A test item, also called simply ‘item’, is a specific task defined in a test together with the possible solutions for the task. The Performance Assessment Workbench (PAW) supports various types of item formats depending on the task to be performed.

In general, a multiple choice (MC) item poses a question to the participant in the item stem. The participant is instructed to select the correct answer(s) from a list of at least two answer alternatives. There are three types of MC items available in the Knowledge Workbench:

• MC1 is a multiple-choice item with one correct answer and several incorrect answers, called distracters. You can also create true/false items using the MC1 item format. In true/false items, the participant must make a decision for one of two answer alternatives.
• MCN is a multiple-choice item with two or more correct answers.
• MC explicit is a multiple-choice item in which each answer alternative is either correct or incorrect. Usually with MC items, it is possible for the participant to narrow down the correct answer by ruling out incorrect answers. MC explicit format prevents this from happening. With an MC explicit item, the participant must specify for each answer alternative whether the answer is correct or incorrect. This type of item provides you with additional information about specific knowledge gaps that the participant may have.

A rating item is what you might find in a questionnaire. It is similar to an MC1 item in that the participant may select only one answer alternative. In contrast to the MC1 format, however, there is no correct answer. Each answer alternative is assigned a score. The participant rates or scores the item content according to a multiple-level scale defined by the author. Unlike in a typical test scenario, the answer alternatives in a rating item are seldom weighted equally but rather in ascending or descending order. You can only use rating items in the test category Survey to collect participant opinions and evaluations.

A fill-in item has an open format, allowing the participant to type an answer in a text field instead of choosing from a list of answers. No answer alternatives are displayed.

An item consists of a question, statement, or similar and two or more answer alternatives.

A test consists of one or more performance units. You can group similar performance units in a sub-test. You assign test items to performance units in the Knowledge Workbench.