This paper set out to examine types of items in College Scholastic Ability Test(CSAT) History with a focus on item component (item stem, instruction and alternative). In particular, attention is paid to the form and type of multiple-choice type items. Some patterns of the structural elements of questions used in the previous exams are identified through analyzing Korean Modern and Contemporary History exam papers between 2005 and 2009. The main findings of this study can be summarized as follows: Item stem aims to help students make the various distinctions required by the question through providing them with guidance both for responding to the elements in the question and for making sense of instruction. Instructions form an essential part in CSAT as they play an important role in assessing students' ability to conduct an inquiry. The types of instruction can vary according to their choice of kind of sources-primary [secondary] sources or adopted materials as well as written sources or visual sources. Moreover, the ways in which the chosen materials are employed can vary ranging from using a single source through combining more than one to simulating classroom-based activities or field work. Alternatives can be divided into a few types: selecting one word or single phrase answer in either written or visual form and sequencing alternatives in a chronological order. It should be emphasized that alternatives are devised to be mutually exclusive as well as to correspond to an item stem and an instruction of the question. Given the impact of the types of a question on the validity of CSAT, attention needs to be drawn to the various elements of item component.

This paper set out to examine types of items in College Scholastic Ability Test(CSAT) History with a focus on item component (item stem, instruction and alternative). In particular, attention is paid to the form and type of multiple-choice type items. Some patterns of the structural elements of questions used in the previous exams are identified through analyzing Korean Modern and Contemporary History exam papers between 2005 and 2009. The main findings of this study can be summarized as follows: Item stem aims to help students make the various distinctions required by the question through providing them with guidance both for responding to the elements in the question and for making sense of instruction. Instructions form an essential part in CSAT as they play an important role in assessing students' ability to conduct an inquiry. The types of instruction can vary according to their choice of kind of sources-primary [secondary] sources or adopted materials as well as written sources or visual sources. Moreover, the ways in which the chosen materials are employed can vary ranging from using a single source through combining more than one to simulating classroom-based activities or field work. Alternatives can be divided into a few types: selecting one word or single phrase answer in either written or visual form and sequencing alternatives in a chronological order. It should be emphasized that alternatives are devised to be mutually exclusive as well as to correspond to an item stem and an instruction of the question. Given the impact of the types of a question on the validity of CSAT, attention needs to be drawn to the various elements of item component.

College Scholastic Ability Test(CSAT), Assessment of History Edcation, Multiple-Choice Type Item Development, Item Componet (Item Stem, Instruction and Alternative)