Resources – Item Writing for Language testing

Books, articles and book chapters on item writing

Language Testing

Alderson, J. C., Clapham, C., & Wall, D. (1995). Language test construction and evaluation. Cambridge University Press.

Banerjee, J., Lestari, S.B., & Rossi, O. (2021). Choosing test formats and task types. In P. Winke and T. Brunfaut (Eds.), Handbook of Second Language Acquisition and Language Testing (pp.78-89), Taylor & Frances. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781351034784

Beauchamp, D., & Constantinou, F. (2020). Using corpus linguistics tools to identify instances of low linguistic accessibility in tests. Research Matter, 29, 10-16. https://www.cambridgeassessment.org.uk/our-research/all-published-resources/research-matters/issue-29-spring-2020/ (free download)

Carroll, B.J.& Hall, P.J. (1985). Make your own language tests: A practical guide to writing language performance tests. Oxford: Pergamon.

Fulcher, G. (2010). Practical language testing. Hodder Education.

Green, A. (2014). Exploring language assessment and testing: Language in action. Routledge.

Holzknecht, F., McCray, G., Eberharter, K., Kremmel, B., Zehentner, M., Spiby, R., & Dunlea, J. (2021). The effect of response order on candidate viewing behaviour and item difficulty in a multiple-choice listening test. Language Testing, 38(1), 41-61. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265532220917316 (open access)

Hughes, A., & Hughes, J. (2020). Testing for language teachers (3rd ed.). Cambridge University Press.

Jones, G. (2020). Designing multiple-choice test items. In P. Winke and T. Brunfaut (Eds.), Handbook of second language acquisition and language testing (pp.90-101). Routledge.

Kroll, B., & Reid, J. (1994). Guidelines for designing writing prompts: Clarifications, caveats, and cautions. Journal of Second Language Writing, 3(3), 231-255. https://doi.org/10.1016/1060-3743(94)90018-3

March, D.M., Perrett, D., & Hubbard, C. (2019). An evidence-based approach to distractor generation in multiple-choice language tests. Research Notes, 72. https://www.cambridgeenglish.org/Images/526186-research-notes-72.pdf (free download)

O’Grady, S. (2021). Adapting multiple-choice comprehension question formats in a test of second language listening comprehension. Language Teaching Research, 1-23. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362168820985367

Plakans, L. (2021). Writing integrated tasks. In G.Fulcher and L.Hardling (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of language testing (pp.357-371). Taylor & Frances.

Rossi, O., & Brunfaut, T. (2019). Test item writers. In J.I. Liontas (Ed.), The TESOL Encyclopaedia of English Language Teaching, (pp.1-7). John Wiley & Sons. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118784235.eelt0981

Rossi, O., & Brunfaut, T. (2021). Text authenticity in listening assessment: Can item writers be trained to produce authentic-sounding texts? Language Assessment Quarterly, 18(4), 398-418. https://doi.org/10.1080/15434303.2021.1895162

Shi, D. (2021). Item writing and item writers. In G.Fulcher and L.Hardling (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of language testing (pp.341-356). Taylor & Frances.

Spaan, M. (2006). Test and item specifications development. Language Assessment Quarterly, 3(1), 71-79. http://dx.doi.org/10.1207/s15434311laq0301_5

Spaan, M. (2007). Evolution of a test item. Language Assessment Quarterly, 4(3), 279-293. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15434300701462937

Weir, C.J. (1993). Understanding and developing language tests. Prentice Hall.

Educational Measurement

Bristol, T., & Liners Brett, A.N. (2015). Test item writing: 3Cs for successful tests. Teaching and Learning in Nursing, 10, 100-103. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.teln.2015.01.004

Brown, A.S., Schilling, H.E.H., Hockensmith, M.L. (1999). The negative suggestion effect: Pondering incorrect alternatives many be hazardous to your knowledge. Journal of Educational Psychology, 91, 756-764. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.91.4.756

Burton, S.J., Sudweeks, R.R., Merrill, P.F., & Wood, B. (1991). How to prepare better multiple-choice test items: Guidelines for university faculty. Brigham Young University Testing Services. https://testing.byu.edu/handbooks/betteritems.pdf (free download)

Costello, E., Holland, J.C., & Kirwan, C. (2018). Evaluation of MCQs from MOOCs for common item writing flaws. BMC Research Notes, 11, 1-3. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13104-018-3959-4 (open access)

Crehan, K., & Haladyna, T.M. (1991). The validity of two item-writing rules. The Journal of Experimental Education, 59(2), 183-192. https://www.jstor.org/stable/20152279

Downing, S.M., & Haladyna, T.M. (1997). Test item development: Validity evidence from quality assurance procedures. Applied Measurement in Education, 10(1), 61-82. http://dx.doi.org/10.1207/s15324818ame1001_4

Downing, S.M. (2005). The effect of violating standard item writing principles on tests and students: The consequences of using flawed test items on achievement examinations in medical education. Advances in Health Sciences Education, 10, 133-143. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10459-004-4019-5

Frary, R. B. (1995). More multiple-choice item writing do’s and don’ts. Practical Assessment Research &Evaluation, 4(11), 1–3. https://doi.org/10.7275/djyd-5535

Frey, B.B., Petersen, S., Edwards, L.M., Pedrotti, J.T., & Peyton, V. (2005). Item-writing rules: Collective wisdom. Teaching and Teacher Education, 21, 357-364. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2005.01.008

Grosse, M. E., & Wright, B. D. (1985). Validity and reliability of true-false tests. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 45(1), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013164485451001

Haladyna, T. M. (2004). Developing and validating multiple-choice test items. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Haladyna, T. M., & Downing, S. M. (1989). A taxonomy of multiple-choice item-writing rules. Applied Measurement in Education, 2(1), 37. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15324818ame0201_3

Haladyna, T.M., & Rodriguez, M.C. (2013). Developing and validating test items. Taylor & Frances.

Haladyna, T.M., Downing, S.M., & Rodriguez, M.C. (2002). A review of multiple-choice item-writing guidelines for classroom assessment. Applied Measurement in Education, 15(3), 309-333. http://dx.doi.org/10.1207/S15324818AME1503_5

Karthikeyan, S., O’Connor, E., & Hu, W. (2019). Barriers and facilitators to writing quality items for medical school assessments – a scoping review. BMC Medical Education, 19(123), 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-019-1544-8 (open access)

Merritt, S. (2006). Mastering multiple choice. The Brain Ranch.

Miller, M.D., Linn, R.L., & Gronlund, N.E. (2009). Measurement and assessment in teaching. Pearson.

Rodriguez, M. C. (2003). Construct equivalence of multiple-choice and constructed-response items: A random effects synthesis of correlations. Journal of Educational Measurement, 40(2), 163–184. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-3984.2003.tb01102.x