Constructing Test Items

by Steven J. Osterlind

This book addresses major issues included in constructing test items by focusing on four ideas. First, it describes characteristics and functions of test items. A second feature of this book is the presentation of editorial guidelines for writing test items in all of the commonly used item formats, including for test of constructed-response formats and performance tests. A third aspect of this book is the presentation of methods for determining the quality of test items. Finally, this book presents a compendium of important issues about test items, including procedures for ordering items in a test, ethical and legal concerns for using copyrighted test items, item scoring schemes, computer-generated items and more.

368 pages, Hardcover

First published June 30, 1989

Reviews

[Joe Bathelt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Osterlind provides a good overview of test development, with a strong focus on psychometrics theory and practical recommendations for multiple-choice items. However, the text is very dated in both content and style. It is very wordy and the actual takeaway messages that are being conveyed could have been stated much more succinctly.

[Alberto · Rating 2 out of 5]

The usual collection of banalities and platitudes masquerading as insightful commentary.