Tristan K.
IS 3 THEMAGIC NUMBER?
Timothy Masscockman (Dance) (09/02/2013)
CRITERIA
1. Item difficulty2. Item discrimination3. Test-score
reliability4. Test validity
Change number of options / MC item
“develop as many functional distractors
as are feasible”
EARLIER RESEARCH
p. 59, Haladyna & Downing, 1989
METHOD
where:- p1 is the mean item difficulty for items in one
format- p2 is the mean item difficulty of an alternate
format with one fewer option
Tdiff = p2 – p1
p mean item difficulty
Positivedifference
Item difficulty index from Number of options
Easieritem
Meta-Analysis of 80 years of research (1925 – 1999) 27 studies, 56 indep. Trials total n = 12,591
RESULTS
Rodriguez, 2005
Moving from 4- to 3-option items item difficulty by .04 item discrimination by .03 reliability slightly by .02.
“Three options are optimal for MC items in most settings.“
Rodriguez (2005) limited to “achievement- or aptitude type items“
Other domains?
Other populations?
quality of distractors in highly speeded tests?
Distractors providing diagnostic information
PROBLEMS
REFERENCES
Haladyna, T. M., & Downing, S. M. (1989). Validity of a taxonomy of multiple-choice item writing rules. Applied Measurement in Education, 2, 51–78. Rodriguez, M. C. (2005) Three Options Are Optimal for Multiple- Choice Items: A Meta-Analysis of 80 Years of Research
Image:Timothy Masscockman (Dance). Money & Time wallpaper. Retrieved from:http://www.pickywallpapers.com/1600x900/miscellaneous/money/time-and-money-wallpaper/
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