It is all about the art of Question Paper Setting

1. THE ART OF QUESTION PAPER MAKING
Dr. KAMALUDHEEN K.T.
MA (Eng), M.Ed (Edu), LLB, NET (Edu), M.Phil (Edu), PhD (Edu)
 0091 9656498980  drkamalkt@gmail.com

3. A Question
Paper
is the Stethoscope
in the Hands of a
Teacher

4. A teacher uses it
• to TEST the learning rate
• to DIAGNOSE the learning difficulties
• to PRESCRIBE the academic activities
• to MITIGATE the educational ailments.

5. Doctor’s
Stethoscope
1. Lub dubs
2. Wooshes
3. Wheezes
4. Gurgles
Teacher’s
Question Paper
1. Knowledge
2. Understanding
3. Application
4. Skills

7. “Nothing in the content or
structure of a question
item should prevent an
informed student from
responding correctly”

8. 1.
Supportive
Self-directive
Timing
Expected Response
of Direction
2. in Length of Answer

9. 3.
Zero Marking
Stage Marking
Concept/Point Marking
Trial Marking
Space Marking
in Marking Scheme

10. 4.
confusing and ambiguous terminology
being overly verbose,
using complicated vocabulary
difficult or poor sentence structure
unnecessary and distracting detail
in Language of Questions

11. “A question Paper is said to be reliable,
if it produces almost the same results
when the question paper is given
TWICE to same students under the
same circumstances in a reasonable
length of time”

12. “It refers to the consistency with which a
question paper measures the
achievement of students”

13. “A question paper is
valid to the extent to
which an assessment
accurately measures
what it is intended to
measure”

14. 1. Weightage in Specification (Predictive Validity)
2. Content Coverage (Content Validity)
3. Equity in Forms of Questions (Construct Validity)

15. “A Question Paper is said to
be Balanced,
if all students happily engaged with;
all showed some percentage of
improvement in their performance;
all exhibited better involvement and
relationship with the subject”

16. for
 Underachiever, Average and Advanced
Learners
 Checking Various Competencies
 Progressive in difficulty to reduce
tension.

17. “A question paper is said to be fair,
if it carries the attributes of test design like,
• Relevance
• Variety
• Friendliness
• Scorability and Practicability
• Authenticity”

18. 1. Relevance in Content
2. Novelty in Forms of Questions
3. Child-friendly in Format
4. Scorability leading to equity
5. Error Free and Eye-friendly
6. Reinforcer & Releaser

21. No repetition of questions within a question paper and from
test paper to test paper. The area tested can be the same but the
question must be framed differently
If questions from the previous year paper are being sourced
they need to be reframed suitably
Word of caution….

22. Before Exam Property of School
At the time of Exam Property of
Student
After exam A public
Property

23. REFERENCE
• https://www.deccanherald.com/content/570385/attrib
utes-good-question-paper.html
• https://www.cmu.edu/teaching/assessment/assesslear
ning/creatingexams.html
• https://prasadmodakblog.com/2017/09/05/how-do-
you-set-a-question-paper-musing-on-the-teachers-day/
• https://curriculum.gov.mt/en/Assessment/Assessment-
of-Learning/Documents/guidelines_paper_setters.pdf
• Gronlund, N. E. (2006). Assessment of Student
Achievement. Pearson Education, Inc.
• Linn, R. L., & Miller D. M. (2005). Measurement and
Assessment in Teaching. Pearson Educational Inc.
• Nitko, A. J. (2004). Educational Assessment of Students.
Pearson Educational Inc.