The quality of test
construction depends largely on the part of the classroom teacher. Every
classroom teacher is interested to know how far and wide he/she can facilitate;
orient and guide his/her students with the knowledge, ideas, abilities, skills,
and attitudes that he/she wishes to build up to achieve his/her teaching
objectives and make his/her students responsive to the changing needs of
society. He/she is in the best position to ascertain the strength and
weaknesses and the needs of his/her students and the goal he/she wants to
achieve
The classroom teacher usually gives the following types of test (item formats)
in the classroom: multiple choice, true or false, matching type, completion,
cloze, and essay.
MULTIPLE CHOICE TESTS
The multiple choice type of test is a form of assessment in which students are
asked to select the correct or best answer out of the choices from the list. In
this kind of test, an item consists of two parts: the stem and the set of
options or alternatives. It requires the students to select from the options
that will make the stem complete or correct. All incorrect or less appropriate
responses are called distracters or foils.
Example (DIRECT QUESTION)
Who is the president of the Philippines after EDSA 1?
Who is the president of the Philippines after EDSA 1?
Example (INCOMPLETE STATEMENT)
The president of the Philippines after EDSA 1 is?
a. Pres. Gloria Arroyo c. Pres. Joseph Estrada
b. Pres. Corazon Aquino d. Pres. Fidel Ramos.
The president of the Philippines after EDSA 1 is?
a. Pres. Gloria Arroyo c. Pres. Joseph Estrada
b. Pres. Corazon Aquino d. Pres. Fidel Ramos.
A stem may also be presented in a form
of mathematical equation.
Example:
In the equation 2x+3=4, solve for x.
a. 4 d. 1.5
b. 10 e. 8
c. 0.5
Example:
In the equation 2x+3=4, solve for x.
a. 4 d. 1.5
b. 10 e. 8
c. 0.5
The given options are the possible
answers that the examinees can choose from, with the correct answer called key.
The minimum number of options is three while the maximum is 5.
Advantages of Multiple
choice tests
1. It has great versatility in measuring objectives from the level of rote memorization to the most complex level.
2. It often requires less time to administer than tests requiring written responses.
3. Because this style of test does not require a teacher to interpret the answer, test takers are graded purely on the selection, thus creating a lower likelihood of teacher bias in the results.
4. Because student writing is minimized, the teacher can cover a substantial amount of course material in relatively short time.
5. Scoring is objective since only little interpretation is needed to count the number of correct responses.
6. Teachers can construct options that require students to discriminate among them. These items vary in the degree of correctness.
7. The effectiveness of guessing is largely reduced since there are more options.
8. Items are more amenable to item analysis, and this can be used to detect areas of students weaknesses, evidence of item ambiguity, item difficulty, and the extent o which the item can measure individual differences.
1. It has great versatility in measuring objectives from the level of rote memorization to the most complex level.
2. It often requires less time to administer than tests requiring written responses.
3. Because this style of test does not require a teacher to interpret the answer, test takers are graded purely on the selection, thus creating a lower likelihood of teacher bias in the results.
4. Because student writing is minimized, the teacher can cover a substantial amount of course material in relatively short time.
5. Scoring is objective since only little interpretation is needed to count the number of correct responses.
6. Teachers can construct options that require students to discriminate among them. These items vary in the degree of correctness.
7. The effectiveness of guessing is largely reduced since there are more options.
8. Items are more amenable to item analysis, and this can be used to detect areas of students weaknesses, evidence of item ambiguity, item difficulty, and the extent o which the item can measure individual differences.
Disadvantages of multiple choice tests
1. This type of test is more consuming in terms of looking for options that are more plausible.
2. Multiple choice tests are ambiguous. Failing to interpret the question as the test-maker intended can result in an incorrect response, even if the test-takers response is potentially valid. The term multiple guess has been used to describe the scenario because test-takers may attempt to guess, rather determine the correct answer.
3. In a multiple choice test, a student who is incapable of answering a particular question can simply select a random answer and still have a chance of receiving a mark for it. It is a common practice that students with no time left to give all the remaining questions, random answers in the hope that they will get at least some of them right.
4. Test-naïve students complain of more than one defensible correct answer.
1. This type of test is more consuming in terms of looking for options that are more plausible.
2. Multiple choice tests are ambiguous. Failing to interpret the question as the test-maker intended can result in an incorrect response, even if the test-takers response is potentially valid. The term multiple guess has been used to describe the scenario because test-takers may attempt to guess, rather determine the correct answer.
3. In a multiple choice test, a student who is incapable of answering a particular question can simply select a random answer and still have a chance of receiving a mark for it. It is a common practice that students with no time left to give all the remaining questions, random answers in the hope that they will get at least some of them right.
4. Test-naïve students complain of more than one defensible correct answer.
Suggestions for writing multiple choice
tests
1. The stem should introduce what is expected of the examinee. The essence of the problem should be in the stem. A poor stem leaves the students dealing with four possible answers, hence making the examinees anxious as what to do. All the options should measure the same objective; that is, if the stem calls for a name of a person, all the choices should be the names of persons.
2. Avoid repetition of words in the option. The stem should be written so that the key words are incorporated in the stem and will not have to be repeated in each option. This will save reading time on the part of the student.
3. When the incomplete statement format is used, the options should come at an end of the statement. All test items should present the problem to the student as early and clearly as possible.
4. Avoid specific determiners. Multiple choice test items should not contain clues on what the correct answer is. One clue is option length; the longest length is usually the right one.
5. Use vocabulary suited to the maturity of the students.
1. The stem should introduce what is expected of the examinee. The essence of the problem should be in the stem. A poor stem leaves the students dealing with four possible answers, hence making the examinees anxious as what to do. All the options should measure the same objective; that is, if the stem calls for a name of a person, all the choices should be the names of persons.
2. Avoid repetition of words in the option. The stem should be written so that the key words are incorporated in the stem and will not have to be repeated in each option. This will save reading time on the part of the student.
3. When the incomplete statement format is used, the options should come at an end of the statement. All test items should present the problem to the student as early and clearly as possible.
4. Avoid specific determiners. Multiple choice test items should not contain clues on what the correct answer is. One clue is option length; the longest length is usually the right one.
5. Use vocabulary suited to the maturity of the students.
6. Stems and options should be stated positively whenever possible. Elementary
grade pupils find negatives confusing. For older students, a negative in either
the stem or option, but not both, is permissible. If the word “NOT” is used in
the stem, it should be underlined to ascertain that it is not overlooked.
7. Options should be plausible and homogeneous. It is useless to include distracters that no examinees will choose.
8. Items should have a defensible correct or best option. To avoid this pitfall, the teacher should examine each option to make sure it is either the most defensible or clearly the wrong one. It is important to justify the reasons for incorrect options as it is to be able to defend the correct ones.
9. Avoid items that measure opinions. All opinions are equally defensible.
10. Vary the placement of correct options.
11. Avoid overlapping options. A multiple choice test should only have ONE correct option. Avoid having options like;
a. lady c. woman
b. lass d. girl
12. Use “ none of the above” as an option only if there’s an absolute right answer.
13. Avoid asking students for trivial information like middle initials, specific dates or years, spellings, among others, from the options.
EXAMPLE:
a. Pres. Corazon A. Aquino c. Pres. Corazon C. Aquino
b. Pres. Corazon B. Aquino d. Pres. Corazon D. Aquino
7. Options should be plausible and homogeneous. It is useless to include distracters that no examinees will choose.
8. Items should have a defensible correct or best option. To avoid this pitfall, the teacher should examine each option to make sure it is either the most defensible or clearly the wrong one. It is important to justify the reasons for incorrect options as it is to be able to defend the correct ones.
9. Avoid items that measure opinions. All opinions are equally defensible.
10. Vary the placement of correct options.
11. Avoid overlapping options. A multiple choice test should only have ONE correct option. Avoid having options like;
a. lady c. woman
b. lass d. girl
12. Use “ none of the above” as an option only if there’s an absolute right answer.
13. Avoid asking students for trivial information like middle initials, specific dates or years, spellings, among others, from the options.
EXAMPLE:
a. Pres. Corazon A. Aquino c. Pres. Corazon C. Aquino
b. Pres. Corazon B. Aquino d. Pres. Corazon D. Aquino
14. Whenever possible, arrange options in a logical order of magnitude,
temporal sequence and so on.
15. The stem should be clear and grammatically correct and should contain elements common in each option. Multiple choice tests obey the STANDARD ENGLISH rules of punctuation and grammar.
16. Use four or five options.
15. The stem should be clear and grammatically correct and should contain elements common in each option. Multiple choice tests obey the STANDARD ENGLISH rules of punctuation and grammar.
16. Use four or five options.
TYPES OF MUTIPLE CHOICE TESTS
1. STIMULUS MATERIAL – STEM – OPTIONS
2. STEM-OPTIONS
Example:
Which of the following serves as an example of formative evaluation?
a. diagnostic test c. periodical test
b. entrance test d. short quizzes
3. NEGATIVE STEM
Example:
The following are examples of an adjective EXCEPT:
a. albeit c. gargantuan
b. august d. titanic
4. BEST ANSWER
Example:
Since there is no clear cut or well-defined policies on observing privacy in all instances, the teacher is simply required to be:
a. anonymous c. secretive
b. carefree d. sensitive
5.CONTAINED OPTIONS
Example:
Identify the error in the sentence.
My parents was in Manila to assist my sister enroll in college. No error
a. b. c. d. e.
6. CORRECT ANSWER
Example:
Which of the following serves as an example of formative evaluation?
a. diagnostic test c. periodical test
b. entrance test d. short quizzes
3. NEGATIVE STEM
Example:
The following are examples of an adjective EXCEPT:
a. albeit c. gargantuan
b. august d. titanic
4. BEST ANSWER
Example:
Since there is no clear cut or well-defined policies on observing privacy in all instances, the teacher is simply required to be:
a. anonymous c. secretive
b. carefree d. sensitive
5.CONTAINED OPTIONS
Example:
Identify the error in the sentence.
My parents was in Manila to assist my sister enroll in college. No error
a. b. c. d. e.
6. CORRECT ANSWER
Example :
What is the summer capital of the Philippines?
a. Baguio City c. Davao City
b. Cebu City d. Olongapo City
7. GROUP OPTIONS
Example:
Write---
A. If the item is a simple sentence
B.If the item is a compound sentence
C.If the item is a complex sentence
D.If the item is a phrase
E. If the item is a clause
What is the summer capital of the Philippines?
a. Baguio City c. Davao City
b. Cebu City d. Olongapo City
7. GROUP OPTIONS
Example:
Write---
A. If the item is a simple sentence
B.If the item is a compound sentence
C.If the item is a complex sentence
D.If the item is a phrase
E. If the item is a clause
8. MORSE VARIETY
Example:
Example:
Write---
A. If W affects X, but X affects Y, but Y affects Z
B. If W does not affect X, but X does not affect Y, but Y does not affect Z
c. If W affects X, but X does not affect Y, but Y affects Z
D. If W does not affect X, but X affects Y, but Y does not affect Z
A. If W affects X, but X affects Y, but Y affects Z
B. If W does not affect X, but X does not affect Y, but Y does not affect Z
c. If W affects X, but X does not affect Y, but Y affects Z
D. If W does not affect X, but X affects Y, but Y does not affect Z
Checklist for Writing
Multiple Choice Test
FACTORS
|
YES
|
1. Are the item and main problem in
the stem clearly presented?
|
|
2. Has the item been cast so that
there is no repetition of key words or
phrases in each option? |
|
3. Do the option come at the end of
the stem
|
|
4. Have the responses been arranged
in some systematic functions
such as alphabetically or by the length of options? |
|
5. Are all distracters plausible?
|
|
6. Have all irrelevant clues been
avoided?
|
|
7. Are the correct answers randomly
assigned throughout the test with
approximately equal frequency? |
|
8. Is there only one correct or best
answer?
|
|
9. Has “all of the above” been
avoided?
|
|
10. Has “ none of the above” option
been used sparingly or only when appropriate?
|
|
11. Have the overlapping options been
avoided?
|
|
12. Have negative statements
been avoided? If used, has the negative been
underlined or written in capital letters? |
Quality
True-False Items
True-false items
(also called binary-choice items) are utilized to assess a student's ability to
recognize the accuracy of a declarative statement. Due to the nature of this
type of assessment, true-false statements are particularly useful in measuring
a student's ability to differentiate between forced-choice statements (such as
true-false, yes-no, correct-incorrect, etc.). As such, true-false questions are
well suited for measuring knowledge, comprehensive, and application levels of
understanding (although creative, well-designed questions may also assess
higher-order learning objectives). A quality true-false item is generally
classified as an objective assessment technique as it will only have one
correct answer.
Binary items Test
(True or False)
This type of test requires the examinee to recognize and mark an item as true
or false. Other possible options are agree or disagree, yes or no, valid or
invalid, fact or opinion, and cause or effect.
Advantages of True or
False Test
1. Item sampling
Because the true or
false tests/items and answers tend to be short, teachers can examine students
on more materials than they can with any other type of test. The true or false
(T-F) test can help ensure an adequate sample of items when a great deal of subject
matter must be covered.
2. Ease of
construction
Teachers can
construct terms of this type by lifting statements from the book and rewording
some of them to make false items. However, this must be avoided since items may
become ambiguous. The said practice, although takes less time to construct,
likewise promotes rote memorization.
3. Ease of scoring
Scoring is relatively
mechanical as student has to only agree or disagree with the item. The
difficulty lies in the penmanship of the student as some would write “T” in
longhand and be read or appear as “F”. This can be remedied by requiring
students to write in print, write the full word, or shade a circle
correspondingly.
Disadvantages of True
or False Test
1. Emphasis on Rote Memorization
Modern educational
practices tend to lessen the emphasis on rote memorization except in gaining
pre-requisite knowledge for more complex skills. It is better for the student
to apply particular skills after just having attained them. For example, how a
student can apply the rules of multiplication is better than multiplication per
second. The increasing complexity of life demands comprehension, analysis,
synthesis, application. And evaluation from a student.
If examinations only test the skills of
memorization, students may oversimplify questions that require complex answers.
It demands that the teacher be creative when casting-F test in such a way that
more complex objectives can be measured.
2. Dependence of absolute judgment
The T-F test presumes
a dichotomous world, where things are either a falsity or truth and the
possibility of intermediate values are not easily admitted. Although most facts
are not entirely true or false and still require qualification, it is unfair to
ask the students to guess at the teacher’s criteria for the evaluation of the
truth or falsity of any statement.
3. Likelihood of Guessing
This type of test allows a high degree of guessing. Statistically, an examinee
has always the chance of obtaining 50% correct answers. Students uncertain of
their answer can always guess and hope to answer correctly.
Pointers for writing
True or False Test
1. Construct items that measure important objectives. Requiring students to
respond to new situations is one way to increase the thought-content of T-F
tests.
2. Avoid using specific determiners. Specific determiners give clues to
correct answers. These include sweeping generalizations like always, never, all
and impossible.
3. Avoid using trick questions.
4. Limit each statement to the point that is being tested. Avoid equivocal
items.
5. Avoid excess use of negative words and phrases.
6. Approximately half of the statements should be false. Because it is
easier to construct true item. The teachers inadvertently include more
statements that are true. The chance of getting correct answer by guessing is
higher since students who are in doubt would tend to mark the item as true
7. Avoid qualitative terms like best, some, many, and several.
Types of True or
False Test
1. Simple True or False
Write TRUE if the statement is correct and FALSE if otherwise.
2. Modified True or False
Write TRUE if the statement is valid and FALSE if otherwise. If the statement
is FALSE, underline words that(s) make it wrong.
3. True or False with correction
Write TRUE if the statement is correct and FALSE if otherwise. If the statement
is false, rewrite or change the statement to make it right.
4. Cluster True or False
Circle T if the statement is TRUE and F if it is FALSE.
5. True or False with Options
6. Fact or Opinion
Matching-type Test is
similar to the multiple-choice test. In this kind of test, the examinee
associates an item in one column with a choice in the second column. The items
in the first column are called premises and the answers in the
second column are the responses.
Column A
Column B
_____1. Person who performs
mysterious A.
Facilitator
tasks no one
understands
B. Trainer
_____2. Person who provides
schooling
C.Instructional Designer
for
children
D. Meeting Organizer
_____3. Person who enables a group
E. Teacher
to find solutions
_____4. Person who instructs adults
in a classroom
A matching type test format provides a
change of pace, particularly for self-check and review activities. Many
instructional designers employ them in quizzes and tests too. They are
effective when you need to measure the learner’s ability to identify the
relationship or association between similar items. They are also very a very
efficient approach to testing and can provide an excellent objective
measurement.
There are 2 types of Matching-type
Test:
1. Perfect Matchinghappens when an
option is the only answer to one of the items in column A.
Column
A
Column B
Provinces
Tourist Destinations
1. Albay
a. Lunete Park
2. Bohol
b. Mt. Mayon
3. Banaue
c. Chocolate Hills
4. Pangasinan
d.Rice Terraces
5. Manila
e. Hundred Islands
f. Pagsanjan
Falls
g. Malolos
Church
2. Imperfect Matchinghappens when an
option is the answer to more than one item in the column.
Column
A
Column B
Tourist
Destinations
Provinces
1. Lunete
Park
a. Albay
2. Mines
View Park b. Manila
3. Chocolate
Hills c.
Banaue
4. Camp
John Hay d. Bohol
5. Intramuros
e. Pangasinan
f . Baguio
g. Palawan
A. Advantages of the Matching-type Test
1. The
matching- type test is simple to construct and score. It is well suited in
measuring associations. Like a multiple choice test, it presents the student
with questions and alternatives.
2. It
reduces the effect of guessing, although the chance of guessing increases as
the student progresses in answering items. This, however, is easily remedied by
adding more options.
B. Disadvantages of the Matching-type
Test
1. It
tends to ask students to associate trivial information. Unfortunately, most
matching-type tests emphasize memorization, although it is, impossible to
construct items that measure more complex cognitive skills.
2. In
case of commercial answer sheets, matching items can accommodate no more than
five options.
C. Pointers on Writing Matching-type
Tests
1. If
possible, the response list should consist of short phrases, single words, or
numbers.
2. Use
homogenous options and items.
3. Have
more options than the given items. Initially, a matching-item tests decreases
the student’s tendencies to guess but as the students progress in answering the
test, the guessing tendencies increase. This can be avoided by increasing the
options.
4. Arrange
the options and items alphabetically, numerically, or magnitudinally. This is
one way to help the examinees since they can maximize their time by not searching
for the correct answers, especially if there are many options.
5. Limit
the number of items within each set. Ideally, the minimum is five items and the
maximum is ten per set.
6. Place
the shorter response in column B. This time-saving practice allows the students
to read the longer items first in column A and then search quickly through the
shorter options to locate the correct alternative.
7. Provide
complete directions. Directions should stipulate whether options can be used
only once or more than once. They should also instruct the students on how to
respond. The instructions should also clarify what column A and B are about.
8. Place
the list of options on the same page as the list of items. Time is wasted if
students have to flip pages to search through all options to locate the correct
ones. Additionally, some students may overlook that there are still some
options on the next page.
9. Avoid
specific determiners and trivial information that can help the students find
the correct response without any effort on their part. The use of “ none of the
above” as an option is recommended if it is the only correct answer.
10. Clearly explain the basis on which
the match is to be made.
D. Suggestions for Measuring Complex
Objectives with Matching-type tests
1. Match
examples with terminologies. Perhaps this is the most direct and simplest
method of increasing the thought content of matching tests provided that the
example has not yet been taught before.
2. Use
novel pictorial materials.
Completion Test Items
The completion item requires the student to answer a question or to finish an incomplete statement by filling in a blank with the correct word or phrase.
Advantages in using completion items
1. can
provide a wide sampling of content
2. can
efficiently measure lower levels of cognitive ability
3. can
minimize guessing as compared to multiple-choice or true-false items
4. can
usually provide a reliable measure of student achievement or ability
5. have
a low level of complexity which typically measures the type of text being
conducted.
6. Eliminates
guessing for it simply requires recall.
7. Improves
item sampling and takes less time to read and answer than multiple-choice
tests.
Disadvantages of the Completion Test
1. Difficult
to score.
2. Typically
measures rote memory and are restricted to short words.
3. Usually
restricted to short words
4. Items
tend to measure recall of specific facts, names, places and events that rarely
measure more complex outcomes.
Limitations in using completion items
1. are
difficult to construct so that the desired response is clearly indicated
2. have
difficulty measuring learning objectives requiring more than simple recall of
information
3. can
often include more irrelevant clues than do other item types
4. are
more time consuming to score when compared to multiple-choice or true-false
items
5. are
more difficult to score since more than one answer may have to be considered
correct if the item was not properly prepared
6. avoid
specific determiners.
7. do
not omit so many words from the statement the intended meaning is lost.
8. avoid
grammatical or other clues to the correct response.
Suggestions for writing completion test
items
1. Omit
only significant words from the statement.
2. Be
sure there is only one correct response.
3. Make
the blanks of equal length.
4. When
possible, delete words at the end of the statement after the student has been
presented a clearly defined problem.
5. Avoid
lifting statements directly from the text, lecture or other sources.
6. Write
items that clearly imply the type of response desired.
7. Limit
the required response to a single word or phrase.
Cloze Deletion Test
The Cloze test measures students' comprehension abilities by giving them a
short text, with blanks where some of the words should be, and asking them to
fill in the blanks. This version of the test resembles the directions to a
computer game, describing the game's rules. This task requires students to
build an internal representation of the text, to put the words together in a
meaningful way, so that they will be able to interpolate what words belong in
the blanks.
Theoretic Background of Cloze Tests
Initially, the cloze tests, which were introduced by Taylor (1953), were used only to assess the readability of texts in the reader’s native language. It originates from Gestalt psychology, which holds that integrity of human consciousness is the most intrinsic feature of psychology. Therefore, it is a sub-consciously-motivated tendency to fill up the empty when one is observing an object or picture. After Taylor, the cloze tests came to be used in L2 testing, but it did not get popular until 1970s when overall competence was gaining attention.
The idea of overall competence can be traced back to the Unitary Competence hypothesis proposed by Oller (1979); before that time tests were devised to measure performance or recognition of separate sounds, specific grammatical features, or vocabulary items. What Oller said, in brief, was that language proficiency is indivisible, that tests only differ in their effectiveness at measuring this one factor, and that the elaborate apparatus of dimensions and tests used by the psychometrics could be replaced by one test which would directly tap the single indivisible faculty of overall proficiency, one of the most well-known being cloze tests, in which every nth word has been deleted. Among the deleted words, lexical ones take up 65 percent to 75 percent and functional ones, 25 percent to 35 percent.
Initially, the cloze tests, which were introduced by Taylor (1953), were used only to assess the readability of texts in the reader’s native language. It originates from Gestalt psychology, which holds that integrity of human consciousness is the most intrinsic feature of psychology. Therefore, it is a sub-consciously-motivated tendency to fill up the empty when one is observing an object or picture. After Taylor, the cloze tests came to be used in L2 testing, but it did not get popular until 1970s when overall competence was gaining attention.
The idea of overall competence can be traced back to the Unitary Competence hypothesis proposed by Oller (1979); before that time tests were devised to measure performance or recognition of separate sounds, specific grammatical features, or vocabulary items. What Oller said, in brief, was that language proficiency is indivisible, that tests only differ in their effectiveness at measuring this one factor, and that the elaborate apparatus of dimensions and tests used by the psychometrics could be replaced by one test which would directly tap the single indivisible faculty of overall proficiency, one of the most well-known being cloze tests, in which every nth word has been deleted. Among the deleted words, lexical ones take up 65 percent to 75 percent and functional ones, 25 percent to 35 percent.
There are at least five main types of
cloze tests available to language teachers:
•&νβσπ;fixed-rate deletion
•&νβσπ;selective deletion
(also known as the rational cloze)
•&νβσπ;multiple-choice cloze
•&νβσπ;cloze elide and the
C-test (Ikeguchi 1995; Weir 1990; Klein-Braley and Raatz 1984).
Essay
questions are designed to
provide the students the opportunity to answer questions in their own words
(Ornstein, 1990). They can be used in assessing the student’s skill in
analyzing, synthesizing, evaluating, thinking logically, solving problems, and
hypothesizing. According to Gronlund and Linn (1990), there are 12 complex
learning outcomes that can be measured effectively with essay items.
A.
Advantages/Disadvantages of Essay Test
Advantages
1. Essay
gives students freedom to respond within broad limits. Essay examinations allow
students to express their ideas with relatively few restraints.
2. Guessing
is eliminated. Essay involves recall and there are no options to select from.
The student is expected to supply rather than select the proper response.
3. Essay
items are practical for testing a small number of students. However, as the
number of students increases the advantage of essay tests decrease.
4. Essay
tests reduce assembling time. Less time is required for typing mimeography and
assembling. If only a few questions are asked, the teacher can just write them
on the board.
5. They
can measure divergent thinking. Divergent thinking is indicated by unconventional,
creative, relatively free responses. Because they allow great freedom in
answering the opportunity to obtain unusual responses is increased.
6. Essay
questions give an opportunity to assess students’ abilities and critical
thinking skills.
7. Essay
items are an effective way to measure higher level cognitive objectives. They
are unique in measuring students' ability to select content, organize and
integrate it, and present it in logical prose.
8. Students
are given an opportunity to provide their authentic experience as the essay
questions are usually given with the purpose to give students an opportunity to
check their capacity to make decisions rather than choose from existing
variants.
9. They
present a more realistic task to the student. In real life, questions will not
be presented in a multiple-choice format, but will require students to organize
and communicate their thoughts.
Disadvantages
1. Essays
are difficult to score objectively because students have greater freedom of
expression. Also, long, complex essays are more difficult to score than
shorter, more limited ones.
2. Extended
essays measure only the limited aspects of student knowledge. Because extended
responses required time to write, only a few questions can be given to the
students. Thus essays tests sample limited content and are not always a fair
measure of what the student actually knows. This problem is less serious when
responses are limited and the number of items is increased.
3. Essay
questions are time-consuming for teacher and students. Students often spend
much time answering only one or two extended essay questions which may severely
limit sampling their knowledge. Teachers, in the meantime, also devote much
time reading lengthy responses. However, if time limits are kept constant,
Coffman (1972) has shown that objectivity is improved by increasing the number
of items than by allowing greater freedom in responding to fewer items.
4. Essays
eliminate guessing but not bluffing. Poorly prepared students desperately
attempt to get a passing grade by answering even if their responses are not
related to the questions asked.
5. Most
essays require a little more than rote memory. In practice, very few essays
require originality and most emphasize lengthy enumeration of memorized facts
or trends.
6. Essay
test place a premium on writing. Students can read much more rapidly than they
can write. Much of the time allotted to answering an essay question is devoted
to the mechanics of writing and there is relatively little time to think about
the content. On more objectively scored tests, little time is spent in writing
and more time is used in thinking about responses. If the teacher does not
attempt to measure writing skills, a multiple test will probably provide more
information per unit of time than with an essay.
7. Essay
questions usually require extended answers. That is why it is impossible to ask
too many questions. There are about three or four questions students can cover
at the test. Students’ competence in the subject cannot be checked in the full
volume.
8. It
is difficult to check and assess tests where the essay questions were used
because of their length.
9. The
length and complexity of the answer, as well as the standards for responding,
can lead to reliability problems in scoring.
B.
Use of Essay Tests
There are varied
ideas for and against essay testing. Below are the favorable comments.
1. Raises
the quality of writing.
2. Teaches
students to organize outline and summarize assignments rather than simple look
for facts, dates and details expected in T-F or multiple choice tests.
Likewise, there are
arguments against essay tests.
1. Essay
test do not allow students to revise and rewrite their work since time is
limited.
2. The
teachers’ over-attention to details can destroy the themes of essays.
Situations that
suggest the Use of essay questions
1. If
the test objective specify that students have to write, recall or supply
information, an essay examination may be necessary. Objectives that suggest
extended student responses also suggest the use of essays.
2. When
the class size is small, the teacher can afford to spend more time reading
essay responses. Reading extended responses for large classes may prove to be
excessively time consuming.
3. Since
multiple-choice tests are difficult to construct but easy to score, they are
considered more practical when the test can be reused. If a test can be used
only once an essay examination may be more convenient than a multiple-choice
one.
Some teachers use essay questions as teaching tools throughout the course
by making them the focus of class discussions. Students are given the
questions prior to the day of the discussion so they can prepare
answers. The class discussion is an exercise in exploring the ways
the questions can be answered. Students thereby have an opportunity to
practice their thinking skills and also become familiar with the type of
questions favored by the teacher. Teachers who use this method report
that it not only improves student performance on essay exams, but it also
raises the quality of class discussions.
C.
Pointers on Writing Essay Test
Essays are a popular form of assessment because they can be used to assess a
range of skills as well as subject knowledge. Writing essays under exam
conditions is quite different to 'normal' essay writing, however. Generally,
you won't have access to source material or notes; you have only limited time
to reflect on the question and plan your response; and there is no time for
redrafting or major editing.
The difficulty in
scoring essay rests on the teacher’s failure to precisely specify what they
want their students to do. Some teachers are not sure of what they want; others
know but fail to communicate this to students. In either, the ambiguity of the
essay questions and the lack of scoring standards reduce the effectiveness of
essay tests. The following suggestions should be useful in writing essay
questions:
1. Specify limitations. Tell the students
the length of the desired response and the weight each question will be given
when determining the scores. This includes the time to be spent on each item,
the approximate number of words per item, maximum points per item, and maximum
amount of space to be devoted for each item.
2. Structure the task. The instructions
should clearly the task. Most essay questions are so vague that the
instructor’s intent is lost.
3. Make each item relatively short and
increase the number of items. The more items there are, the greater
chance there is of the sampling of knowledge.
4. Give all the students the same essay
questions if the content is relevant.
Sometimes,
teachers give the students the opportunity to deal with one or two items from a
set of essay questions.
5. Ask questions in a direct manner. Avoid
deviousness and pedanticism when framing questions.
D.
Suggestion for Rating Essay Test
Essay test may be
scored in four ways: analytic or point system, universal or holistic approach,
sorting method, and demerits.
The analytic or
point system is useful in scoring a large number of limited response essay
questions. Teachers using this method decide how much weight each question will
have and inform students of the number of points necessary for a perfect score
on each question. The student’s total score is the sum of the points awarded to
each answer.
The universal or
holistic approach gives the general impression to all the answer to the
questions. The student’s total score is based on the overall quality of all the
answers to all the questions.
The sorting method
is more appropriate than the point system for rating longer essays. Rather than
examining every sentence or main idea to determine how many points the students
should receive, the best papers are placed on one pile, the worst on the other
and the intermediates in between them. After the papers are initially sorted,
they are reread to ensure homogeneity. Maximizing differences between or among
groups and reducing the differences within the groups should be the goal of the
teacher.
Teachers using demerits
deduct points for inconsistencies in the students’ answer. This usually happens
when the essay responses are expanded. As the students further discuss their
answers, they become more prone to committing contradicting statements.
In the grading of
essay responses, one must observe the following suggestions:
1. Remove
names from papers before grading.
2. Read
and evaluate each student’s answer to the same question before going to the
next.
3. Keep
the scores of previously read items out of sight when evaluating remaining
questions.
4. Decide
on a policy for dealing with irrelevant responses.
5. If
possible, reread or have other teachers read the papers before returning them
to the students.
6. Check
the scoring key against actual responses.
7. Be
consistent when grading.
8.
The mechanics of expression should be judged separately from what the students
writes.
9. If
possible, have two independent readings of the test and use the average as the
final score.
10. Provide
comments and correct errors.
11. Set
realistic standards.
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