Practicality Categories of Good Test

The multiple choice item is commonly recognized as the most applicable and useful type of objective test item. It can be used to measure both knowledge outcomes and many types of skills. In addition, it can measure a variety of learning outcomes from simple to complex material. The multiplce choice item is included in discrete point test. Discrete point test takes language skill apart. Oller states that, “discrete items attempt to test knowledge of language one bit at a time.” 50 It means that language knowledge can be divided into a number or components, such as grammar, vocabulary spelling, punctuation, pronunciation, intonation, and stress. This test only measures the knowledge of language in one particular component. Actually, it is not too difficult for test maker or teacher to construct multiple choice item test. However, there some suggestions that they shoul consider in constructing this type of test items: 51 a. The stem of the item should be meaningful by itself and should show a specific problem. b. The item stem should include as much of the item as possible and should be free of irrelevant material. c. A negatively stated item stem can be used only when significant outcomes need it. d. All of the alternatives should be grammatically consistent with the stem. e. An item should contain only one clearly correct answer. f. Items used to measure understanding should contain some novelty, but beware too much. g. All distracters should be plausible. h. Verbal associations between the stem and the correct answer should be avoided. i. The relative length of the alternatives should not provide a clue to the answer. j. The correct answer should appear in each of the alternative positions and in equal number but in random order. 50 John W. Oller, Language Tests ..., p. 37. 51 Norman E. Gronlund and Robert L. Linn, Measurement and Evaluation ..., p. 177-188. k. The special alternatives such as “none of the above” or “all of the above” can be used sparingly. l. Do not use multiple choice item when other item types are more appropriate. Although it can be said as the most applicable and useful type of test item, multiple choice item has some limitations, such as: 52 a. The technique tests only recognition knowledge. A multiple choice item gives a quite inaccurate result of students’ ability in productive and receptive skills. b. Guessing may have a considerable but unknownable effect on test scores. We never know what part of any individual’s score comes through guessing. So, we cannot identify the truly students’ competence or ability. c. The technique severely restricts what can be tested. The basic problem here is that it requires distractors, and they are not always available. d. It is very difficult to write successful items. The common faults fall on some areas such as more than one correct answer, no correct answer, the obvious clues in the options, ineffective distractors. e. Backwash may be harmful. Practice at multiple choice items will not usually be the best way for students to improve their command of a language. f. Cheating may be facilitated. The fact that how to response on a multiple choice item is so simple makes students easy to communicate each other non-verbally. Beside its limitations, multiple choice item also has some advantages. Wilmar Tinambunan writes the advantages of multiple choice item as follow: 53 a. The multiple choice item can be used for subject matter content in any different levels of behaviour, such as ability to reason, discriminate, interpret, analyze, infer, and solve problems. b. It has less chance for students to guess the right answer than the true-false item does because it is followed by four or five alternatives. 52 Arthur Hughes, Testing for Language ..., p. 76-78. 53 Wilmar Tinambunan, Evaluation of Students ..., p. 75.