Written Tests: Writing High-Quality Constructed-Response and Selected-Response Items

This chapter provides an overview of two commonly used written test item formats that are crucial to assessment in health professions education: the constructed-response (CR) format and the selected-response (SR) format. Constructed-response items include short-answer and long or essay questions. Selected-response items most often take the form of a one-best-answer multiple-choice question (MCQ); other SR forms include true-false questions, and testlets or context-dependent item sets, usually related to a short vignette. These two formats can be used to assess a wide variety of cognitive knowledge and skills within the framework of the foundational and clinical sciences. This chapter also highlights some key concepts, guidelines, and relevant research that support the development and use of these item formats.