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Bloom's
taxonomy for test development To measure
knowledge
(common terms, facts, principles, procedures), ask these kinds
of questions: Define, Describe, Identify, Label, List, Match, Name, Outline, Reproduce,
Select, State.
Example: "List the steps involved in titration."
To
measure comprehension
(understanding of facts and principles, interpretation
of material), ask these kinds of questions: Convert, Defend, Distinguish, Estimate,
Explain, Extend, Generalize, Give examples, Infer, Predict, Summarize.
Example: "Summarize the basic tenets of deconstructionism."
To measure
application
(solving problems, applying concepts and principles to new
situations), ask these kinds of questions: Demonstrate, Modify, Operate, Prepare,
Produce, Relate, Show, Solve, Use.
Example: "Calculate the deflection of a
beam under uniform loading."
To measure analysis
(recognition
of unstated assumptions or logical fallacies, ability to distinguish between facts
and inferences), ask these kinds of questions: Diagram, Differentiate, Distinguish,
Illustrate, Infer, Point out, Relate, Select, Separate, Subdivide.
Example:
"In the president's State of the Union Address, which statements are based on
facts and which are based on assumptions?"
To measure synthesis
(integrate learning from different areas or solve problems by creative thinking),
ask these kinds of questions: Categorize, Combine, Compile, Devise, Design, Explain,
Generate, Organize, Plan, Rearrange, Reconstruct, Revise, Tell.
Example:
"How would you restructure the school day to reflect children's developmental
needs?"
To measure evaluation
(judging and assessing), ask these
kinds of questions: Appraise, Compare, Conclude, Contrast, Criticize, Describe,
Discriminate, Explain, Justify, Interpret, Support.
Example: "Why is Bach's
Mass in B Minor acknowledged as a classic?"
Many educators
have found it difficult to apply this six-level taxonomy, and some educators have
simplified and collapsed the taxonomy into three general levels (Crooks, 1988):
The first category knowledge (recall or recognition of specific information).
The second category combines comprehension and application.
The third category
is described as "problem solving," transferring existing knowledge and skills
to new situations.
Types
of Tests Multiple-choice
tests.
Multiple-choice items can be used to measure both simple knowledge
and complex concepts. Since multiple-choice questions can be answered quickly,
you can assess students' mastery of many topics on an hour exam. In addition,
the items can be easily and reliably scored. Good multiple-choice questions are
difficult to write-see "Multiple-Choice and Matching Tests" for guidance on how
to develop and administer this type of test. True-false tests. Because random
guessing will produce the correct answer half the time, true-false tests are less
reliable than other types of exams. However, these items are appropriate for occasional
use. Some faculty who use true-false questions add an "explain" column in which
students write one or two sentences justifying their response.
Matching
tests.
The matching format is an effective way to test students' recognition
of the relationships between words and definitions, events and dates, categories
and examples, and so on. See "Multiple-Choice and Matching Tests" for suggestions
about developing this type of test. Essay tests.
Essay tests
enable
you to judge students' abilities to organize, integrate, interpret material, and
express themselves in their own words. Research indicates that students study
more efficiently for essay-type examinations than for selection (multiple-choice)
tests: students preparing for essay tests focus on broad issues, general concepts,
and interrelationships rather than on specific details, and this studying results
in somewhat better student performance regardless of the type of exam they are
given (McKeachie, 1986). Essay tests also give you an opportunity to comment on
students' progress, the quality of their thinking, the depth of their understanding,
and the difficulties they may be having. However, because essay tests pose only
a few questions, their content validity may be low. In addition, the reliability
of essay tests is compromised by subjectivity or inconsistencies in grading. For
specific advice, see "Short-Answer and Essay Tests." (Sources: Ericksen, 1969,
McKeachie, 1986) A variation of an essay test asks students to correct mock answers.
One faculty member prepares a test that requires students to correct, expand,
or refute mock essays. Two weeks before the exam date, he distributes ten to twelve
essay questions, which he discusses with students in class. For the actual exam,
he selects four of the questions and prepares well-written but intellectually
flawed answers for the students to edit, correct, expand, and refute. The mock
essays contain common misunderstandings, correct but incomplete responses, or
absurd notions; in some cases the answer has only one or two flaws. He reports
that students seem to enjoy this type of test more than traditional examinations
Short-answer tests.
Depending on your objectives, short-answer questions
can call for one or two sentences or a long paragraph. Short-answer tests are
easier to write, though they take longer to score, than multiple-choice tests.
They also give you some opportunity to see how well students can express their
thoughts, though they are not as useful as longer essay responses for this purpose.
See "Short-Answer and Essay Tests" for detailed guidelines.
Problem sets.
In courses in mathematics and the sciences, your tests can include problem sets.
As a rule of thumb, allow students ten minutes to solve a problem you can do in
two minutes. See "Homework: Problem Sets" for advice on creating and grading problem
sets.
Oral exams.
Though common at the graduate level, oral exams
are rarely used for undergraduates except in foreign language classes. In other
classes they are usually time-consuming, too anxiety provoking for students, and
difficult to score unless the instructor tape-records the answers. However, a
math professor has experimented with individual thirty-minute oral tests in a
small seminar class. Students receive the questions in advance and are allowed
to drop one of their choosing. During the oral exam, the professor probes students'
level of understanding of the theory and principles behind the theorems. He reports
that about eight students per day can be tested.
Performance tests.
Performance tests ask students to demonstrate proficiency in conducting an experiment,
executing a series of steps in a reasonable amount of time, following instructions,
creating drawings, manipulating materials or equipment, or reacting to real or
simulated situations. Performance tests can be administered individually or in
groups. They are seldom used in colleges and universities because they are logistically
difficult to set up, hard to score, and the content of most courses does not necessarily
lend itself to this type of testing. However, performance tests can be useful
in classes that require students to demonstrate their skills (for example, health
fields, the sciences, education). If you use performance tests, Anderson (1987,
p. 43) recommends that you do the following (I have slightly modified her list):
Specify the criteria to be used for rating or scoring (for example, the level
of accuracy in performing the steps in sequence or completing the task within
a specified time limit). State the problem so that students know exactly what
they are supposed to do (if possible, conditions of a performance test should
mirror a real-life situation). Give students a chance to perform the task more
than once or to perform several task samples.
"Create-a-game" exams.
For one midterm, ask students to create either a board game, word game, or trivia
game that covers the range of information relevant to your course. Students must
include the rules, game board, game pieces, and whatever else is needed to play.
For example, students in a history of psychology class created "Freud's Inner
Circle," in which students move tokens such as small cigars and toilet seats around
a board each time they answer a question correctly, and "Psychogories," a card
game in which players select and discard cards until they have a full hand of
theoretically compatible psychological theories, beliefs, or assumptions.
(Source: Berrenberg and Prosser, 1991) Alternative
Testing Modes
Take-home tests.
Take-home tests allow
students to work at their own pace with access to books and materials. Take-home
tests also permit longer and more involved questions, without sacrificing valuable
class time for exams. Problem sets, short answers, and essays are the most appropriate
kinds of take-home exams. Be wary, though, of designing a take-home exam that
is too difficult or an exam that does not include limits on the number of words
or time spent (Jedrey, 1984). Also, be sure to give students explicit instructions
on what they can and cannot do: for example, are they allowed to talk to other
students about their answers? A variation of a take-home test is to give the topics
in advance but ask the students to write their answers in class. Some faculty
hand out ten or twelve questions the week before an exam and announce that three
of those questions will appear on the exam.
Open-book tests.
Open-book tests simulate the situations professionals face every day, when they
use resources to solve problems, prepare reports, or write memos. Open-book tests
tend to be inappropriate in introductory courses in which facts must be learned
or skills thoroughly mastered if the student is to progress to more complicated
concepts and techniques in advanced courses. On an open-book test, students who
are lacking basic knowledge may waste too much of their time consulting their
references rather than writing. Open-book tests appear to reduce stress (Boniface,
1985; Liska and Simonson, 1991), but research shows that students do not necessarily
perform significantly better on open-book tests (Clift and Imrie, 1981; Crooks,
1988). Further, open-book tests seem to reduce students' motivation to study.
A compromise between open- and closed-book testing is to let students bring an
index card or one page of notes to the exam or to distribute appropriate reference
material such as equations or formulas as part of the test. Group exams.
Some faculty have successfully experimented with group exams, either
in class or as take-home projects. Faculty report that groups outperform individuals
and that students respond positively to group exams (Geiger, 1991; Hendrickson,
1990; Keyworth, 1989; Toppins 1989). For example, for a fifty-minute in-class
exam, use a multiple-choice test of about twenty to twenty-five items. For the
first test, the groups can be randomly divided. Groups of three to five students
seem to work best. For subsequent tests, you may want to assign students to groups
in ways that minimize differences between group scores and balance talkative and
quiet students. Or you might want to group students who are performing at or near
the same level (based on students' performance on individual tests). Some faculty
have students complete the test individually before meeting as a group. Others
just let the groups discuss the test, item by item. In the first case, if the
group score is higher than the individual score of any member, bonus points are
added to each individual's score. In the second case, each student receives the
score of the group. Faculty who use group exams offer the following tips: Ask
students to discuss each question fully and weigh the merits of each answer rather
than simply vote on an answer. If you assign problems, have each student work
a problem and then compare results. If you want students to take the exam individually
first, consider devoting two class periods to tests; one for individual work and
the other for group. Show students the distribution of their scores as individuals
and as groups; in most cases group scores will be higher than any single individual
score. A variation of this idea is to have students first work on an exam in groups
outside of class. Students then complete the exam individually during class time
and receive their own score. Some portion of the test items are derived from the
group exam. The rest are new questions. Or let students know in advance you will
be asking them to justify a few of their responses; this will keep students from
blithely relying on their work group for all the answers. (Sources: Geiger, 1991;
Hendrickson, 1990; Keyworth, 1989; Murray, 1990; Toppins, 1989)
Paired
testing.
For paired exams, pairs of students work on a single essay exam,
and the two students turn in one paper. Some students may be reluctant to share
a grade, but good students will most likely earn the same grade they would have
working alone. Pairs can be self-selected or assigned. For example, pairing a
student who is doing well in the course with one not doing well allows for some
peer teaching. A variation is to have students work in teams but submit individual
answer sheets. (Source: Murray, 1990)
Portfolios.
A portfolio is
not a specific test but rather a cumulative collection of a student's work. Students
decide what examples to include that characterize their growth and accomplishment
over the term. While most common in composition classes, portfolios are beginning
to be used in other disciplines to provide a fuller picture of students' achievements.
A student's portfolio might include sample papers (first drafts and revisions),
journal entries, essay exams, and other work representative of the student's progress.
You can assign portfolios a letter grade or a pass/not pass. If you do grade portfolios,
you will need to establish clear criteria.
(Source: Jacobs and Chase,
1992)
:
Criteria Referenced
Test
measure knowledge of certain criteria-subject
matter curriculum.
Theoretically with good teaching and hard work, all students
can do well and pass. Normed Referenced
Tests are designed to measure students against
each other.Half of all students will always fall below the median-even if the
median score is 98 % !
Testing or Teaching
Decide are you testing
or teaching???
There is a difference! Teaching
the test means the same questions, the same problems on the test are used to teach
the skills. Teach to the test means teaching the skills on
the test, but using other information and problems. You MUST teach to the test!
Could you pass an AstroPhysics test having never studied the information???
Grade the tests.
Evaluate the teaching.
The purpose of testing is to evaluate the progress and learning of the
students in relationship to the objectives of learning. Students need a
list of what they are responsible for learning at the beginning of the
assignment. There must be an assessment attitude as opposed to a testing
attitude.
Testing
alternatives:
1. projects-make, draw, build, present, make a game
2. presentations-discuss, tell a group, tell the class
3. have students make
a test with the answer sheet that shows where the answer is found
If
a question is too difficult, skip it and come back to it later.
Choose the
answer that fits best in the sentences.
If you know which answer is correct,
mark it and move on to the next one.
Stay with your first answer choice.
Remember, a paragraph should focus on one idea.
Be sure to read
all the answer choices.
Don't look at the words too long or they all look
misspelled.
Check by rereading the questions and finding the answer clue in
the reading
Relaxing Techniques
* Deep breathing in / out
* Breathe in through your nose to a count
of 3, breathe out slowly though your mouth to a count of 5
* Stretch
*
Wiggle
* Roll your shoulders
* Roll your head side to side
Between test segments take the time to stretch, go to the bathroom, do a puzzle-wordsearches
are good. Play a game. This will de-stress them and promote a better attitude
and refresh the spirit. Ultimately, they will do better!!
Test Format-use this a lot!!
*Tell
all you know about:
Have students write one fact per line and number the
facts. Give them anywhere from 10-30 minutes to complete their list.Have them
use note form or write in sentences.
Have the text book on the floor.
About half way into the test, have them put their pencils on the floor
and pick up the text. Tell them they have 30 seconds to look up any information
they need. After 30 seconds tell them to put the text on the floor, pick up the
pencil and continue the test. If you are expecting a 30 minute time frame repeat
the text check.
Learning
how to take a test 1. Read the entire test ( including answers
)to the students as they use a marker to follow along. Do not choose the correct
answers. Just read. Then have them take the test. 2. Read the entire test.
Have students choose the correct answer and discuss why. Then the NEXT day have
them take the test.
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