Educational Psychology / Unit 12 EDP 1116 worked example, 60 to 90 seconds
Fixing a Flawed Item
The idea
Common item-writing faults each let something other than knowledge decide the answer. Unclear wording confuses students who know the content. Irrelevant cues, such as a grammatical mismatch between stem and option, give the answer away. Negatives, especially double negatives, test reading more than knowledge. Textbook sentences lifted out of context reward memorizing wording. Trivia tests unimportant facts. Implausible distractors leave only one reasonable choice, and "all of the above" can be answered from partial knowledge.
In practice
Worked example: "Which of the following is not an example of an unreliable measure? a) a clock, b) an elastic ruler, c) all of the above." Three faults appear: a double negative, a vague option, and "all of the above." Repaired: "Which measure gives the same result each time it is used on the same object? a) a steel ruler, b) an elastic ruler, c) a guess by eye, d) a count of paces."
Where people slip
Each fault lets something other than the target knowledge decide the answer, so the item loses validity. Fix the stem first, then make every distractor plausible to a student who lacks the knowledge.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
Builds on
Unlocks
- Nothing yet depends on this.
Something wrong in this lesson? Flag it · Sources for Educational Psychology