MATCHING TYPE

BACKGROUND:
- Matching test questions measure the student's ability to connect words, complete
sentences, or pair words with their definition.
- Teachers incorporate matching test questions as an alternative to changing the learner’s
pace. Matching tests evaluate the student’s ability to recall information under time
constraints.
- Many teachers employ a small section of matching test questions at the end of a chapter
review, while others may use it in quizzes and tests.
- Matching test questions evaluates the learner’s ability to understand the similarities
between items, usually terms and definitions, symbols and proper names, principles and
scenarios, objects and pictures, and cause/effect.
- Students who excel at taking matching tests likely grasp key concepts and “big ideas.”
Matching test questions enable teachers to cover more content in one question than
allowed with the ever-popular multiple choice test format.
- Therefore, the matching test format tests the student’s intermittent knowledge of the
course curriculum and provides a way for the teacher to incorporate a little variety into
classroom activities.
Use Matching Questions to Assess:
 Comprehension
 Item association
 Knowledge Recall
 Organization Skills
Question Usage Ideas:
 Terms and Definitions
 Order of Operations
 Element Symbol Match
 Symbol assessments
 Scenarios and Responses
Parts of Matching Type
Teachers refer to each item in the first column as the premises, or the questions involved in the
matching tests. Likewise, instructors refer to the answers in the second column as responses in
the matching tests.
 Premises – the column for which a match is right
 Response – the column from which to choose the match
Advantages of Matching Questions:
 Great for users who have a lower reading level
 Less chance for guessing than other question types
 Can cover a large amount of content.
 Easy to read
 Easy to understand
 Easy to grade on paper
 Graded automatically online
 More engaging for users
Disadvantages of Matching Questions:
 Can take time to create questions
 Disengaging for the user, if having to search through too many matches
 Time consuming for user taking Tests, especially if Test is timed

Dos/Rules when using matching type assessment method:

1. Give clear directions or instructions
2. Indicate in the directions the basis for matching the responses and premises.
3. Check your objectives to make sure the type of question is appropriate.
4. Use only homogeneous material in a single matching exercise.
5. Include an equal number of responses and premises
6. Keep the list of the items to be matched brief, and place the shorter response at the right.
7. Order of correct answer are randomly arranged
8. Arrange the list of responses either logical order or natural order alphabetically
9. Place all the items for one matching exercise on the same page
10. Limit a matching exercise to not more than 10-15 items

Construction Guidelines
If you decide to use a matching format, take the time to construct items that are valid and
reliable. Here are some guidelines for this.
1. Two-part directions. Your clear directions at the start of each question need two parts: 1) how
to make the match and 2) the basis for matching the response with the premise. You can also
include whether items can be re-used, but often pre-built templates don’t allow for this.
Example for exercise above: Drag each career name in Column B to the best definition in Column
A. No items may be used more than once.
2. Parallel content. Within one matching test item, use a common approach, such as all terms
and definitions or all principles and the scenarios to which they apply.
3. Plausible answers. All responses in Column B should be plausible answers to the premises in
Column A. Otherwise, the test loses some of its reliability because some answers will be “give-
aways.”
4. Clueless. Ensure your premises don’t include hints through grammar (like implying the answer
must be plural) or hints from word choice (like using the term itself in a definition).
5. Unequal responses. In an ideal world, you should present more responses than premises, so
the remaining responses don’t work as hints to the correct answer. This is not often possible
when using a template.
6. Limited premises. Due to the capacity limitations of working memory, avoid a long list of
premises in the first column. A number that I’ve come across is to keep the list down to six items.
Even less might be better, depending on the characteristics of your audience.
7. One correct answer. Every premise should have only one correct response. Obvious, but triple-
check to make sure each response can only work for one premise.

Tips
Tips for creating Matching Questions
 Keep clues (left side) short. This allows users to quickly view all options quickly.
 Use more matches (right side) than there are clues, for more of a challenge.
 Add clues (left side) in a logical order. Assists with finding answers more quickly.
 Don't use too many items per question. You're testing the material, not search ability.
 Add clear instructions
 Keep matches (right side) plausible
 Use less matching options for younger Test takers
 Shuffle matches and clues

You're a Pro if You Know:

 You can add additional incorrect matches to make question more challenging
 You can add text and multimedia into both clues and matches
 You can set single points per question or points per each match
 Shuffle mode allows you to shuffle matches, clues or both
 The different grading styles available - full points, partial with deduction, partial without
deduction
 How to add custom feedback for both correct/incorrect answers
 Matching Questions are automatically graded

Sources:
Tips For Writing Matching Format Test Items
http://theelearningcoach.com/elearning_design/writing-matching-test-items/
Retrieved: August 02, 2019

Matching Tests
http://www.edu-nova.com/articles/matching-tests/
Retrieved: August 02, 2019

Matching Questions
https://www.classmarker.com/learn/question-types/matching-
questions/?fbclid=IwAR0jtqlOjJzLzvILZeZY0O3Z2QTxMw729LAGthw8Wy4Zbm86dZ4QLloI-G8
Retrieved: August 02, 2019