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A Three-Way Classification Of Sources Of Item Difficulty In Tests And Examinations, Gabrielle Matters
A Three-Way Classification Of Sources Of Item Difficulty In Tests And Examinations, Gabrielle Matters
Dr Gabrielle Matters
What do test takers mean when they say ‘this item is difficult’? What do test analysts mean when they say ‘this item is difficult’? The answer to the first question comes out of experience. The answer to the second question comes out of empirics. The notion of difficulty covers a considerable diversity of sources, materials and methods. Test analysts seem obliged to collapse all senses of difficulty under one heading and so it might be useful to attempt a classification or typo logy of some of the possible sources of difficulty in test items. This presentation describes such a system …
A New Role For Item Aficionados In High-Stakes Testing Programs, Gabrielle Matters
A New Role For Item Aficionados In High-Stakes Testing Programs, Gabrielle Matters
Dr Gabrielle Matters
The purpose of this paper is to point teachers, test analysts, and users of test results to the significance of student responses at the item level and considering what it is that each item purports to measure and actually measures before taking the evidence of a low score on a test − just a score derived from a collection of items − and coming to the seemingly obvious but not necessarily accurate conclusion that the student has no knowledge or understanding of the domain being tested. An item aficionado does not approach test items and test results at the level …