- Teacher-made assessment strategies
Table 37: Common errors in selected response items
Type of item Common errors Example
True False The statement is not
absolutely true—typically
because it contains a
broad generalization.
T F The President of the United States is elected to that
office.
This is usually true but the US Vice President can succeed the
President.
The item is opinion
not fact.
T F Education for K-12 students is improved though policies
that support charter schools.
Some people believe this, some do not.
Two ideas are
included in item
T F George H Bush the 40th president of the US was defeated
by William Jefferson Clinton in 1992.
The 1st idea is false; the 2nd is true making it difficult for
students to decide whether to circle T or F.
Irrelevant cues T F The President of the United States is usually elected to
that office.
True items contain the words such as usually generally;
whereas false items contain the terms such as always, all, never.
Matching Columns do not
contain homogeneous
information
Directions: On the line to the US Civil War Battle write the
year or confederate general in Column B.
Column A Column B
Ft Sumter General Stonewall Jackson
2nd Battle of Bull Run General Johnson
Ft Henry 1861
1862
Column B is a mixture of generals and dates.
Too many items in
each list
Lists should be relatively short (4 – 7) in each column. More
than 10 are too confusing.
Responses are not in
logical order
In the example with Spanish and English words should be in
a logical order (they are alphabetical). If the order is not logical,
student spend too much time searching for the correct answer.
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