Combining Multiple-Choice and Constructed-Response Test Scores: Toward a Marxist Theory of Test Construction

Assessment instruments of the future will probably be composed of a combination of different types of questions. Even though different kinds of questions require different scoring procedures, there may be a need to have those different scores combined as a composite. In this article, we describe how mixtures of such scores may be efficaciously combined. Also, if no post hoc adjustment is desired, we provide two characterizations of measurement effectiveness to aid in making unadjusted score combinations efficient. In addition, we explore the implications for test construction of some typical findings.