A psychology instructor studying the effects of the order of test items on test scores gave half the class a test in which the item order reflected the order in the textbook. The other half received the same questions in random order. What was the INDEPENDENT variable in this experiment

order of test items

Explanation: An independent variable is a variable that is specifically manipulated by a researcher to investigate whether it consequently brings about change in another variable. The other variable, which is measured and predicted to be dependent upon the independent variable, is known as the dependent variable.

In the experiment above, the independent variable is the order or arrangement of the test items. The instructor gave two sets of order to two groups of students to study effect of the order on test scores. The effect on the test scores may be dependent on the order the tests were arranged.