Book/Test-wise

Test wisdom (test-wise, testwisness) reflects an ability that allows the student to correctly select the answer to the question even without being knowledgeable in the area that the item covers. It takes advantage of the fact that the authors of multiple choice items usually first have a well-thought-out correct answer and supplement it with distractors. They often do so stereotypically, so their considerations can be guessed or they commit typical oversights.

The longest answer is correct

Test wisdom tells students to prefer the longest answer. Sometimes the correct option is also at first glance more complete than the other options, or is more specific or detailed. This is because, in an effort to be unambiguous, the authors of the items write the correct option in great detail, and then pay less attention to the distractors. It may also happen that they use an incomplete part of the text of the correct answer to create distractors. A typical example could be earlier items, e.g. in driving school, or in work safety tests, where the longest of the answers offered was usually the correct one.

The answer “in the middle”

If the answers can be arranged logically (e.g. if they are numbers) and the student does not know which one is correct, he or she guesses one of the middle ones. When item authors devise distractors, they often choose some smaller and some larger values. Students who are aware of this rule therefore guess one of the answers within the options offered. By eliminating the lowest and highest values, the probability of a correct guess increases substantially. The answers offered also sometimes “circle around” the correct solution, so it is enough to trace what the mutual similarity is and the correct answer can be guessed.

Example:

What is the area of an A4 format sheet of paper compared to A6 format?

a) Half

b) Triple

c) Fourfold

d) Eightfold

A student who does not know the answer excludes the extremes, i.e. options a) and d). So, the student then chooses between b) and c). Answer c) is similar to options a) and d) (they are powers of 2), while option b) is different. So, the student tries answer c) - which is the correct answer.

Grammar instructions

When creating the item stem and distractors, care must be taken that the grammatical form does not predict the correct answer. When creating the stem of the item, the author usually already has the correct answer in mind, and the formulation of the stem will correspond to it. This may not apply to distractors, which are often invented after the fact or changed at the last minute.

Example:

A resource that provides the fastest way to check if there is anything new in the field is

a) Books

b) Professional journals

c) The Internet

d) Scientific conference

Absolute and relativizing expressions

When designing the answers, the author attempts to exclude misunderstandings by using specification, but providing a guide for guessing. If some option contains any more refined (“extreme”) term, eg, always, never, only, necessarily, must, all, none, impossible, still, it is an incorrect response (distractor). Conversely, relativizing expressions such as often, rarely, perhaps, sometimes, usually, mostly, can be in the correct answers.

Example:

Which statement about mammals is correct?

a) They are exclusively terrestrial animals.

b) No mammal can fly.

c) They can have fins.

d) They have all developed eyesight.

• Logic key - opposites or an exhaustive list of possibilities

If there are two or three answers that cover all the possible options, one of them will surely be correct.

Example:

Consider a mathematical pendulum with weight m and thread length l. If we increase the mass m,

a) The period of swing is shortened

b) The period of swing does not change

c) Swing time is extended

d) Maximum deflection will decrease

e) Maximum angular velocity will decrease

Options a), b) and c) together cover all possible cases (the swing time is reduced, unchanged or increased). A student who uses test wisdom will think only about these options and will not waste time at all on options d) and e).

Too simple an answer

Students anticipate that the items will contain catchers and complexities. They therefore tend not to choose an answer that is simple and self-evident. Sometimes it is appropriate to include a correct answer of this kind to break the pattern.

All of the above

If the offered answers include “all of the above” or “none of the above” (and similar), then students will prefer this answer. Moreover, it turns out that formulations of this type in the answers do not differentiate well between better and worse students. They should therefore not be used in tests.

Repetitive is correct

The teacher often prepares the distractors so that they seem as similar as possible to the correct answers. It may happen that the answer can be guessed by comparing the options offered and finding where they agree.

Example:

Express the Ohm unit in base SI units.

a) m ·kg·s^-3·A^-2

b) m²·kg·s^-2·A^-2

c) m³·kg·s^-3·A^-2

d) m²·kg·s^-3·A^-2

Expressing the ohm unit in basic units is undeniably a difficult item. However, we see that the answers differ practically only in exponents. And the exponents are repeated in the answers. So, we choose the option in which all repeated characters appear. In our case, it is the option d).

Hint among items

Tests may contain items that are clues to the answer of another item. In longer tests in particular, it is very difficult to keep this aspect under control. Two strategies are used to prevent this situation from arising. The items in the item bank have set relationships with each other, and the system does not allow “related” items to be selected for the same test. The second strategy is to offer students questions gradually, and not allow them to go back to already answered questions.

Verbal Similarity

When there are verbal similarties between the stem of the item and one of the offered answers, this answer tends to be correct.