Matching Items

Matching is a test item type where test takers can demonstrate their ability to connect ideas, themes, statements, numbers, expressions, or solutions with supporting evidence, definitions, equivalent expressions, and so forth. Elements of the item are traditionally presented in two columns or lists, and each element in one list is paired with at least one element from the other list. This entry further describes matching items, gives examples of several types of matching items, and discusses issues with scoring certain types of matching items.

Matching items have traditionally been a quick and efficient way to ask a series of related questions without being redundant. This item format is also very compact—two lists of 10 items take up far less paper than 10 individual multiple-choice questions—and is ...