Item Flaws Research Articles

Test Wiseness

Test wiseness (TW) has been defined as the ability to respond advantageously to multiple-choice items containing extraneous clues and, therefore, to obtain credit without knowledge of the subject matter being tested. The capacity of examinees to develop cue-using strategies was examined and the results suggest that students profit from knowledge of a particular test constructor’s idiosyncracies. The findings also lend weight to the argument that TW is not a general ability but rather that performance on TW items is cue-specific. Findings with respect to particular item flaws (longer correct alternative, grammar) generally support the research literature.