Writing True/False Items
True/False items have been around the testing circles for a
long time. Typically these items require learners to classify
statements into one of two discrete categories:
True-false
Yes-No
Correct-Incorrect
Fact-Opinion
Most often these items are used to assess factual knowledge,
although when written well they can assess higher order
thinking (see the first GOOD EXAMPLE below).
The biggest limitation is that students can use a coin flip to
answer the questions thus it is difficult to determine
whether the students really know the material or they
just guessed! After all, they have a 50/50 chance of
answering correctly!
Item Writing Guidelines for True/False Items
1
! 1. Avoid specific determiners as clues (e.g., always, never).
! 2. Avoid a disproportionate number of either true or false statements.
! 3. Avoid exact wording from textbooks or other references.
! 4. Avoid trick statements.
! 5. Limit each statement to the exact point to be tested.
! 6. Avoid excess use of negative words or phrases.
! 7. Avoid ambiguous words or statements.
! 8. Avoid complex language and vocabulary and unnecessary complex sentence
structure.
! 9. Require the simplest possible method of indicating a response to reduce
confusion.
! 10. Use true-false items ONLY for points that lend themselves unambiguously to
this kind of item.