www.sii.org.uk

IFQ - Islamic Finance Qualification

8th December 2005

Margaret Spong

IFQ - Islamic Finance Qualification

Item writing basics

Item terminologyItem Which ONE of the following statements about options is TRUE? [stem]

Responses/optionsA The buyer of a call has the right to sell the

asset [distracter]B The seller of a call has the right to buy the

asset [distracter]C The seller of a call has the right to sell the

asset [distracter]D The buyer of a call has the right to buy

the asset [key]

Item formats

• ‘Which ONE ….?’ Closed stem ending with a ?; options begin with a capital letter.

• ‘Liquidity is …:’ Incomplete sentence; stem ends with a colon; options start with lower case and complete the sentence.

• ‘Which ONE of the following BEST ….?’ MOST/LEAST/BEST format; key must be universally agreed.

Incomplete item

Liquidity is the degree of ease with which assets can be:

A purchased on credit

B converted into cash

C used as collateral

D transferred to other ownership

MOST/LEAST/BEST

Which ONE of the following BEST describes a straddle ? A A position in two calls, both longB A position in two puts, one long and one

shortC Long a call and long a put with the strike

price on the call being higher that the strike price on the put

D A put and a call at the same strike price and with the same expiration

Roman numeral format

Used for ranking, sequencing and pairing.Stem ‘Which TWO of the following ….?I ………………………II …………………….III ………………………IV ……………………..OptionsA I + II B I + IIIC II + IV D III + IV

Roman numeral - PairingA growth stock has which two of the following characteristics?  I A high price-earnings ratio

II A low price-earnings ratio III A high dividend payout ratio IV A low dividend payout ratio

  A I and II

B I and IV C II and III D II and IV

Do - 1• Ensure the stem contains a specific question or

statement • Ensure the stem includes only one question• Move words repeated in each option into the stem• Ensure options are parallel• Ensure numerical answers are in order of date/size

etc • Ensure the stem and options are grammatically in

tune• Remember, some candidates will have industry

experience

Make sure a question is posed

Treasury bills:  A mature in one year or less

B generally sell above parC are guaranteed indirectly by the full faith and credit of the Federal governmentD are not subject to Federal income tax

Candidates will not know what to do with this item as no question is posed

Make sure the question is specific

NOT Which of the following statements are TRUE ?

 

BUT Which of the following statements about debt securities are TRUE ?

Ensure grammatical symmetry

NOT In Moby Dick, Ahab's tragic flaw is symbolised by all of the following EXCEPT : 

A throwing his pipe overboardB the quadrant that he smashesC the baptism of a forged weaponD the loss of a leg to the white whale

 NOTE : All of the responses begin with a present participle EXCEPT A -- the Key.

Do - 2

• Avoid double negatives!

• Avoid ‘extreme’ words

• Avoid extraneous material, it only confuses

• Avoid complex syntax

• Avoid options including ‘all of the above/none of the above’

• Avoid opposites

Avoid double negativesNot All of the following are true about the interest on municipal securities EXCEPT that it is :

 A NOT exempt from federal income taxB usually paid semi-annuallyC NOT necessarily exempt from state taxesD NOT generally higher than interest paid on corporate

bonds of comparable qualityBut

Which ONE of the following is FALSE regarding interest on municipal securities?

Avoid opposites in the options

Which ONE of the following types of accounting controls follow the hierarchical lines of authority in a business organisation?

 

A Logical

B Preventive

C Vertical

D Horizontal

C and D are opposites so selecting one negates the other

Do - 3

• Avoid jargon, unless common across industry

• Avoid mutually inclusive answers

• Avoid hinting at the key by repeating words in the stem in the key

• Avoid the key being the most precise option

• Avoid the key being the longest option

Avoid mutually inclusive answers

All responses must be mutually exclusive, no single response should be contained within another. This can be a problem with numerical items where distracter could include "more than 70%" and "more than 90%".

Dos and don’ts – Roman numeral

• The stem must always be closed

• Options should be ordered logically

• Format inappropriate where 1 or 3 options are wrong answers, in this case convert the question to standard format with 1 wrong answer

• Avoid all options being correct

Checking items - 1

Please make sure:• The topic is on the syllabus and worth

testing• The item is answerable in time allowed• All the information is in the stem and

candidates do not have to read the options to understand the question

• There is no superfluous wording

Checking items - 2

• There are no memorable names, candidates remember the question

• Calculation questions test a formula, not ability to manipulate numbers

• THERE IS ONLY ONE CORRECT ANSWER RECOGNISED BY THE INDUSTRY

Things to think about when writing multiple choice questions - 1

Questions are set out RANDOMLY in the exam, so please make sure the stem clearly identifies the subject area.

Things to think about when writing multiple choice questions - 2

The IFQ is intended to be a practical Islamic banking and finance qualification.

Please think about the issues staff need to understand and base questions on that – we can expand workbook coverage to handle this if necessary.

Things to think about when writing multiple choice questions - 3

Formative and summative questions:

- Formative questions cement the knowledge base and are used to reinforce knowledge and understanding in the workbook.

- Summative questions are the final assessment and the demonstration of the sum of knowledge and understanding in the exam.

Things to think about when writing multiple choice questions - 4

Link to the syllabus:- ‘Know’ questions test recall, definitions etc, fairly

basic- ‘Understand’ questions test comprehension, ability

to express material in own language - ‘Ability to apply’ questions test ability to apply

material to ‘practical’ scenario based questions

Things to think about when writing multiple choice questions - 5

Overall paper difficulty.Need consistent standards across all exam papers.Achieve through comparable balance across the

difficulty levels of questions, the relative numbers of:

- E = easy/basic questions ~80% candidates get them right

- M = medium difficulty questions ~40% - 79% correct

and - D = difficult questions < 40% correct

Things to think about when writing multiple choice questions - 6

E does not necessarily = Know questionsD does not necessarily = Ability to apply

*************************************************

Paper will comprise: ~63 E questions (>80% of candidates get question correct)~ 30 M questions (~40 – 79% of candidates get question

correct)~7 D questions (<40% of candidates get question correct)Pass mark 70%

Things to think about when writing multiple choice questions - 7

Is question worthwhile? Treat each question as if it is vital to the pass/fail decision.

Does the option/question pass the ‘So What!’ test. Don’t test things that don’t really matter.

Structuring the paper

Technical specification

Balance of difficulty

Number of calculation questions

‘Theory’ vs ‘practical’ questions

Limit on ‘Roman numeral’ style questions

Balance in the use of the options A, B, C, D

Any other issues specific to the subject?