedness that makes the test items either too confusing or too obvious. True-false

questions must strictly measure the learning outcomes of the unit in order to truly be effective.

My biggest criticism of true-false questions exams is the ease of students being able to guess

the answer without a clue of why it would be correct. With a fifty percent chance of getting the

answer correct without clues, students may get every answer correct without knowing any of the

content material. Many study tips websites discuss the patterns of true-false exams: use of

absolute words and qualifiers (Study Guides and Strategies, 1996). The reliability of these

questions are low for that reason, making it quite difficult be able to determine a full level of

achievement.

Praise and criticism of matching exercises are pretty similar. Matching exercises are often

applauded for how easy they are to create and how much material can be covered in such a

compacted format question. Unfortunately, students will catch on to patterns and begin to

memorize the information as opposed to fully understanding it. Another limitation of matching

exercises is the addition of less significant material in order to make the question type relevant.

A matching exercise would not work with only two options, so adding information that is not as

important in order to make the question type reasonable.

III. Construct 5 multiple choice items using the suggestions

provided. Explain which suggestion you implemented in the
five questions.
TEST QUESTIONS

According to the Pearson text, there are twelve suggestions for construction of valid and

reliable multiple choice assessment questions. The first suggestion is that the stem of the

question should be significant on its own and present a definite problem. For a general music

class, I could ask: “Beyonce’s vocal type could be classified as what? A. Soprano B. Tenor C.

Baritone D. Bass.”. In this question, students are given options to fix the problem as opposed to

being presented with true and false facts. A second suggestion states that questions should be

free of irrelevant material. On a test about classical music, I could ask: “Musical phrases in the

classical period were: A. Fancy B. Balanced C. Impressionist D. Unpredictable.”. By limiting

options to one word, students have a more concise question to look at and respond to.

The third suggestion listed in the Pearson text is that negative stems should only be used if

the learning outcome requires it. If I focus my instruction on what something is not as opposed

to what it is, a question with a negative stem would make much more sense. Instead of asking

which symbol is not worth one beat, I should ask what symbol is worth one beat. There are not

many examples in music education where a negative stem would be the most applicable and

relevant method of assessment. The fifth item on the list is that the item should contain one

clearly best answer. If more than one answer is necessary, using another question type may be

the best route of assessing student knowledge. I need to be sure that students fully understand

what I am asking of them.

The seventh suggestion on the list is that all distractor answers should be reasonable. I have

seen on many tests where teachers will insert their own name as an answer to a question. Based

on the Pearson text, all four answers need to seem plausible to the student who did not study. I

could ask: “Which composer wrote the choral symphony? A. Beethoven B. Mozart C. Haydn
TEST QUESTIONS

D. Clementi.” All of my answer choices are composers from the Classical Period, instead of

giving obviously incorrect answers.

The final suggestion on the list that stuck out to me was that I should try not to use special

answers such as “all of the above” or “none of the above” very often. Students can identify

whether these answers are correct or incorrect by doing some careful reading of the question.

Emmie Martin from Business Insider gives test tips in her article, “4 ways to outsmart any

multiple-choice test.” Her first point was to avoid answers with absolute answers unless they can

be proven to be true (Martin, 2015). I could ask: “Which of the following composers were

known for their operas? A. Bizet B. Mozart C. Handel D. All of the above.” In this case, all

three composers I have selected have apply to the question, so all of the above would be correct.

References
Martin, E. (2015, June 26). 4 ways to outsmart any multiple-choice test. Retrieved from Business
Insider: http://www.businessinsider.com/4-ways-to-outsmart-any-multiple-choice-test-
2015-6

Miller, M. D., Linn, R. L., & Gronlund, N. (2013). Measurement and Assessment in Teaching (Vol.
11). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.

Study Guides and Strategies. (1996, January 1). True/false tests. Retrieved from Study Guides
and Strategies: http://www.studygs.net/tsttak2.htm