Content Area/Objectives
Students are being tested on a unit of pre-civil war literature which includes two personal narratives (autobiographies), spirituals, and a newspaper article. Students will be tested on comprehension, understanding author’s purpose, metaphor, internal conflict, characterization, and genre.
Multiple Choice Test Items
Directions: CIRCLE the letter in front of the word or phrase which answers the question correctly.
The directions are appropriate as they tell students clearly how to indicate their response, and they are brief.
- Which author wrote about a fight with Mr. Covey?
- Frederick Douglass *
- Harriet Jacobs
- Sandy Jenkins
- Thomas Auld
The above item is in direct-question format. This item is numbered; alternatives are identified by letter and indented. The question and the alternatives are clear and easy to read; the four alternatives are brief and they are presented in alphabetical order. Only one alternative can be correct (A). This item tests comprehension; the student must understand the plot of the work to correctly answer the question. The title of the work is left out intentionally so as not to give away the answer to this or any other items. This is a good quality item.
What literary device is used in the following quotation: “It rekindled the few expiring embers of freedom.”
- character
- conflict
- metaphor *
- simile
The above item is in direct-question format. This item is numbered; alternatives are identified by letter and indented. The question and the alternatives are clear and easy to read; the four alternatives are presented in alphabetical order. Only one alternative can be correct (C). This item tests student understanding of metaphor. Title and author are omitted to prevent students connecting discussion of metaphor with the work this quotation is from. I think I could improve this item by rewriting it as an analysis question; in other words, asking students the meaning of the metaphor; overall, this is a good quality item.
- What is the most likely reason for Frederick Douglass to write and publish his account of living as a slave?
- to become famous
- to fight slavery *
- to get revenge
- to make money
The above item is in best-answer format. This item is numbered; alternatives are identified by letter and indented. The question and the alternatives are clear and easy to read; the four alternatives are placed in alphabetical order. The alternatives are presented in the same grammatical format. Only one alternative can be correct (B). This item tests student understanding of author’s purpose. This is a good quality item.
What character trait of the narrator is revealed in the following passage: “When I heard my little ones were in a loathsome jail, my first impulse was to go to them. I was encountering dangers for the sake of freeing them, and must I be the cause of their death? The thought was agonizing.”
- foolish
- loving *
- reckless
- uncaring
The above item is in direct-question format. This item is numbered; alternatives are identified by letter and indented. The alternatives are clear and easy to read; the four alternatives are placed in alphabetical order. Only one alternative can be correct (A). This item tests student understanding of characterization. The title of the literary work is purposely not included, as it could be a cue to the answer, or to the answer of another question. I am concerned with the length of the quotation for this item. I believe I need to either shorten the quotation to its first sentence, rewrite the entire item, or else remove this item from the test. This item should be either rewritten or removed.
- Spirituals were mostly concerned with ___________________________.
- freedom.*
- health.
- religion.
- survival.
The above item is in incomplete-sentence format. This item is numbered; alternatives are identified by letter and indented. The statement and the alternatives are clear and easy to read; the four alternatives are placed in alphabetical order. Only one alternative can be correct (A). This item tests student comprehension. Students who paid attention during reading and discussion will know that (A) “freedom” is the correct answer; students who were not as attentive could be lured by (C) or (D) fairly easily. I’m looking forward to conducting an item analysis for this item after students take this test to see if the distractors worked as well as I expect.
- What was the purpose of The Most Remarkable Woman of This Age?
- to stop Harriet Tubman from freeing slaves
- to expose Harriet Tubman and stop her work
- to denounce Harriet Tubman and her work
- to celebrate Harriet Tubman and her work *
The above item is in direct-question format. This item is numbered; alternatives are identified by letter and indented. The question and the alternatives are clear and easy to read; the four alternatives are placed in reverse alphabetical order so that the correct alternative will be (D) and not another (A). Only one alternative can be correct (D). This item tests student understanding of author’s purpose. The word “denounce” may give students difficulty; if so, I will have to rewrite (C) for this item. (Note: “Denounce” did give students difficulty so I will have to rewrite the question and use a simpler term.)
True – False Test Items
Directions: Read each statement. If the statement is True, circle the T. If the statement is False, circle the F.
The directions are appropriate as they tell students clearly how to indicate their response. The bolding of the words True and False draws student attention to those words. The directions are also brief.
- T F* Frederick Douglass wrote his narrative to encourage slaves to escape.
- T* F Harriet Jacobs used made-up names for the characters in her autobiography.
- T* F Frederick Douglass became depressed when he heard spirituals being sung.
- T F* The Most Remarkable Woman of This Age is a historical narrative.
- T F* Harriet Jacobs rescued 750 people from slavery in her lifetime.
- T* F Follow the Drinking Gourd refers to the stars of the Big Dipper.
The above true-false items are of good quality. Each concise statement contains only one idea.
Words such as never, always, none, and all are not used in any of these items. Both true and false items are of approximately the same length, and all items are stated in the positive. I have included three true statements and three false statements, and have avoided using wording from the textbook.
References
Reynolds, C.R., Livingston, R. B., & Willson, V. (2009). Measurement and Assessment in Education (2nd Edition). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.