Definition
A test item, called a supply-type or completion item, that presents a sentence or statement with one or more key words or phrases removed, requiring the student to write in the missing word or phrase to complete the meaning correctly.
Plain English
A test question that gives the student a sentence with a word missing, and the student has to write the right word in the blank space.
Context Anchor
Seen in instructor-made quizzes, lesson reviews, and written checks of student understanding.
Derivation
“Fill in” means to supply something that is missing, and a “blank” is an empty space. In an assessment, the phrase points to the student’s job: complete the empty part with the correct answer.
Why Pilots Care
Instructors need to know how this question type works because it tests whether a student can recall specific information from memory, rather than just recognize a correct answer from a list. It is good for checking exact terminology and facts, but weaker for testing deeper understanding.
Intuition Check
Do not assume a fill in the blank question always asks for just one word. In this context, the blank may require a word, phrase, number, or symbol, but the question should still have one clearly correct answer.
Example Sentence 1
The instructor used a fill-in-the-blank question to check whether the student remembered the correct V-speed for best rate of climb.
Example Sentence 2
During the stage check the examiner used fill-in-the-blank questions to confirm the student could state the correct V-speeds from memory.