Detecting the Extent of Violating Multiple-Choice Item Writing Rules in the General Secondary Exam in Jordan
Keywords:
General Secondary Examination (GSE), multiple-choice questions (MCQs), multiplechoice writing rules, tests, multiple-choice, JordanAbstract
The purpose of this study is to detect violations of the
multiple-choice item writing rules in the General Secondary Exam
(GSE) in Jordan. A total of 2910 test items administered from 2007 to
2010 were reviewed and evaluated against 18 frequently occurring
item-writing flaws.The results showed that 416 (14.3%) of the items
contained at least one violation; 366 (12.6%) of the items contained
more than one violation, and in total 782 (26.9%) items were violated.
Also, the results showed that the most frequent violations were sorting
options vertically (67.7%), and arranging options logically,
numerically or alphabetically (9.8%). In addition, the percentage of
violation for ten rules ranged from 0.2% to 4.3% while six rules were
not violated. It is concluded that the GSE in Jordan takes into account
the multiple-choice item writing rules. The researcher recommends
that the item writing rules should be changed from giving instructions
to compulsory commitment.
