The rationale for use of instructional sensitivity in the empirical review of test items is examined, and the results of a study that distinguishes instructional sensitivity from other item concepts are presented. Research is reviewed which indicates the existence of instructional sensitivity as a unique criterion-referenced test item concept. (RL)

Two approaches to criterion-referenced test construction are compared. Classical test theory is based on the practice of random sampling from a well-defined domain of test items; latent trait theory suggests that the difficulty of the items should be matched to the achievement level of the student. In addition to these two methods of test…

The feasibility of generating multiple-choice test questions by transforming sentences from prose instructional materials was examined. A computer-based algorithm was used to analyze prose subject matter and to identify high-information words. Sentences containing selected words were then transformed into multiple-choice items by four writers who…

Differences among test item writers and among different rules for writing multiple choice items were investigated. Items testing comprehension of a prose passage were varied according to five factors: (1) information density of the passage; (2) item writer; (3) deletion of nouns, as opposed to adjectives, from the sentence in order to construct…

Using informal, objectives-based, or linguistic methods, three elementary school teachers and three experienced item writers developed criterion-referenced pretests-posttests to accompany a prose passage. Item difficulites were tabulated on the responses of 364 elementary students. The informal-subjective method, used by many achievement test…

An empirical review of test items is described as an essential step in criterion-referenced test development. The concept of test items' instructional sensitivity is introduced, and research is briefly reviewed which describes four theoretical contexts in which instructional sensitivity indexes have been observed: criterion-referenced; classical…

Several measurement theorists have convincingly argued that methods of writing test questions, particularly for criterion-referenced tests, should be based on operationally defined rules. This study was designed to examine and further refine a method for objectively generating multiple-choice questions for prose instructional materials. Important…

The problems associated with misclassifying students when pass-fail decisions are based on test scores are discussed. One protection against misclassification is to set a confidence interval around the cutting score. Those whose scores fall above the interval are passed; those whose scores fall below the interval are failed; and those whose scores…

The technology of transforming sentences from prose instruction into test questions was examined by comparing two methods of selecting sentences (keyword vs. rare singleton), two types of question words (nouns vs. adjectives), and two foil construction methods (writer's choice vs. algorithmic). Four item writers created items using each…

Three approaches to the construction of achievement tests are compared: construct, operational, and empirical. The construct approach is based upon classical test theory and measures an abstract representation of the instructional objectives. The operational approach specifies instructional intent through instructional objectives, facet design,…