Analogies for Multiple Choice Testing

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Analogies for Multiple Choice Testing

• Presented by
• Virginia Malone
• May 19, 2004

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Analogies Are Used To Show Relationships
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Analogies

• Abstract ideas are often learned as analogies.
• Greater understanding of Known means
  Greater understanding of Unknown
• Stronger analogies - more similarities between
  Known and Unknown

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Two Part Structure

• The Known or Source or Analog
• The Unknown or Target
• Order Target to Source for learning

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Analogies for LearningUnknown to Known

• Ken Lay was like a vulture feeding on carrion.
• NOT
• A vulture feeding on carrion was like Ken Ray.

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Like

• Ken Lay seemed insatiable, just as a vulture seem
  to be insatiable.
• Ken Lay had little regard for his energy source
  just as a vulture has little regard for its
  energy source
• Enron did not know that Ken was taking money,
  just as the carrion does not know that the
  vulture is eating it.

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Different

• Ken Lay cannot fly, but he can flee the country,
  a vulture can fly, but not too good at fleeing
  its territory.
• Ken Lay hid some Enrons money for use on another
  day. Vultures do not hide carrion for later use.

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Political Cartoons AreAnalogies
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Formal Presentation of Analogies Used in Testing

• Source I Source II Target I Target II
• Principal School President Country

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Determine Like and Different

• President - Principal.
• Like
• Both tell us how we are doing
• Both lead
• Different
• President leads a nation
• Principal leads our school

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All Options Must Be Related to Target I

• Principal School President
• a. Congress b. Country
• c. Students d. White House
• c. Leader

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Target II Should Be in Same Category as Source II

• Principal School President
• a. Congress b. Country
• c. Leader d. White House
• Source II - Entity
• Leader Role
• c. State

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Options should not be tricky.

• Boycott Seller Strike
• a. picket, b. union, c. buyer, d. company
• Buyer too closely associated with seller. Option
  will pull but not because of relationship.

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Analogies Should Require an Understanding of
Relationships

• Polio Salk Rabies
• a. Pasteur, b. Sabin, c. Lister, d. Curie
• Sources not useful.
• All of the people should have something to do
  with rabies.

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Better

• Salk Polio Pasteur
• a. rabies, b. bacteria c. malaria, d. botulism
• Bacteria is a cause not a disease. Not same
  catergory. Plague might be better.
• Malaria is not a disease that Pasteur studied.
  Small pox would be better.
• Pasteur was concerned with food spoilage related
  to botulism.

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Two Source I Two Target I

• WWII Germany Hitler WWII USA
• Roosevelt
• Eisenhower
• Patton
• Churchill
• Ampersand plus colon upper grades

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Dates

• Independence 1776 Emancipation
• a. 1787, b. 1812, c. 1863, d. 1916
• Source not useful.
• Anything other than a date would be a throw
  away option.
• No analogy needed to answer the make the
  choice just match the date.

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Better but not perfect

• 1776 Independence 1863
• a. Emancipation
• b. Prohibition
• c. Lincoln
• d. Civil War
• Not related to 1863 - replace
• Lincoln not an event - replace

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Example

• Marconi Radio Gutenberg
• a. Broadcasting b. The Bible
• c. Paper d. Movable type
• Replace Broadcasting Indicates lack of
  understanding of analogies rather than lack of
  understanding the relationship.

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Example

• Individual Loan Municipality
• a. interest, b. bond, c. principal, d. money
• What is the relationship between an individual
  and a loan?

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Analogy Alternate Format

• United States Constitution
• a. Persia The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyam
• b. England Magna Carta
• c. Germany Mein Kampf
• d. Iraq Koran

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Formats for Test Item Analogies

• is related to in the same way that is
  related to ???
• A B C D
• Which of these has the same relationship as
  does to ?
• How are alike?

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Answers should depend on understanding
relationships
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In Tests Beginning End Go on sign

• a. Zodiac sign
• b. Yield sign
• c. Equal sign
• d. Stop sign