Arab Educational Information Network

This study aimed at investigating the effect of reordering response options on the difficulty level of multiple choice test items. To achieve the aim of the study, an achievement test (20 items) was designed for the ninth grade students during the academic year 2012/ 2013. Two response booklet forms, differing only in the order of the options of the test items, were prepared and used. The test was administered to a sample consisting of (600) students: (300) examinees responding for each booklet. Coeffieicents of the difficulty level for each item was calculated for each set of questions. The difference between the coefficients of difficulty for the matching items were calculated. The results of the study showed that reordering response options often had no significant effects on item difficulty although the coefficients of the difficulty levels for the response options were different in the two booklets. The results also showed that there was no stable pattern concerning reordering test options which affected the difficulty of the level of the test response options. In addition, the study revealed that reordering response options may be considered a dangerous practice especially in the equivellent pictures. The study recommended that test designers should be cautioned about such practice and that this area should be addressed further in future research papers. (Published abstract)