General Exam Guidelines

• All questions must be written in US English.
• Use good grammar, punctuation, and spelling.
• Write simply and clearly - measure candidates’ knowledge of material, not vocabulary or "mind reading." Tricky or ambiguous questions create error, frustration, and compound biases related to language and disability.
• The questions should be designed to test the learning objectives of the syllabus, and not trivia or obscure knowledge associated with the subject matter. Questions should be recognized as being relevant to the goals of the syllabus.
• Use either the "correct answer" or "best answer" format, making sure there is only one ‘correct’ or ‘best’ answer.
• Avoid turns of phrase and figures of speech that could reasonably be construed as racist or sexist, or which may have a cultural bias.
• Avoid trick questions that mislead or deceive candidates into answering incorrectly.
• Emphasise key words that, if missed, could cause the candidate to select an incorrect option, (e.g. must or best or most) by CAPITALISING or emboldening.
• Keep questions independent of one another; do not cue the answer to one question with another. Independence maximizes breadth of coverage.
• Make all directions in the stem clear, using language that lets the candidate know exactly what is asked.
• In phrasing each question, minimize candidate reading time.
• Use vocabulary at a level appropriate to the qualification for which the candidate is being examined.
• Avoid complex multiple-choice formats unless dictated by the knowledge and skill requirements in the syllabus
• Minimize the difficulty of calculations.
• Avoid giving clues within the stem.
• Items should test one central idea or concept
• Good questions and therefore good exams take time to write - give yourself enough time to evaluate questions. After a day or two, revise, edit, and ask others to read them before submitting them.
• Questions must be based on the syllabus but should also be consistent with the ‘real world’.
• The key option must not be specific to an individual’s work context, but should apply generally to all work situations