An Empirical Comparison of Three-and Four-Choice Items and Tests
Susceptibility to Testwiseness and Internal Consistency Reliability
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 20282949 |
|---|---|
| Authors | W Todd Rogers (University of Alberta), Dwight Harley (Edmonton Catholic Schools) |
| Year | 1999 |
| Volume | 59 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 234-247 |
| Publication date | 1999-04-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Educational and Psychological Measurement (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0013-1644 • E-ISSN: 1552-3888 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/00131649921969820 |
| OpenAlex | W2036146986 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 8 |
| References cited | 14 |
Theoretical and test simulation work reveals that under the knowledge-or-randomguessing assumption, three-option item tests are at least as good as four-option item tests in terms of item discrimination and internal consistency. Of concern, however, is the finding that multiple-choice items may be susceptible to testwiseness, thereby contradicting the random-guessing assumption. Both item-level and test-level characteristics were examined for items included in a high stakes school-leaving mathematics examination. As expected, the influence of testwiseness is lessened when three-option items are used instead of four-option items. Differences and nondifferences between the psychometric characteristics of the three-option and four-option test forms tend to agree with the findings of earlier studies: Tests consisting of three-option items are at least equivalent to tests composed of four options in terms of internal consistency score reliability, difficulty is inversely related to the number of options, and the findings for item discrimination are not conclusive
Consistency (knowledge bases) · Econometrics · Internal consistency · Item analysis · Item response theory · Multiple choice · Psychometrics · Reliability (semiconductor) · Significant difference · Statistics · Test (biology) · Advanced Statistical Modeling Techniques · Behavioral and Psychological Studies · Clinical Psychology · Mathematics · Psychology · Psychometric Methodologies and Testing · Social Psychology
Beyond the Bubble
Automated scoring of open-ended situational judgment tests
A Review of Multiple-Choice Item-Writing Guidelines for Classroom Assessment
The Optimal Number of Options Used in Multiple-Choice Test Format for National Examinations in Indonesia
Investigating differences in test-takers’ use of cognitive and metacognitive strategies in audio-only and video-based listening comprehension test
Number-Right, Item-Response, and Finite-State Scoring
The differences among three-, four-, and five-option-item formats in the context of a high-stakes English-language listening test
A comparison of three- and four-option English tests for university entrance selection purposes in Japan
A Test of the Hypothesis that Cronbach's Alpha or Kuder-Richardson Coefficent Twenty is the Same for Two Tests
Determining the Optimal Number of Alternatives to a Multiple-Choice Test Item
Expected Reliability as a Function of Choices Per Item
An Analysis of Test-Wiseness
The Optimal Number of Alternatives in Multiple-Choice Achievement Tests
A Comparison of Two, Three and Four-Choice Item Tests Given a Fixed Total Number of Choices
Three-Choice Versus Four-Choice Items
Interview on Assessment Issues with Lorrie Shepard
| Unique citing works | 8 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,31 |
| Citation span | 2000 - 2024 (25) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 6 |