CBT Item Authoring and Banking 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which item format is BEST suited for assessing a candidate's ability to apply a concept to a novel scenario?
- True/False
- Selected-response with application-level stem (Correct answer)
- Matching
- Fill-in-the-blank
Correct answer: Selected-response with application-level stem
Application-level selected-response items require candidates to use knowledge in a new context, targeting higher-order thinking.
Question 2: When writing item stems, which practice MOST effectively reduces construct-irrelevant variance?
- Using double negatives to test careful reading
- Keeping reading level consistent with the target population (Correct answer)
- Including extraneous details to increase item difficulty
- Phrasing stems as incomplete sentences whenever possible
Correct answer: Keeping reading level consistent with the target population
Consistent reading level ensures performance reflects the tested construct, not reading ability.
Question 3: An item bank metadata field labeled 'cognitive level' most commonly maps to which framework?
- Kirkpatrick's Four Levels
- Bloom's Taxonomy (Revised) (Correct answer)
- Webb's Depth of Knowledge
- Marzano's New Taxonomy
Correct answer: Bloom's Taxonomy (Revised)
Bloom's Revised Taxonomy (Remember through Create) is the most widely used cognitive classification system in item banking.
Question 4: What is the purpose of an item's 'domain' tag in a well-structured item bank?
- To track who authored the item
- To link items to specific content areas for blueprint-aligned test assembly (Correct answer)
- To indicate the item's exposure rate
- To flag items that have been reviewed
Correct answer: To link items to specific content areas for blueprint-aligned test assembly
Domain tags map items to the exam blueprint content areas, enabling automated or manual blueprint-compliant test assembly.
Question 5: Which of the following is an example of a 'clang association' in a distractor?
- A distractor that is partially correct
- A distractor that rhymes with or sounds like the correct answer (Correct answer)
- A distractor derived from a common misconception
- A distractor that is implausible to any test-taker
Correct answer: A distractor that rhymes with or sounds like the correct answer
A clang association is a distractor that shares phonetic or visual similarity with the correct answer, giving an unintended cue.
Question 6: During item review, a subject matter expert notes that one distractor is 'homogeneous' with the correct answer. What does this mean?
- The distractor is identical in meaning to the key
- The distractor is from the same category or parallel structure as the key, making all options plausible (Correct answer)
- The distractor has grammatical errors matching the stem
- The distractor is too easy to eliminate
Correct answer: The distractor is from the same category or parallel structure as the key, making all options plausible
Homogeneous options are all of the same type or category, which increases item quality by making distractors genuinely plausible.
Question 7: Which statement best describes the concept of 'item parameter drift' in a maintained item bank?
- Items become easier as candidates memorize answers over multiple administrations
- Statistical properties of an item change over time due to curriculum changes or population shifts (Correct answer)
- Item metadata is accidentally overwritten during database updates
- The item's difficulty is recalculated after each administration
Correct answer: Statistical properties of an item change over time due to curriculum changes or population shifts
Parameter drift occurs when an item's difficulty or discrimination statistics change across administrations, often due to changes in instruction or examinee populations.
CBT Item Authoring and Banking 2
Which item format is BEST suited for assessing a candidate's ability to apply a concept to a novel scenario?