Determine the Number of Test Items to be Developed

DOE-HDBK-1078-94

Completion/short-answer format is appropriate for many knowledge

actions verbs, including "recall," "identify," and "list."

Action verbs such as "discriminate" and "select" should be tested

using a multiple choice format.

Learning objectives that require the student to "classify" or "relate"

should be tested in the matching format. See "Test Item Formats"

(Attachment 16) for guidelines of test characteristics.

3.3.2 Determine the Number of Test Items to be Developed. The appropriate

number of test items for each learning objective depends on a number of

factors. Although at least one test item must be developed for each learning

objective, certain considerations justify development of more than one test

item for a given learning objective. For example, tasks used to develop the

learning objectives that were rated at or near the maximum scale of

importance and/or difficulty would suggest a larger number of test items than

those tasks rated near the minimum scale.

3.3.3 Develop Skill and Knowledge Test Items. Test items should be written

after the format is selected and the number of test items is determined. Test

items must have answer keys written at this time.

3.3.4 Validate Contents of Test Items. Content validation is the process by

which test items are determined to be sound and incontestable as to meaning

and correct answer. Each test item should be reviewed by at least three

subject matter experts. Each should agree on what the test item is asking

and the correct response. These validation reviews should be documented.

3.3.5 Incorporate Items into Test Bank for Future Use. A test item bank should

be developed and maintained current. The items in the test bank will be used

in the future to construct entry-level tests, preinstruction tests, progress tests,

or after instruction tests. A tracking system should be developed to correlate

test items to the corresponding learning objective.

The construction of tests at this time is optional. However, tests must be constructed

prior to implementing the training program. Tests are a form of evaluation that

instructors can use to measure the results or effectiveness of their stated objectives.

Test items should be constructed and scored in an objective, rather than subjective,

manner. An objective test can be scored without the exercise of personal opinion.

The length of a test should not exceed the number of test items which could be

answered in two hours by the average trainee. This may require assembling several