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The effect of changes in item sequence on student performance in a multiple‐choice chemistry test
Author(s) -
Hodson Derek
Publication year - 1984
Publication title -
journal of research in science teaching
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.067
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1098-2736
pISSN - 0022-4308
DOI - 10.1002/tea.3660210506
Subject(s) - test (biology) , sequence (biology) , context (archaeology) , psychology , reliability (semiconductor) , achievement test , mathematics education , multiple choice , statistics , mathematics , chemistry , standardized test , significant difference , biochemistry , power (physics) , physics , quantum mechanics , biology , paleontology
It is standard practice to arrange items in objective tests in order of increasing difficulty, on the assumption that such an arrangement increases student motivation and produces more reliable tests. The validity of this assumption was investigated in the context of a multiplechoice chemistry test. Fifty items were arranged in three sequences of difficulty: random (R), easy‐to‐hard (E‐H) and hard‐to‐easy (H‐E). The mean test score was significantly higher for the test sequenced E‐H than for the test sequenced H‐E. Item difficulty index was raised by placement of the easier items toward the beginning of the test and lowered by placement of these items toward the end of the test. Test reliability was largely independent of item sequence.