What is a Constructed-Response Item & Selected-Response Item?

Examples Of Measures Using Constructed-Response & Selected-Response Items

A constructed response item is a form of testing which asks the test taker to provide an answer (Hogan, 2007). These tests are fill in the blank or essay style questions. These tests are open ended and the participant must be able to answer the question in a manner which is satisfactory to the test giver. These tests can be extremely subjective such as asking a participant to describe something such as the efficiency of an automobile. This type of answer could be stated in many different ways and would rely on the objectivity of the person administering the test.

In contrast to the constructed response item, selected-response items are items such as answer choices found on a test, e.g. choose A,B,C,D (Hogan, 2007). These tests will include such examples as multiple-choice, true-false tests, or matching. The selected-response test is more objective than the constructed response test because it relies on answers which must fit the criterion of the question. For instance, the question of “Apples are a type of Fruit.” True or False. This test question only has one correct answer. There is less subjectivity with these tests but they are also limited to factual types of questions.

References

Hogan, T. P. (2007). Psychological testing: A practical introduction (2 ed.). Hoboken, NJ.