ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces a framework for building a test blueprint, which serves as an item-writing guide allowing readers to write items that produce a test with the right balance of content and intended cognitive tasks. The chapter also introduces the basic forms of selected-response and constructed-response item formats, with a focus on multiple-choice formats. The framework presented can be used by instructors that are writing isolated items to be administered during the course of instruction, particularly through the use of a classroom response system. The chapter defines and presents examples of test blueprints and shows how a blueprint establishes content validity evidence for a test. Commonly used selected response (SR) item formats are described with examples, and recommendations for writing, revising, and administering these item formats are provided, along with recommendations for writing SR items to assess higher levels of cognitive tasks.
