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B. Writing Matching Questions
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Matching test items,
along with true-false and multiple choice, are selection items. They are
specialized for use when measuring the student's ability to identify the
relationship between a set of similar items, each of which has two components,
such as words and their definitions, symbols and their meanings, dates
and events, people and their accomplishments, etc. Of the two objectives
listed below, only the second one is appropriate for a matching item
Objective A: Students
will be able to explain the process of photosynthesis.
Objective B: Students
will be able to identify primary characters in novels they read.
In measuring accomplishment
of objective A, the question would probably be one calling for the student
to write a response. In contrast, Objective B states that the students
will be able to "identify" primary characters. This implies some type
of selection question in which the answers are provided, and the task
of the student is recognition. The rest of the objective (primary characters
in novels they read) indicates a series of novels, each with its respective
primary character.
One matching item can
replace several true-false or short answer items (and require less reading
for the students). Matching items are generally easy to write and score
when the test content and objectives are suitable for matching questions.
Possible difficulties in using matching items may arise due to poor student
handwriting or printing, or students' being able to guess correct answers
through the process of elimination.
In developing matching
items, there are two columns of material (Example 1).
The items in the column on the left (Column A) are usually called premises
and assigned numbers (1, 2, 3, etc.). Those in the column on the right
(Column B) are called responses and designated by capital letters, as
in Example 1. Capital letters are used rather than lower case letters
in case some students have reading problems. Also there are apt to be
fewer problems in scoring the student's handwritten responses if capital
letters are used.
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| 1. |
Directions: On the line next to each children's book in Column
A print the letter of the animal or insect in column B that is a main
character in that book. Each animal or insect in Column B can be used
only once. |
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Column A
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Column B |
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1.
Charlotte's Web |
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A. Bear |
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2.
Winnie the Pooh |
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B. Chimpanzee |
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3.
Black Beauty |
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C. Cricket |
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4. Tarzan |
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D. Deer |
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5.
Pinocchio |
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E. Horse |
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6.
Bambi |
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F. Pig |
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The student
reads a premise (Column A) and finds the correct response from among those
in Column B. The student then prints the letter of the correct response
in the blank beside the premise in Column A. An alternative is to have the
student draw a line from the correct response to the premise, but this is
more time consuming to score. |
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In Example
1, the student only has to know five of the six answers to get them all
correct. Since each animal in Column B can be used only once, the one remaining
after the five known answers have been recorded is the answer for the sixth
premise. One way to reduce the possibility of guessing correct answers is
to list a larger number of responses (Column B) than premises (Column A),
as is done in Example 2. |
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Column A
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Column B |
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1.
Charlotte's Web |
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A. Bear |
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2.
Winnie the Pooh |
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B. Chimpanzee |
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3.
Black Beauty |
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C. Cricket |
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4. Tarzan |
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D. Deer |
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5.
Pinocchio |
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E. Horse |
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6.
Bambi |
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F. Mouse |
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G. Pig |
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Some writers
suggest there be no more than five to eight premises (Column A) in  one
set. For each premise, the student has to read through the entire list of
responses (or those still unused) to find the matching response. For this
reason, the shorter elements should be in Column B, rather than Column A
to minimize the amount of reading needed for each item. Although there is
little difference in the length of items in the two columns in Examples
1 and 2, note the improvement in Example 3b when the items in the two columns
in Example 3a are reversed. |
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| 3a. |
Directions: On the line next to each description in Column A,
place the letter of the president in Column B whom it describes. Answers
in Column B may be used only once. |
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| _____1. Jimmy Carter |
| _____2. Abraham Lincoln |
| _____3. Richard Nixon |
| _____4. George Washington |
| _____5. Ronald Reagan |
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Our first President |
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Resigned from the office of president |
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Was well known for his association with humanitarian
causes after leaving office |
| D. |
Was a movie star and a state governor before
being elected president |
| E. |
Was assassinated while in office |
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| 3b. |
Directions: On the line next to each description in Column A,
place the letter of the president in Column B whom it describes. Answers
in Column B may be used only once. |
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| _____A. |
Our first President |
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Resigned from the office of president |
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Was well known for his association with humanitarian
causes after leaving office |
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Was a movie star and a state governor before
being elected president |
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Was assassinated while in office |
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| 1. Jimmy Carter |
| 2. Abraham Lincoln |
| 3. Richard Nixon |
| 4. Ronald Reagan |
| 5. Woodrow Wilson |
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Responses (Column
B) should be listed in logical order if there is one (chronological, by
size, etc.). If there is no apparent order, the responses should be listed
alphabetically. Premises (Column A) should NOT be listed in the
same order as the responses, however, as in Example 4. |
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| 4. |
Directions: On the line next to each author in Column A, place
the letter of the type of writing in Column B for which the author
is best known. Answers in Column B may be used only once. |
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Column A
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______1. James Michener
______2. Stephen King
______3. Erma Bombeck
______4. Agatha Christie
______5. Walt Whitman
______6. Danielle Steele
______7. Isaac Asimov
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A. History
B. Horror
C. Humor
D. Mystery
E. Poetry
F. Romance
G. Science Fiction
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As previously
mentioned, there should be a larger number of responses (Column B) than
premises (Column A) to reduce the possibility of guessing correct answers.
Another way to decrease the possibility of guessing is to allow responses
to be used more than once. Directions to the students should be very clear
about the use of responses. Example 5 utilizes both of these techniques:
more responses than premises, and allowing responses to be used more than
once. |
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| 5. |
Directions: On the line next to each author in Column A, place
the letter of the type of writing in Column B for which the author
is best known. Answers in Column B may be used once, more than once,
or not at all. |
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Column A
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______1. Agatha Christie
______2. Isaac Asimov
______3. Erma Bombeck
______4. Walt Whitman
______5. Stephen King
______6. James Michener
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A. History
B. Horror
C. Humor
D. Mystery
E. Poetry
F. Science Fiction
G. Tragedy
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A difficulty
sometimes arises in finding sufficient homogeneous material. In Example
6, the content can readily be sorted into two categories with 3 items each.
In other words, only three questions relate to inventors, so the student
only has to know two of them to get all three correct. The same is true
for the three artists. |
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| 6. |
Directions: On the line next to each accomplishment in Column
A print the letter of the person in column B who is associated with
that accomplishment. Each name in Column B can be used only once. |
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Discovered electricity |
| _____2. |
Famous for composing waltz music |
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Composed marches, such as the Stars & Stripes
Forever |
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Invented the telephone |
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Wrote musical scores for broadway shows |
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| A. Thomas Edison |
| B. Benjamin Franklin |
| C. George Gershwin |
| D. Louis Pasteur |
| E. John Phillip Sousa |
| F. Johann Strauss |
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Variation Example 7 shows
one variation using a short list of answers, each with a capital letter
designation, positioned above a set of items. Each question can be answered
by using one (or sometimes more than one if this is specified in the directions)
of the answers in the "key" which you have provided. The letter designating
the correct response is printed in the blank beside the item. |
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| 7. |
Directions: Listed below are some objectives. In the blank beside
each objective, specify the most appropriate type of assessment by
placing the letter of the assessment type in the blank beside the
objective. |
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A. |
Essay |
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Performance Assessment (portfolio,
presentation, project, etc.) |
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Traditional paper and pencil test
(true false, multiple choice, etc.) |
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Students will be able to construct a fluxty. |
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Students will know the six rules for effluding
ixons. |
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Students will be able to explain to parents how
their fluxty operates. |
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Students be able to evaluate the advantages and
disadvantages of the various types of zibixs. |
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| * |
Check your objectives to make sure this type of question
is appropriate. |
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Include more responses than premises OR allow
responses to be used more than once. |
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Put the items with more words in Column A |
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Arrange items in Column B in either a logical or natural
order or alphabetically if there is no apparent organizational basis. |
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Use numbers to identify items in Column A, capital
letters to identify responses in Column B. |
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Correct answers should not be obvious to those who
don't know the content being taught. |
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Do NOT list premises in the same order as responses,
and there should NOT be a pattern in the correct answers. |
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There should NOT be keywords appearing in both
a premise and response providing a clue to the correct answer. |
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The items should all be part of a common set. It should
NOT be possible to subdivide the premises and responses into
two or more discrete subsets. |
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All of the responses and premises for a matching item
should appear on the same page. |
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Directions to the students should explain how many
times responses can be used. |
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THIS CONCLUDES THE INFORMATION ON WRITING AND SCORING
MATCHING QUESTIONS. GO TO SECTION C TO CHECK YOUR KNOWLEDGE. |
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Copyright
© 2001-2002 Alabama Department of Education
All Rights Reserved.
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