What the study found
The study found that student-created multiple-choice questions from a general chemistry 1 course had comparable, and sometimes fewer, item writing flaws than faculty-created questions. Item writing flaws are problems in how test questions are written.
Why the authors say this matters
The authors suggest these findings may address instructor concerns about the quality of student-created assessment items. They also suggest that training students to identify item writing flaws could help learner-sourcing be used to support faculty-generated exams.
What the researchers tested
The researchers evaluated student-created multiple-choice items from a general chemistry 1 course using the Item Writing Flaws Evaluation Instrument, or IWFEI. They compared those ratings with faculty-created items that had already been used on exams.
What worked and what didn't
Student-created items performed comparably to faculty-created items in the dataset, and the abstract reports they had fewer item writing flaws in some cases. The abstract does not describe specific flaw types or detailed score differences.
What to keep in mind
The summary is limited to one general chemistry 1 course and the items included in the dataset. The abstract does not provide detailed methods, sample size, or statistical results.
Key points
- Student-created multiple-choice questions had comparable, if not fewer, item writing flaws than faculty-created questions.
- The comparison was made using the Item Writing Flaws Evaluation Instrument (IWFEI).
- The study focused on multiple-choice items from a general chemistry 1 course.
- The authors suggest training students to identify item writing flaws may help learner-sourcing approaches.
- The abstract does not report detailed statistical results or sample size.
Disclosure
- Research title:
- Student-created chemistry questions matched faculty quality
- Authors:
- Emmanuel Luna Jimenez, Jared Breakall, Christopher Randles
- Institutions:
- Snow College, University of Central Florida, University of Central Florida
- Publication date:
- 2026-01-28
- OpenAlex record:
- View
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