THE MATCHING TEST FORMAT
The matching test item format provides a way for learners to connect a word, sentence or phrase in one column to a corresponding word, sentence or phrase in a second column. The items in the first column are called premises and the answers in the second column are the responses.
The convention is for learners to match the premise on the left with a given response on the right. By convention, the items in Column A are numbered and the items in Column B are labeled with capital letters.
EXAMPLE PREMISES
RESPONSE
COLUMN A
COLUMN B
___1. Person who performs mysterious tasks no one understands
A. Facilitator
___2. Person who provides schooling for children
B. Trainer
___3. Person who enables a group C. Instructional Designer to find solutions ___4. Person who instructs adults D. Meeting Organizer in a classroom E. Teacher
Many authoring tools come with a pre-built matching test item template, which may involve dragging responses to the premise or typing the letters from Column B into Column A. The authoring tool templates may vary from the conventions of the written format.
WHEN TO USE MATCHING The matching test item format provides a change of pace, particularly for self-check and review activities. Many instructional designers employ them in quizzes and tests too. They are effective when you need to measure the learner’s ability to identify the relationship or association between similar items.
THEY WORK BEST WHEN THE COURSE CONTENT HAS MANY PARALLEL CONCEPTS, FOR EXAMPLE:
Terms and Definitions Objects or Pictures and Labels Symbols and Proper Names Causes and Effects Scenarios and Responses Principles and Scenarios to which they apply
CONSTRUCTION GUIDELINES If you decide to use a matching format, take the time to construct items that are valid and reliable. Here are some guidelines for this.
1. Two-part directions. Your clear directions at the start of each question need two parts: 1) how to make the match and 2) the basis for matching the response with the premise. You can also include whether items can be re-used, but often pre-built templates don’t allow for this. Example for exercise above: Drag each career name in Column B to the best definition in Column A. No items may be used more than once. 2. Parallel content. Within one matching test item, use a common approach, such as all terms and definitions or all principles and the scenarios to which they apply.
3. Plausible answers. All responses in Column B should be plausible answers to the premises in Column A. Otherwise, the test loses some of its reliability because some answers will be “give-aways.” 4. Clueless. Ensure your premises don’t include hints through grammar (like implying the answer must be plural) or hints from word choice (like using the term itself in a definition). 5. Unequal responses. In an ideal world, you should present more responses than premises, so the remaining responses don’t work as hints to the correct answer. This is not often possible when using a template.
6. Limited premises. Due to the capacity limitations of working memory, avoid a long list of premises in the first column. A number that I’ve come across is to keep the list down to six items. Even less might be better, depending on the characteristics of your audience. 7. One correct answer. Every premise should have only one correct response. Obvious, but triple-check to make sure each response can only work for one premise.
REARRANGMENT ITEMS Rearrangment items: rearrange and skip certain items in order to better estimate the examinees' abilities, without allowing them to cheat on the test.  The rearrangement procedure is effective in reducing the standard error of the Bayesian ability estimates and in increasing the reliability of the same estimates. 
RANKING ITEMS 
A ranking is a relationship between a set of items such that, for any two items, the first is either 'ranked higher than', 'ranked lower than' or 'ranked equal to' the second. It is not necessarily a total order of objects because two different objects can have the same ranking. The rankings themselves are totally ordered. For example, materials are totally preordered by hardness, while degrees of hardness are totally ordered.
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By reducing detailed measures to a sequence of ordinal numbers, rankings make it possible to evaluate complex information according to certain criteria. Analysis of data obtained by ranking commonly requires non-parametric statistics.
ADVANTAGES AND LIMITATIONS THAT THIS TYPE OF TEST MIGHT HAVE Advantages: Relatively easy to construct Easy to score Disadvantages: Time consuming for students Not good for higher levels of learning
TIPS FOR WRITING GOOD MATCHING ITEMS: Need 15 items or less. Give good directions on basis for matching. Use items in response column more than once (reduces the effects of guessing). Use homogenous material in each exercise. Make all responses plausible. Put all items on a single page. Put response in some logical order (chronological, alphabetical, etc.). Responses should be short.
SKILL LEVELS THAT CAN BE REINFORCED THROUGH THIS TYPE OF TEST ITEM
Good for: Knowledge level Some comprehension level, if appropriately constructed
Types: Terms with definitions Phrases with other phrases Causes with effects Parts with larger units Problems with solutions
MAJOR LIMITATIONS FOR THIS TYPE OF TEST They are time consuming for students They are not good for higher levels of learning They have difficulty measuring learning objectives requiring more than simple recall of information They are difficult to construct due to the problem of selecting a common set of stimuli and responses They place a high degree of dependence on the student's reading ability and instructor's writing ability.
WHAT ARE THE NAMES OF THE COLUMNS?
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The items in the first column are called premises and the answers in the second column are the responses.
PREMISE A previous statement or proposition from which another is inferred or follows as a conclusion. In tests: Words or phrases.
RESPONSE Written answer.
When there are exactly as many premises as there are responses and when each response is used once and only once in the matching process, the test item is said to have perfect matching. When some of the responses are used more than once or not at all, the item is said to have imperfect matching. Imperfect matching makes guessing more difficult.
PERFECT MATCHING COLUMN A
COLUMN B
______1. James Michener
A. History
______2. Stephen King
B. Horror
______3. Erma Bombeck
C. Humor
______4. Agatha Christie
D. Mystery
______5. Walt Whitman
E. Poetry
______6. Danielle Steele
F. Romance
______7. Isaac Asimov
G. Science Fiction
IMPERFECT MATCHING COLUMN A
COLUMN B
______1. James Michener
A. History
______2. Stephen King
B. Horror
______3. Erma Bombeck
C. Humor
______4. Agatha Christie
D. Mystery
______5. Walt Whitman
E. Poetry
______6. Danielle Steele
F. Romance
______7. Isaac Asimov
G. Science Fiction H. Tragedy
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