Transcript M-C Item Flaws - Appalachian State University

Multiple-Choice Item Flaws
M-C Item Flaws
Which best describes what happens when
work is done?
A. A force operates through a distance.
B.A force is exerted.
C.Energy is destroyed.
D. Potential energy is changed to kinetic energy.
[A]Flaw: Using stereotyped phrases. Item
can be answered correctly based on recall
of verbal information as well as through
understanding of the principal involved.
M-C Item Flaws
Which of the following has helped most to
increase the length of human life?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Fast driving.
Avoidance of overeating.
Wider use of vitamins.
Wider use of inoculation.
[D]Flaw: highly implausible distracter. Choice
“A” is unreasonable, reducing the item to a
three-choice item.
M-C Item Flaws
Horace Greeley is known for his
A.
B.
C.
D.
advice to young men not to go west.
discovery of anesthetics.
editorship of the New York Times.
humorous anecdotes.
[C]Flaw: Verbal trick in distracter: choice “A”
inserts the word not into a phrase
otherwise attributable to Horace Greeley.
M-C Item Flaws
Slavery was first started
A.
B.
C.
D.
at Jamestown settlement.
at Plymouth settlement.
at a settlement in Massachusetts.
a decade before the Civil War.
[A]Flaw: Non-parallel distracters. Choices
“A” and “B” give specific places, “C”
designates a more general area, “D”
specifies a time. This ambiguity makes
more than one choice correct.
M-C Item Flaws
In purifying water for a city water supply, one
process is to have the impure water seep through
layers of sand and fine and course gravel. Here
many impurities are left behind. Below are four
terms, one of which will describe this process
better than the others. Select the correct one.
A. Sedimentation
C. Chlorination
B. Filtration
D. Aeration
[B]Flaw: Stem includes an “instructional
aside.”
M-C Item Flaws
While ironing her formal, Jane burned her
hand accidentally on the hot iron. This was
due to a transfer of heat by
A. conduction.
B. radiation.
C. conversion.
D. absorption.
[A]Flaw: Stem includes “window dressing.”
The introduction implies a practical
problem when the item only involves
knowledge of technical terms.
M-C Item Flaws
In the definition of a mineral, which of the
following is incorrect?
A.
B.
C.
D.
It was produced by geologic processes.
It has distinctive physical properties.
It contains one or more elements.
It has a variable chemical composition.
[D]Flaw: Uses a negative in the stem; tends
to be confusing. These types of items are
rarely found outside the classroom.
M-C Item Flaws
Which event is more important in American
history?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Braddock’s defeat.
Burr’s conspiracy.
Hayes-Tilden contest.
Webster-Hayne debate.
Flaw: No best answer. Who’s to say which is
more important. Even experts would not
agree.
M-C Item Flaws
The population of Denmark is about
A.
2 million.
B.
15 million.
C.
4 million.
D.
7 million.
Flaw: Unnatural sequence of responses. It
would be better to order from 2 million to
15 million.
M-C Item Flaws
The balance sheet report for the Ajax
Canning Company would reveal (A) the
company’s profit for the previous fiscal
year, (B) the amount of money owed to its
creditors, (C) the amount of income tax
paid, or (D) the amount of sales for the
previous fiscal period.
[A]Flaw: Placing distracters in tandem with
the item stem.
M-C Item Flaws
Which is the best definition of a vein?
A. A blood vessel carrying blood going to the
heart.
B. A blood vessel carrying blue blood.
C. A blood vessel carrying impure blood.
D A blood vessel carrying blood away from the
heart.
[A]Flaw: Needless repetition in the
distracters.