Short-Answer Test Item Writing Procedure cont'd

DOE-HDBK-1204-97

Answer:

No. In any case the facility management would have to be notified before the

operator resumed duties, and only after certification by an authorized

representative of the facility or by a demonstration by the individual that his/her

understanding of facility operations and administration is satisfactory.

The test developer should avoid giving away part or all of the answer by the way the test

item is worded. In the test item below half credit is allotted for answering the first part of the

test item "yes." However, a test-wise trainee can realize that the answer has to be yes, or

else the second part of the test item would have read something like "If so, how? If not, why

not?"

Test item:

If the letdown line became obstructed, could boration of the plant be

accomplished shortly after a reactor trip to put the plant in cold shutdown?

(1 point) If so, how? (1 point)

Trick test items should be avoided. Trick test items can occur unintentionally when the

answer key does not precisely match the test item. The test item below asks for how, not if,

the termination criteria change.

Test item:

How does the SI termination criteria change following an SI reinitiation?

Answer:

It does not change.

Examples of short-answer test items are found in Appendix C -- Test-Item Examples.