True+or+False

=__**True-or-False Questions**__= (content added by Steve R.)

**//Definition//**
True-or-False test questions are a special type of multiple choice question where there are only two choice options to select. And those two options are only "True" or "False". Naturally, then, the "stem" of the test question should pose a statement that is unequivocally true or false. Normally, the student then only indicates their selection (True or False), and full credit is given solely on the basis of the correct choice.

**//Advantages//**

 * Efficient Marking - No reading or interpreting of responses is required. The marking process can be automated.
 * Objective Marking - There is no room for subjective interpretation in the students' responses.
 * No Writing - Students who struggle with writing will not be disadvantaged.
 * Rapid - Quick, formative and diagnostic assessments are well suited to this question type.

//**Disadvantages**//

 * It can be difficult to pose a statement that is unequivocally true or false. Quite often the teacher will be confronted with a completely unexpected interpretation of a question by a student, and be forced to acknowledge that the question is not unequivocal.
 * This question type most typically assesses the lowest level of taxonomy - basic knowledge and understanding. Certainly, there is a place for this level of assessment, but the question type is not well suited for higher levels of thinking.
 * The student theoretically will have a 50% success rate with guessing alone. This can lead students to claim that the test method is not fair because they are unable to demonstrate a higher level of understanding
 * The student may be seduced be the high probability of success in guessing. Some students may be seduced into guessing, even when they are capable of applying their real knowledge and understanding.

//**Tips**//

 * Incorporate only one central idea in the question, and make it clear. Stems with multiple or unclear ideas are frequently misinterpreted. For example, the following stem gives superfluous information: "The First Law of Thermodynamics, attributed to Sir Issac Newton in his 1687 publication, Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica, states that Force is equal to the product of Mass and Acceleration". A better formulation would be: "The First Law of Thermodynamics states that Force is equal to the product of Mass and Acceleration".
 * Avoid lengthy stems. In keeping with the above, a long stem is likely to contain more than one idea or otherwise be unclear.
 * Avoid the use of negatives in the question stem. Stems with negatives are commonly misinterpreted by students who otherwise possess the correct knowledge. For example, avoid a stem that is worded as: "The liver is not part of the digestive system". Rather, the following formulation is preferred, with the corresponding adjustment in the assignment of correct answer: "The liver is part of the digestive system".
 * Use caution when framing a question with an absolute determinants such as "always", "never", "only". If these are used, then the situation must have no exceptions to the rule. For example, the following stem may raise arguments from students: "The cross product of two vectors is always a vector quantity" since parallel vectors have a cross product of zero, which may be interpreted as a non-vector. A better formulation therefore would be to provide an illustration of two non-parallel vectors and pose the stem: "The cross product of the two vectors shown is a vector quantity".
 * When framing a question, avoid the use of ambiguous determinants such as "may", "could", "usually". These tend to open the door for alternate interpretations. For example, the following stem is problematic: "Female adolescents are usually taller than males at age 12". It would be better to provide some illustrative data, and ask more specific questions, to avoid the risk of a student's personal experiences potentially influencing their response.
 * Avoid questions that test trivial knowledge. For example, in a study unit of Newton's Laws in Physics, a question to the effect of "Newton published his Principia in 1687" probably has no merit regarding the knowledge of the subject.
 * Base test questions on knowledge that has been specifically taught. However, avoid using facts that are lifted directly from textbooks, as this may promote memorization strategies.
 * Stems that are formulated as "False" should be based on a distractor that is at least plausible. Outlandish distractors add no value to the assessment. For example, the following stem has an implausible distractor: "The Plains of Abraham are just outside of present day Regina". A better distractor would be: "The Plains of Abraham are just outside of present day Montreal". Plausible distractors better assess whether the student has acquired the relevant knowledge, or has rather just a cursory overview of the facts.
 * On a test, pose more questions that have a correct choice of "False" than "True". Students tend to select "True" more often when simply guessing, so this strategy improves the validity of the assessment. A ratio of about 60% False to 40% True is suggested.

//**Considerations for Identified Students**//

 * Read questions orally to the student who has difficulty with reading.
 * Ask students to justify their thinking with notes in the white-space, rather than just selecting a choice.
 * Administer the test in small sections for students who suffer from test anxiety or who may become overwhelmed with a lengthy test.
 * Consider take-home tests for students who need time to digest the test questions.
 * Administer pre-tests and review sessions that have similar format and content to allow the student to become comfortable

**//Other Useful Information//**

 * Alternate Formulations of True-or-False Test Questions **
 * True-or-False test questions can be formulated where the student is required to show their work for full credit. This must be very clearly communicated, however, as some students will naturally just select an answer, and ignore the marking value. In general, it is probably better to formulate such questions as short-answer, however, the True-or-False formulation can be a useful variation on "Prove that..." identity type questions in Math or Science. In the True-or-False formulation, the student does not know if the statement is an identity, but rather must determine this.
 * When a question is selected as "False", then the student must replace a specific word in the stem (that is underlined) that would make the statement True. This is a variation of the Fill-in-the-Blank formulation. The advantage here, however, is that there is potentially less opportunity for mis-understanding of the stem, because it is shown with the word that intentionally makes the stem false. On the other hand, careful explanation of the requirements must be given to the students, because many of them will naturally neglect the requirement to indicate the "true" word, and others will tend to replace words other than the underlined word.

//**References **//
Some ideas reflected in the above are obtained from any of: [|http://web.utk.edu/~mccay/apdm/t_false/t-f_b.htm] [] []