Open AccessRELIABILITY OF SPEEDED NUMBER‐RIGHT MULTIPLE‐CHOICE TESTS
Author(s) -
Attali Yigal
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
ets research report series
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.235
H-Index - 5
ISSN - 2330-8516
DOI - 10.1002/j.2333-8504.2004.tb01942.x
Subject(s) - reliability (semiconductor) , test (biology) , consistency (knowledge bases) , multiple choice , statistics , psychology , internal consistency , econometrics , computer science , reliability engineering , mathematics , psychometrics , artificial intelligence , engineering , significant difference , paleontology , power (physics) , physics , biology , quantum mechanics
Contrary to common belief, reliability estimates of number‐right multiple‐choice tests are not inflated by speededness. Because examinees guess on questions when they run out of time, the responses to these questions show less consistency with the responses of other questions, and the reliability of the test will be decreased. The surprising implication is that adding questions to a multiple‐choice test may lower its reliability when the test is speeded. This paper develops the mathematical derivations and shows the effects of speededness on reliability in simulations.