1. How Do
You Know?
or
“How do I know you know
what I want you to know,
you know?”
2. Our Goals Today
•To collect strategies and
examples to help you better assess
your students’ learning.
•To develop a deeper
understanding of assessment to
help your students perform better
on many types of assessments.
3. What do you rate,
rank or score?
•Interest Rates
•Sports Teams
•Consumer Reports
•Gas Mileage
•Best & Worst Dressed
4. What is ranked or
rated in education?
•States
•Districts
•Schools
•Teachers
•Students
5. Does assessment
matter?
•Who values assessment?
•What is its purpose?
•Can we make it matter?
11. Engaging Test Items Include
• Some kind of hook that
captures students’ interest
• Some real world connection
• Information that the student
may learn while taking the test
12. Thought Provoking Test Items
• Require the use of both
knowledge and skills in order to
arrive at the answer.
• Go beyond reading and
recalling.
13. Well Constructed Test Items
• Do not give away the answer.
• Do not favor the test-wise
student.
• Do not favor the good reader
over the good student.
• Match the objective.
14. Well-Constructed Test Items
• Avoid the use of negative
words in the stem and/or
options.
• Have responses in logical
order.
• Have one clearly correct
answer.
• Are factually correct.
15. Well-Constructed Options
• Are free of excess repetition
• Are parallel in degree of
specificity
• Are parallel in length
• Are parallel in grammatical
structure
21. Improved Science Question
If the electric pencil sharpener in class began
to burn, water would be a poor choice to
extinguish the fire because water—
A is a conductor
B may not be nearby
C will ruin classroom cabinets
D is the universal solvent
Use “NOT” sparingly
22. Sample S. S. Question
The discovery of what natural resource in
California in 1848 and 1849 caused rapid
population growth in the region?
A. Gold
B. Silver
C. Copper
D. Iron
TEKS requires analysis of effect, not
simple identification.
23. Improved S. S. Question
What effect did the discovery of gold in
California in 1848 and 1849 have on people in
the U.S.? It resulted in—
A. massive population growth in that region
B. decreases in silver and iron production
C. increases of copper and tin production
D. record high employment numbers
Higher level question rather than
straight recall.
24. Sample S. S. Question
These people served as public officials during the
Civil War. Which of the following matches is
incorrect?
Jefferson Davis — secretary of state for the Confederacy
Ulysses S. Grant — commander of the Union army
Robert E. Lee — commander of the Confederate army
Abraham Lincoln — president of the United States
Low level question asking for
which is incorrect.
25. Improved S. S. Question
Robert E. Lee was a significant individual
during the Civil War because he was—
C. president of the United States
D. commander of the union army
E. commander of the confederate army
F. secretary of state for the confederacy
Higher level question asking for a
generalization.
26. Sample Literary Question
Which answer means “applying human
characteristics to nonhuman objects?”
A hyperbole
B personification
C onomatopoeia
D simile
27. Improved Literary Question
Which sentence is an example of
personification?
A He has a brain the size of a pea.
B Playing the piano is like a bird soaring high.
C The playful dog greeted us with his bow-
wow.
D The flowers were suffering from the immense
heat.
Application
28. Sample L. A. Question
A Christmas Carol-
Scrooge is able to change because—
A. Marley puts a spell on him
B. he learns to feel for those around him
C. he is afraid of dying
D. it is the Christmas season
Does not have one clearly correct
answer.
29. Improved L. A. Question
Scrooge’s change in attitude at the end of
the story is caused by—
A. his fear of dying
B. his new found compassion for others
C. his love of money
D. his experience visiting “Christmas Past”
30. Sample L. A. Question
When Mrs. Avery discovers that her son T.J. went to the
forbidden Wallace store, T.J. lies, saying he went only to
retrieve his brother Claude. As a result, Mrs. Avery
whips Claude.
That Claude allows his mother to punish him for his
brother’s lie shows that—
A. Claude is not very bright
B. Claude is more afraid of T.J. than of his own mother
C. T.J. is a responsible son and brother
D. Mrs. Avery is not very tough when she whips her
children
Favors the good reader.
31. Improved L. A. Question
Claude allows his mother to punish him for his
brother’s lie. This shows that Claude is—
A. not very bright
B. more afraid of T.J. than of his own mother
C. a responsible son and brother
D. a silly child
32. Sample L. A. Question
From Older Run—From her actions on page 160
we can infer that one of Cookie’s
characteristics is that she is—
A. a follower
B. loyal
C. mean
D. scared
Choices are not grammatically
parallel.
33. Improved L. A. Question
From Older Run—From her actions on page 160
we can infer that one of Cookie’s
characteristics is that she is—
A. weak
B. loyal
C. mean
D. scared
34. Sample L. A. Question
What is the predominant literary device used in
“Oh Captain, My Captain”?
A. Extended metaphor
B. Diction
C. Repetition
D. Allusion
Favors the test-wise student.
35. Improved L. A. Question
The title and contents of the poem, “Oh
Captain, My Captain,” is an example of—
A. Extended metaphor
B. Diction
C. Repetition
D. Allusion
36. Sample L. A. Question
The newspaper articles in Lincoln’s wallet
suggest that he—
A. never realized that he was disliked
B. never realized he was admired
C. cared about what others thought
D. knew he would go down in history as a great
president
Answer choices A & B subsume
one another
37. Sample L. A. Question
War of the Wall-
The impression the artist gives of herself is—
A. concerned about Moma's opinion.
B. Uncertain about the feelings of the people
in the neighborhood.
C. Angry about the way the neighborhood is
viewing the wall.
D. Interested in Lou and his friends.
Favors the good reader through
the wording of the question.
38. Improved L. A. Question
What do the narrator and Lou learn about the
Painter Lady by what they see in the mural?
A. She was a famous artist.
B. She was born and raised on Taliaferro St.
C. She valued the same things as the people
on Taliaferro St.
D. She was a vegetarian.
39. Assessment
We must assess the TEKS (Student
Expectations) to the Depth and
Complexity of the TAKS.
The verbs in the student expectations tell us
the level to which the student should
achieve.
40. How to Write an Aligned Question
Identify TEKS/SE for Development of
Questions:
Use sample and released questions as one
guide for development.
Look to grade levels above for other
examples.
Use open-ended examples.
Read the verbs of the SEs and interpret the
meaning.
41. How to Write an Aligned Question
Identify Reading Selections
• Narrative
• Informative
• Functional
Sometimes use those with a theme
connection.
42. Steps in Thinking
Identify steps required for correct answer.
Identify level of question:
• Find it – answer is stated
• Look closer – Stated but difficult to locate
• Prove it – Inferred or implied based on
clues
• Take it apart – viewing reading from a
writing perspective through literary
analysis and author’s perspective.
43. Write Questions
Use good question stems that mirror TAKS.
Write the correct answer and the text
evidence required for each answer.
Write the corresponding TEKS/SE.
44. TAKS Open-Ended Response
Most of them deal with character analysis:
• Actions
• Personal conflict
• Point of view
• Trait
• Attitude about relationships
45. TAKS Types of Passages
In Junior High, passages are about 50/50
Fiction vs. Nonfiction (Informative)
Paired passages may be same of both or
one of each.
46. Most Significant Errors (All Tests)
#1 Students use prior knowledge not
connected to information in passage.
#2 Students “match” information on an
inference question.
#3 Students use personal experiences.
#4 Students substitute answer choices for
word meaning rather than using context.
47. Question Starters
• Predict “What will happen if…?”
• Evaluate “Which of these best
explains…?”
• Apply “Which of these is required to …?”
• Analyze “What were the effects of …
on…?
• Compare “How is … like (different)…?
• Draw conclusions or hypothesize
“Which of these is supported by …?
48. Develop an Engaging Item
• Use a theme/ unit /topic
• Use a sentence or two to engage the
student
• Ask for a prediction or inference
(you may use a question starter)
• Think of three wrong answers and one
correct one
• Explain why a student might choose
each of the wrong answers
49. Work Smarter
• Use your knowledge of item
writing and your checklist to
critique the items others have
written.
• Ask others to critique your test
items.
• Look over past tests with
fresh eyes.
53. Share an Item
•What made the original
item “rotten?”
•What did you do to
improve it?
•Was this task difficult?
Why or why not?
54. Surviving Test Development
• Use question starters that lead to
higher order questions.
• Clone good items.
• Use open-ended questions.
Convert student wrong answers
into options for multiple choice
items.
55. Surviving Test Development
• Review existing item resources
for possible items to bank
• Use a checklist to evaluate
items
• Only keep higher order thinking
skill items
• File the items by TEKS
56. Bump up the Level
Apply the Skill
A student is putting together an insect
collection for a scout project. Today she found
a moth, a dragonfly and a spider. The spider
should not be included in her collection
because the spider—
A does not have wings
B is an arachnid
C lays eggs
D is poisonous
57. Bump up the Level
Ask students to predict
A toaster catches on fire in your kitchen and
your mother begins to fill up a pitcher with
water. If water is poured on an electrical fire it
will—
A extinguish the fire
B cause the fire to spread
C protect the toaster
D damage other appliances
58. Bump up the Level
Ask students to make a
generalization
The MASH doctor wouldn’t go outside because
—
A he was afraid of the dark.
B he sunburned easily.
C he could hear the bombs nearby.
D he was tired.
59. Bump up the Level
Synthesize – Main Idea
The main idea of MLK’s speech is --
A all men can achieve their dream.
B all people should be able to live together and have
equal rights.
C men will no longer go to war against each other.
D people dream too much
