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a ready-to-run workshopWriting Better Test Questions
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Writing Better Test Questions (Workshop)

A test is only as good as its questions. Poorly written items measure test-taking tricks, reading speed, or luck instead of learning. Writing good questions, clear, aligned, and at the right level, means your assessments actually tell you what students know.

Key takeaway

Assessments are only as valid as their items; clear, aligned, well-constructed questions measure learning, while flawed items measure tricks, reading speed, or luck.

Format
PLC / team meeting
Length
45 minutes
Group size
Any (works 4-40)
Who can run it
Any teacher-leader
You will need
Slides (5)Printed handoutAn assessment you useA timer
Aligned to
Learning Forward: Rigorous ContentInTASC 6: AssessmentResearch on assessment design
Share / assign

Why it works

The validity of any assessment depends on item quality. Research on assessment design identifies common flaws, ambiguous wording, unintended clues, items that test reading rather than content, questions misaligned to the standard or at the wrong cognitive level, that make results misleading. Writing clear, aligned items at the intended level, and checking them for flaws, is what lets an assessment measure the learning it claims to.

The research: Research on assessment and item design.

The run-of-show

Choose your slot. The agenda, timings, and length update to match.

    The core activity: improve a set of questions

    Teachers leave having fixed the flawed items in one assessment.

    The question is the measurementIf the item is flawed, the result is meaningless, no matter how you score it. Write clear, aligned questions at the right level.

    Facilitator notes

    A flawed item measures the wrong thingAmbiguity, clues, and misalignment make scores misleading. Check every item for what it actually measures.

    Adapt it

    Participant handout

    One page for every teacher. Print it, or save it as a PDF.

    K12 Academics · Professional Learning

    Writing Better Test Questions: valid items

    <b>Measure the learning:</b> clear, aligned, right-level items with no clues or reading-speed confounds.

    1. The assessment I use:
    2. Items checked for clarity, alignment, level, and clues:
    3. The flawed items to fix or replace:
    4. How I ensure it measures content not reading:
    5. My revised items:

    Make it stick

    Clear, aligned, flaw-free:

    Common questions

    What makes a bad test question?
    Ambiguous wording, unintended clues (like the longest option being correct), testing reading speed over content, or targeting a different level than the standard. These measure the wrong thing.
    Are multiple-choice questions bad?
    No, if well-written. Good multiple-choice items can assess real understanding; the problem is poorly constructed ones. Match the format to what you are measuring.
    How do I know a question is aligned?
    Check it assesses the actual standard, at the intended cognitive level (recall vs application vs analysis), and not something adjacent like vocabulary or reading.

    Go deeper

    Build it into a bigger day

    Workshop
    Common Formative Assessments
    Workshop
    Backward Design (UbD)
    Workshop
    Checking for Understanding