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Developing Matching Questions May 2020

The document provides tips for developing effective matching test questions. Matching questions involve pairing stems with responses and can assess recognition and recall while also higher-order thinking if crafted well. Some advantages are that they are quick to write and easy for test takers to process, as well as efficient to grade. Tips include avoiding a direct 1:1 match between stems and responses, ensuring responses are plausible matches, arranging responses logically, providing clear directions, and keeping the number of items under 10.

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Oum Houda
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91 views

Developing Matching Questions May 2020

The document provides tips for developing effective matching test questions. Matching questions involve pairing stems with responses and can assess recognition and recall while also higher-order thinking if crafted well. Some advantages are that they are quick to write and easy for test takers to process, as well as efficient to grade. Tips include avoiding a direct 1:1 match between stems and responses, ensuring responses are plausible matches, arranging responses logically, providing clear directions, and keeping the number of items under 10.

Uploaded by

Oum Houda
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Developing Matching Test Items

Matching questions generally involve pairing a set of stems or premises (e.g., causes) with a set
of responses (e.g., effects). Matching questions are best suited for assessing recognition and
recall, although well-crafted matching questions can be used to assess higher-order thinking.
For example, students might be asked to match constructs with new examples, or principles
with new applications. Matching questions have several advantages. Because all items have the
same set of options, matching questions tend to be quick to write and easy to process for the
test takers. They are also efficient to mark, reducing back-end workload.
Tips for developing matching questions

1) Avoid a 1:1 match between stems and responses. Consider allowing students to use the
same response multiple times, or add dummy responses that have no match. This reduces
the effectiveness of response-elimination strategies.
2) Ensure matching set options are homogeneous and that all possible responses are plausible
matches for the stems. Otherwise, test-savvy students will eliminate unlikely matches.
3) Ensure your options are arranged in logical order to increase readability and reduce the
chances of accidental error.
4) Give clear, unambiguous directions in an introductory sentence. Let students know that
options may be used more than once. Identify the key relation between stems and
responses (e.g., “Match the brain structures with their functions”).
5) Keep it simple. Avoid unnecessarily lengthy stems or responses. Consider limiting the
number of items to 10 or less.
Further Reading
Davis, B. (2009). Tools for Teaching. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Dalumpines, L. (2011). Objective types of test: Guidelines for writing completion questions and
true-false questions. Retrieved from https://learning.knoji.com/objective-types-of-
test-guidelines-for-writing-completion-questions-and-truefalse-questions/

Exam questions: types, characteristics and suggestions. Centre for Teaching Excellence,
University of Waterloo. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://uwaterloo.ca/centre-for-
teaching-excellence/teaching-resources/teaching-tips/developing-
assignments/exams/questions-types-characteristics-suggestions
Suskie, L. (2009). Assessing Student Learning. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Treser, M. (2015). Matching test items: Getting them right. Retrieved from
https://elearningindustry.com/matching-test-items-getting-right

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