TO ME YOU HAVE TO DETERMINE THE KNOWLEDGE AND LEARNING ABILITIES OF YOUR STUDENTS. DO NOT TRY TO OVERWHELM THEM OR YOU WILL LOSE THEM. I THINK YOU NEED TO ASK GOOD QUESTIONS PRIOR TO THE EXAM. I ALSO BELIEVE YOU NEED TO EXPLAIN WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR DURING YOUR CLASS DISCUSSIONS.
Hi Mary - Thanks for your post to the forum and for sharing some important considerations when choosing assessments. Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
I base the testing format I use on the material I am covering. Is it factual? Is it a skill that will be applied? Is it something that requires critical thinking or synthesis?
Hi Navinthran- Thanks for your post to the forum. What discipline do you teach? I will tray to com eup with some ideas for you. Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
When I can, I try to have multiple choice tests, but often times I have practical final exams... I wonder how I can implement the choice factor into a practical exam...
My selection for testing is strickly from my lectures and the reviews I go over making sure that everyone understands the material. I always make sure that we have a review before the exam, and I give the dates for the review.
As a science teacher, I use testing formats which force students to demonstrate their problem-solving ability and use of critical thinking skills.
Our curriculum department chooses the testing formats. It usually comes from standardized tests like ASE testing.
The main criteria for use of selecting testing formats would include the course and it's evaluation of content and importance by the teacher as well as the student.
In many of my classes, the skills I'm attempting to teach are the skills of critical thinking, careful reading, and thoughtful application of concepts to real-life situations. Because of this, I do sometimes use double negatives or "trick" questions. I avoid T/F questions, because of the ease of guessing the right answer. I used to use more essay questions, but found too difficult to grade, as even when I specifically listed four things that should be discussed in the response, it seemed many students would write a one sentence answer. Many of my tests are now given on Blackboard, which makes short answer questions problematic -- if an answer is mispelled, or entered in all caps, etc., BB marks it wrong. So, in short, the main criteria I use are: (1) Does the testing format accurately measure what the student has learned; and (2) Are the answers objective? I also like the interim tests to be designed such that students can use them to study for the final exam.
We have a disk with a test bank of questions directly from the textbook. We can choose true/false, multiple choice, matching or short answer.
Assessment of the students learning styles, the level of knowledge needed to ensure content is understood and clearly demonstrated through test
Hi Beverly- Thanks for your post to the forum. You gave some excellent advice for creating assessments- the bottom line is that we are determining whether the student had learned what we intended which are the objectives. Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
The criteria I use is taking each of the objectives and looking at what type of question or questions work best to assess whether the student has learned the objective.
In my main "class", we focus on skills through out the entire time. Therefore I agree with others that it should be a "skills application" test. This takes longer and requires more instructors, but it is the only way we can say the students are "safe" to function in the "real" world.
That motivation helps the instructor become more engauged in the class.
It depends on the class. If it is an introductory class, I may just do a traditional MC and T/F. Upper level classes, I will typically use more short answer or essay.
If it is a class with lots of hands on components, I will use those instead of a test.
I teach classes in a multicultural community which means that I often have to change my testing format. If English is not the first language of several students, I might give a multiple choice exam with a fairly strict time limit. Students are told about this and and can prepare for the exam by reading the textbook thoroughly, making notes in the margins based on class lecture, etc. I find that they learn/remember more by studying this way.
Our test are already prepared for us, they change from time to time as needed, i like to teach to the test but not teach the test, that way there are no surprises.
