True-False Questions
A true-false question is a statement that is either correct or incorrect.
Characteristics of True-False Questions
- Used to measure ability to identify whether statements of facts, principles, generalizations, relationships, or evaluative statements are correct
- Can be factual or can be a thought question that requires reasoning
- Can be used in most disciplines
- Used to quickly poll a class as an introduction to a discussion or determine knowledge of topic
Advantages of True-False Questions
- Time-efficient administration and scoring:
- Easy to write.
- Easy to score.
- Scoring is objective.
- More information is sampled from a great deal of content.
- Effective when assessing misconceptions, cause-effect relations.
Disadvantages of True-False Questions
- Measures only low level of learning - remembering and understanding.
- Need a larger number of items to distinguish stronger and weaker knowledge levels.
- Students have a 50 percent chance of being correct, just by chance.
- May be perceived as an unfair judgment of learning.
- Encourages guessing since there are only two alternatives.
Average Response Time
30 seconds
Constructing True-False Questions
True-False Topic
- Make questions require application of knowledge as much as possible.
- Always make certain the statement is unequivocally true or false.
- When using opinion statements, cite the source that will make the complete statement true or false.
True-False Protocol
- Develop approximately the same number of true and false statements.
- Do not consistently make true statements longer than false statements, or vice versa
- Avoid negative and complicated statements.
- Words such as “all,” “only,” “never,” and “always” give hints about the answer and are usually false. Use them only when the question is to measure understanding.
- Words such as “generally” and “usually” tend to be true, so avoid their use.
- Do not randomize the response order in true/false questions.
Good Example of a True-False Question
The true/false item is also called an alternative-response item.
- True
- *False
Bad Example of a True-False Question
The true-false item, which is favored by all test experts, is also called an alternative-response item.
- True
- *False
Main Error
The question contains two ideas and therefore is confusing.
Identifying Flawed True-False Items
For each item or pair of items, decide what is wrong or which item is better and why. See the answers at the bottom of each question.
1A. According to your textbook, alcoholism is a disease.
- True
- False
1B. Alcoholism is a disease.
- True
- False
Which is the better question? Why is it better?
2A. Tuberculosis is a communicable disease.
- True
- False
2B. Tuberculosis is not a noncommunicable disease.
- True
- False
Which is the better question? Why is it better?
3A. The true/false item is more subject to guessing but it should be used in place of a multiple-choice item, if well constructed, when there is a dearth of distracters that are plausible.
- True
- False
3B. The true/false item should be used in place of a multiple-choice item when only two alternatives are possible.
- True
- False
Which is the better question? Why is it better?
4A. A statement of opinion should never be used in a true/false item.
- True
- False
4B. A statement of opinion, by itself, cannot be marked true or false.
- True
- False