True-False Test Items

A true-false item can be written in one of three forms: simple, complex, or compound. Answers can consist of only two choices (simple), more than two choices (complex), or two choices plus a conditional completion response (compound). An example of each type of true-false item follows:

Simple

The acquisition of morality is a developmental process.

• True
• False

Complex

The acquisition of morality is a developmental process.

• True
• False
• Opinion

Compound

The acquisition of morality is a developmental process.

• True
• False
• If this statement is false, what makes it false?

Advantages & limitations

There are several advantages to using True-False items. They can provide

• the widest sampling of content or objectives per unit of testing time.
• scoring efficiency and accuracy.
• versatility in measuring all levels of cognitive ability.
• highly reliable test scores.
• an objective measurement of student achievement or ability.

True-False items also have several limitations. They:

• incorporate an extremely high guessing factor. For simple true-false items, each student has a 50/50 chance of correctly answering the item without any knowledge of the item's content.
• can often lead an instructor to write ambiguous statements due to the difficulty of writing statements which are unequivocally true or false.
• do not discriminate between students of varying ability as well as other item types.
• can often include more irrelevant clues than do other item types.
• can often lead an instructor to favor testing of trivial knowledge.

Suggestions for writing true-false test items

1. Base true-false items upon statements that are absolutely true or false, without qualifications or exceptions.

   Undesirable:  Nearsightedness is hereditary in origin.

   Desirable:  Geneticists and eye specialists believe that the predisposition to nearsightedness is hereditary.

2. Express the item statement as simply and as clearly as possible.

   Undesirable:  When you see a highway with a marker that reads, "Interstate 80" you know that the construction and upkeep of that road is built and maintained by the state and federal government.

   Desirable:  The construction and maintenance of interstate highways is provided by both state and federal governments.

3. Express a single idea in each test item.

   Undesirable:  Water will boil at a higher temperature if the atmospheric pressure on its surface is increased and more heat is applied to the container.

   Desirable:  Water will boil at a higher temperature if the atmospheric pressure on its surface is increased.

   Water will boil at a higher temperature if more heat is applied to the container.

4. Include enough background information and qualifications so that the ability to respond correctly to the item does not depend on some special, uncommon knowledge.

   Undesirable:  The second principle of education is that the individual gathers knowledge.

   Desirable:  According to John Dewey, the second principle of education is that the individual gathers knowledge.

5. Avoid lifting statements from the text, lecture or other materials so that memory alone will not permit a correct answer.

   Undesirable:   For every action there is an opposite and equal reaction.

   Desirable:  If you were to stand in a canoe and throw a life jacket forward to another canoe, chances are your canoe would jerk backward.

6. Avoid using negatively stated item statements.

   Undesirable:  The Supreme Court is not composed of nine justices.

   Desirable:  The Supreme is composed of nine justices.

7. Avoid the use of unfamiliar vocabulary.

   Undesirable:  According to some politicians, the raison d'etre for capital punishment is retribution.

   Desirable:  According to some politicians, justification for the existence of capital punishment is retribution.

8. Avoid the use of specific determiners which would permit a test-wise but unprepared examinee to respond correctly. Specific determiners refer to sweeping terms like "all," "always," "none," "never," "impossible," "inevitable," etc. Statements including such terms are likely to be false. On the other hand, statements using qualifying determiners such as "usually," "sometimes," "often," etc., are likely to be true. When statements do require the use of specific determiners, make sure they appear in both true and false items.

   Undesirable:

   All sessions of Congress are called by the President. (F)

   The Supreme Court is frequently required to rule on the constitutionality of a law. (T)

   An objective test is generally easier to score than an essay test. (T)

    

   Desirable:

   The sum of the angles of a triangle is always 180°. (T)

   Each molecule of a given compound is chemically the same as every other molecule of that compound. (T)

   The galvanometer is the instrument usually used for the metering of electrical energy used in a home. (F)

9. False items tend to discriminate more highly than true items. Therefore, use more false items than true items (but no more than 15% additional false items).