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22 Assessment Guide for Educators: Science CHAPTER 3 The Development Cycle of a Short Answer Item The Development Cycle of a Short Answer Item The GED® test features a variety of item types that allow us to measure the full breadth and depth of the assessment targets. Short answer (SA) items appear on only the Science test. SA items allow us to measure a wide range of skills identified in the assessment targets at a higher cognitive level than traditional multiple choice (MC) items. This chapter focuses on the SA item development and scoring processes. Measuring Complex Content Through Short Answer Items The tasks that appear in SA items are much more like problems the GED® test-takers encounter in their daily lives, whether writing papers or reports in a postsecondary program or solving problems in the workplace. Although MC items continue to be a proven, reliable method for obtaining information about a test-taker’s mastery of various skills, SA items allow us to observe how test-takers apply a wider variety of cognitive strategies to the same content in a more authentic, real-world application, as shown in the example below. Science T est Example Science Test MC Item Science Test SA Item Which step [out of four listed] would produce a particular outcome in a scientific process? Design an experiment to test the hypothesis [which is given in the stimulus]. Be sure to include descriptions of your data collection process and data analysis in your response. Advantage: SA items allow test developers to access a higher level of cognitive complexity because they require test-takers to express a response in their own words.