19628750 Lesson 5e Essay Questions Construction

8/17/2019 19628750 Lesson 5e Essay Questions Construction

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EVALUATIONTest Item Construction

Essay Questions

Sylvester Saimon Simin

Keningau Teachers Training College


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Characteristics of Essay Questions

• Freedom of response

As with short-answer items, students produce their ownanswers. However, they are free to decide how to approach

the problem, what factual information to use, how to

organie the answer, and what degree of emphasis to give

each aspect of the response. !hus it is useful for measuring

the ability to organie, integrate, and e"press ideas.


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Comparison of #election-!ype $tems and Essay

Encourages students to organie,

integrate, and e"press their own

ideas.

Encourages students to

remember, interpret, and use the

ideas of others.

%robable

effect on

learning

&riting ability and bluffing.'eading ability and guessing.Factors

distorting

scores

#ub(ective, difficult and less

reliable.

)b(ective, simple, and highly

reliable.

#coring

%reparation of good items is

difficult but easier than selection-

type items.

%reparation of good items is

difficult and time consuming.%reparation

of $tems

!he use of a small number of items

limits coverage, which ma*es

representative sampling of contentinfeasible.

!he use of a large number of

items results in broad coverage,

which ma*es representativesampling of content feasible

#ampling of

content

• $nefficient for measuring

*nowledge outcomes• +est for ability to organie,

integrate and e"press ideas.

• ood for measuring outcomes at

the *nowledge, comprehension,and application levels

• $nadeuate for organiing and

e"pressing ideas

earningoutcomes

measured

Essay Questions#election-!ype $tems


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!ypes of Essay Questions

'estricted-'esponse Questions

%laces strict limits on the answer/ the sub(ect matter are narrowlydefined by the problem, the specific form of the answer is commonly

indicated 0eg1 2list3, 2define3, 2give reasons34, use of introductory

material or special directions

• Eg1 5escribe the relative merits of selection-type tests items and essay

uestions for measuring learning outcomes at the comprehension level.

Confine your answer to one page.• Eg1 6r. 'oger, a Form 7 science teacher, wants to measure his students3

2ability to interpret scientific data3 with a paper-and-pencil test.

0a4 5escribe the steps that 6r. 'oger should follow.

0b4 ive reasons to (ustify each step.

Advantages1

• %repared more easily, related more directly to specific learning outcomes,

scored more easily

5isadvantages

• ittle opportunities for students to demonstrate their abilities to organie, to

integrate and develop new pattern of response

8seful for comprehension, application and analysis levels of learning


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!ypes of Essay Questions

E"tended-'esponse Questions

Almost unlimited freedom to determine the form and scope of their

responses. $n some instances practical limits are imposed such as time or page

limits, but restrictions on the material to be included in the answerand on the form of response are held to a minimum.

• Eg1 For a course that you are teaching or e"pect to teach, prepare acomplete plan for assessing student acheivement. +e sure to include theprocedures you would follow, the instruments you would use, and the

reasons for your choices. 0synthesis outcome4• Eg1 0!he student is given a complete acheivement test that includes errorsor flaws in the directions, in the test items, and in the arrangement of theitems.4 &rite a critical evaluation of this test using as evaluative criteria therules and standards for test construction described in your te"tboo*.$nclude a detailed analysis of the test3s strengths and wea*nesses and anevaluation of its overall uality and probable effectiveness. 0Evaluationoutcome4

Advantages1• Creative integration of ideas, overall evaluation of materials, and a broad

approach to problem solving.

5isadvantages• !o evaluate the answers with sufficient reliability to provide a useful

measure of learning

8seful for synthesis and evaluation levels of learning


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uidelines for &riting Essay Questions

7. 8se essay uestions to measure comple" learning

outcomes only. Essay test are suitable for situations that reuire students

to give reasons, e"plain relationships, describe data,

formulate conclusions.

&here supplying the answer is vital, a properly constructed

restricted-response uestion is more appropriate At the synthesis 9 evaluation level, such as the production

of a complete wor* 0eg. a plan of operation4 or an overall

evaluation of a wor* 0eg. evaluation of a novel or an

e"periment4 reuires the use of e"tended-response

uestions.


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:. 'elate the uestions as directly as possible to the

learning outcomes being measured. Each uestion should be specifically designed to measureone or more well-defined outcomes. !hus, as with ob(ective

items, a precise description of the performance to be

measured will help determine the content and form of the

item.

!he e"tended-response item reuires greater freedom of

response and involves a number of learning outcomes. $f

the tas* is prescribed too rigidly in the uestion, the

student3s freedom is apt to be infringed upon. )ne solution

is to indicate the criteria used in evaluating the answer eg.

2your answer will be evaluated in terms of its

comprehensiveness, the relevance of its arguments, the

appropriateness of its e"amples, and the s*ill with which it

is organied3.


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;. Formulate uestions that present a clear tas* to be performed.

appraise, criticie, defend, describe, evaluate, e"plain, (udge, writeEvaluating

construct, develop, e"plain, formulate, generate, ma*e, propose, stateeneraliing

arrange, combine, construct, design, rearrange, regroup, relate, write#ynthesiing

compose, design, devise, draw, formulate, ma*e up, present, proposeCreating

brea* down, describe, diagram, differentiate, divide, list, outline,

separate

Analying

arrange, compute, describe, demonstrate, illustrate, rearrange, relate

summarie

Applying

derive, draw, estimate, e"tend, e"trapolate, predict, propose, relate$nferring

convert, draw, estimates, illustrate, interpret, restate, summarie,

translate

$nterpreting

compare, classify, describe, distinguish between, e"plain, outline,

summarie

Comparing

#ample !ermsearning

)utcomes

!ypes of Comple" )utcomes and 'elated !erms for &riting Essay Questions


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=. %rovide ample time for answering and

suggest a time limit on each uestion.


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'ules for #coring Essay Questions

7. Evaluate answers to essay uestions in terms of

the learning outcomes being measured.:. #core restricted-response answers by the point

method, using a model answer as a guide.

;. rade e"tended-response answers by the rating

method, using defined criteria as a guide.


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Chec!list "or Evaluating Essay Questions

#$ Is this ty%e o" item a%%ro%riate "or measuring theinten&e& learning outcome'

($ )oes the item tas! match the learning tas! to *emeasure&'

+$ Is the ,uestion &esigne& to measure com%le- learningoutcomes'

.$ )oes the ,uestion ma!e clear /hat is *eing measure&an& ho/ the ans/er /ill *e evaluate&'

0$ 1as terminology *een use& that clari"ies an& limits thetas! 2eg3 4&escri*e56 not 4&iscuss57

8$ Are all stu&ents re,uire& to ans/er the same ,uestions'9$ 1as an am%le time limit *een in&icate& "or each

,uestion'

:$ 1ave a&e,uate %rovisions *een ma&e "or scoringans/ers 2eg3 mo&el ans/ers or criteria "or evaluating7'


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Common Ty%es o" ;lu""ing in Ans/ering Essay Questions

7. #tudent repeat the uestion in statement form 0slightlyparaphrased4 and tells how important the topic is 0e.g., ?!he

role of assessment $ teaching is e"tremely important. $t is hardto imagine effective instruction witout it, etc.@4.

:. #tudent writes on a well-*nown topic and fits it to the uestion0e.g., a student who *nows testing well but *nows little aboutperformance assessment and is as*ed to compare the twomight describe testing in considerable detail and freuently

state that performance assessment is much superior forevaluating the type of learning measured by the test4.

;. #tudent liberally sprin*les the answer with basic conceptswhether they are understood or not 0e.g., as*ed to write aboutany assessment techniues the importance of 2validity3 and

2reliability3 is mentioned freuently4.

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19628750 Lesson 5e Essay Questions Construction