Techniques for Testing

Summary 

Chapter 2

Tests are very useful tools in everyday assessment, for this, constructing test items can be challenging.

Test items can be classified in many ways. Some testers categorize items as selection(students selects correct answer from given options) and supply items (students must construct or supply the answer).

 As teachers we need to be careful and aware of test formats, sometimes this can impact negatively what students really know or can do.

Subjective Questions

Items can be classified by the way they are scored. In this case, marking a subjective test depends on impression, human judment, opinion at the time of the scoring. It requires students to produce longer, openended responses. Subjective questions are generally easier to write than objective. Many possible answers or responses are correct.

Objective Questions

Can be scored based an answer key. Objective items are usually short answer- closed response items. They are difficult to write, but easy and quick to grade.

Objective items have few response options. They are flexible to test global and detailed understanding of a text or focus on specific areas of language.

Following is a brief explanation of the most commonly used objective items:

Multiple Choice Questions 

MCQs (multiple choice questions) are widely used to assess learning at the recall and comprehension levels. The basic structure is the stem and response. Usually the stem is written as a question or incomplete statement. The response are choices given to the test taker.

Generally, there are four choices for reading, vocabulary, and grammar, but just three for listening.

Some advantages of MCQs are that they are very reliable, can be use at different educational levels, assessment is not affected by writing abilities, easy to check and students like this format.

Some violations of MCQs:

* grammatical inconsistency: stem, key and distractors need to be consistent.

* extraneous clues: when students can find the answer somewhere else on the test.

* 3 for 1 split: when three distractors are parallel and one is not.

* Impure items: those that test more than one thing.

* gender bias in language: be careful using vocabulary that relates to gender

* sensitivity: avoid materials that have negative impact.

* double answer or key: more than one response is correct.

Matching Format

An extended form of MCQs that draws on student's ability to make connections among ideas, vocabulary, and structure. It presents the students with two columns of information. Items in the left are called premises or stems, and the items in the right-hand column are called options.

Tips for writing matching items

1. give more options than premises.

2. number the premises and letter the options.

3. make options shorter than premises.

4. options and premises should be related to one central theme or topic.

5. Be clear about using options more than once.

Short Answer/ Completion Items

These items ask students to answer in a few words, phrases, or sentences. Since students produce the answer there is less guessing, they are easy to construct and encourage students to learn and know not just recognize. Another advantage is that they can test higher- order thinking skills.

Essay Questions

Essay questions give students the opportunity to construct their own response. This format assess analyzing, evaluating, summarizing, and synthesizing.

They are time consuming for students to answer, they allow only a limited amout of learning.

Finally, make sure to give clear instructions,  include different levels of difficulty, start with the easy questions, avoid negative and ambiguous items, and test all levels of thinking when possible.