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Classroom Tests (By Dr. Daniel T.)_2.ppt
- 1. Daniel Tefera, PhD Schoolof Psychology CELS, AAU
- 2. There is littledoubt among educational practitioners about the special value of assessment as a basic condition for effective learning.
- 3. There areFOUR steps in test development: ◦ Stating instructional objectives ◦ Developing test specification ◦ Selecting item format ◦ Preparing relevant test items
- 4. Educational objectivescan be defined as statements that describe the end results of learning ◦ goals and purposes that it is hoped will be realized through the process of education ◦ desired behavioral changes that educators want to bring about in their students.
- 5. An acceptableinstructional objective has two components: ◦ a content element, and ◦ a behavioral element The Cognitive Process Dimension ◦ Remember ◦ Understand ◦ Apply ◦ Analyze ◦ Evaluate ◦ Create
- 6. A classroomtest becomes a valid measure of the instructional objectives and course content if is developed based on TOS TOS enables the test constructor obtain a representative sample of pupil behavior in each of the areas to be measured
- 7. A detailed descriptionfor a test, often called a blueprint, that specifies the number or proportion of items that assess each content and process/skill area
- 8. Developing TestBlue-Print ◦ Obtaining a comprehensive list of instructional objectives ◦ Outlining the course content A list of major topics to be covered or A more detailed list of topics and subtopics
- 9. Content Areas Objectives/Behavioral Dimensions Total Defines, recalls,lists … Comprehends, explains, interprets … Demonstrate s, applies, prepares, … Illustrates, separates, analyzes … Science and the scientific approach 2 1 - - 3 Science & common sense 1 1 - - 2 Methods of knowing 1 2 - - 3 The two broad views of science - 2 - - 2 The Aims of science, scientific explanation and theory 1 1 1 - 3 Goals of scientific research 1 1 - - 2 Classification of research 1 2 2 1 6 Types of research 1 2 3 3 9 The research proposal - 1 2 3 6 Review of related literature - 1 2 1 4 Total 8 14 10 8 40
- 10. The decisionabout which type of item format to use will depend on: ◦ the cognitive process to be measured, ◦ the strengths and weaknesses of each item type for the process and content to be measured, and ◦ the degree of precision needed in the test results Other practical factors ◦ The number of students taking the test ◦ The skill of the test constructor ◦ Time available for constructing and scoring the test
- 11. Matching itemsto intended outcomes Obtaining a representative sample ◦ Carefully developed test plan needed ◦ The length of a test is also an important factor in obtaining a representative sample. Test length depends on such factors as the purpose of testing type of item format used age and educational level of the pupils, the amount of computation or quantitative thinking required by the item, & level of reliability needed for effective test use.
- 12. Selecting properitem difficulty. ◦ The difficulty of the items to be included in a classroom test depends largely on whether the test is being designed: to describe the specific learning tasks pupils can perform (i.e., criterion- referenced test) or to rank the pupils in order of their achievement (i.e. norm-referenced test).
- 13. Eliminating irrelevantbarriers to the answer. ◦ Some common barriers Ambiguous statements Excessive wordiness Difficult vocabulary Complex sentence structure Unclear instructions
- 14. Preventing unintendedclues to the answer. ◦ Some common clues Grammatical inconsistencies Verbal association Specific determiners Phrasing of correct responses Length of correct response Location of correct responses
- 15. General Principlesin Preparing Paper and Pencil Tests ◦ Make the instructions for each type of question simple and brief ◦ Use and continually refer the table of specification while you are writing test items. ◦ Write items that require specific understanding or ability developed in that course, not just general intelligence or test taking skills.
- 16. ◦ Do notsuggest the answer to one question in the body of another question ◦ Be sure that each item has a correct or best answer on which experts in the field would agree ◦ Avoid sex, religion, and other bias in stating the test items ◦ Do not write questions in the negative. If you must use negatives, highlight them, as they may mislead students into answering incorrectly.
- 17. Suggestion forWriting Better True-False Items ◦ Avoid using specific determiners such as sometimes, usually, all, always, none, under certain conditions, may be, never, might, only, etc. Poor: T F All of the lakes in Ethiopia were formed by volcanic action. Good: T F The lakes in the rift valley were formed by volcanic action. ◦ Avoid the use of negative statements, and particularly double negatives. Poor: T F Tuberculosis is not a non-communicable disease. Good: T F Tuberculosis is a communicable disease.
- 18. ◦ Do nottake statements out of textbooks and use it for true-false items directly, but write the statement in your own words ◦ Do not make the true statements consistently longer than the false statements and vice versa. ◦ Avoid the use of more than one idea in an item unless it is a cause-effect item. If it is a cause- effect item, it should be stated so that students will react to the effect and not the cause. Poor: T F Bleeding of the gum is associated with gingivitis, which can be cured by the sufferer by daily brushing of teeth. Good: T F Daily brushing of the teeth will cure gingivitis.
- 19. ◦ The crucialpart of a true-false item should be placed at the end of the item Poor: T F The economic situation of the southern states was a major cause of the Civil War. Good: T F A major cause of the Civil War was the economic situation of the southern states. ◦ When using opinion, the source should be identified unless the ability to distinguish fact from opinion is being measured Poor: T F According to most botanists, Mendel is considered to be the greatest botanist. Good: T F According to Brett Moulding, Mendel is considered to be the greatest botanist. ◦ Keep true and false statements at approximately the same length, and be sure that there are approximately equal numbers of true and false items
- 20. Instruction: Match Aand B A B ____1. Abebe Bikila A. Ethiopian philanthropic ____2. Girma W/Giorgis B. Author of ‘Fikir Eske Mekabir’ ____3. Abebech Gobena C. Ex-president of Ethiopia ____4. Mahmud Ahmed D. Ethiopian singer ____5. Haddis Alemayehu E. Won at Rome Olympics Problems inherent in matching items Lack of homogeneity Poor instruction Wrong order of lists Equal number of premises and responses Easy guessing
- 21. Suggestions forWriting Better Matching Items ◦ Keep the set of statements in a single matching exercise homogeneous ◦ Explain completely the intended basis for matching ◦ All responses should function as plausible options for each premise ◦ Matching exercises should be completed on a single page. Splitting the exercise is confusing distracting time consuming for the student
- 22. ◦ Keep thenumber of stimuli (premises) and responses unequal. Avoid “perfect matching”. ◦ Use short lists of responses and premises. The reasons are: longer lists make maintaining homogeneity difficult, longer matching exercises overload a test with one kind of behavior. longer lists require too much examinee “ searching time” ◦ Keep statements in the response column short and list them in some logical order
- 23. Multiple-choice itemsare unique among objective test items because, they enable you to measure behavior at the higher levels of the taxonomy of educational objectives Problems inherent in multiple choice items ◦ Grammatical clue ◦ Stem clue ◦ Opinionated items ◦ The stem is failing to present a problem ◦ An item has more than one defensible answer ◦ The length of options ◦ The use of “all of the above” and “none of the above”
- 24. Suggestions forConstructing Multiple-Choice Item Format ◦ The stem should pose a clear question or problem and should contain as much of the item as possible. Be sure the stem of the item is meaningful without the alternatives. Poor: Evolution _________. Better: Who developed the theory of evolution? ◦ The item stem should include as much of the item as possible but should be free from irrelevant material. Poor: Most of south America was settled by colonists from Spain. How would you account for the large number of Spanish colonists settling there? Better: Spanish colonists settled most of South America in search of _______.
- 25. ◦ Use anegatively stated item stem only when significant learning outcomes require it. Although negatively stated items are generally to be avoided, there are occasions where they are useful These are mainly areas where the wrong information, or wrong procedure, can have dire consequences. Poor: Which one of the following is not a safe driving practice on icy roads ____. Better: Which one of the following is NOT a safe driving practice on icy roads ____.
- 26. ◦ All ofthe alternatives should be grammatically consistent with stem of the item – grammatical clue Poor: An electric transformer can be used _________. A. for storing up electricity B. to increase the voltage of alternating current C. it converts electrical energy into mechanical energy D. alternating current is changed to direct current Better: An electric transformer can be used to _______. A. store up electricity B. increase the voltage of alternating current C. converts electrical energy into mechanical energy D. change alternating current is changed to direct current
- 27. ◦ An itemshould contain only one correct or clearly best answer 2x2 = __ A. 4 C. 6-2 B. 6 D. 5 ◦ Items used to measure understanding or ability to apply principles should Use pictorial, graphical, or tabular stimuli Use analogies that demonstrate relationships among terms Require the application of previously learned principles or procedures to novel situations
- 28. ◦ All distractersshould be plausible. The purpose of a distracter is to distract the uniformed away from the correct answer. One factor contributing to the stability of distracters is their homogeneity. Poor: Who discovered the North Pole? A. Christopher Columbus C. Robert Peary B. Ferdinand Magellan D. Marco Polo Better: Who discovered the North Pole? A. Ronald Amudsen C. Robert Peary B. Richard Byrd D. Robert Scott
- 29. ◦ Be sureno unintentional clues to the correct answer are given Clang Association Poor: The function of the platelets in the blood is to help in ________. A. carrying oxygen to the cells C. clotting of the blood B. carrying food to the cells D. fighting disease Better: Which of the following structures in the blood helps in forming blood clots? A. Red blood cells C. Platelets B. Lymphocytes D. Monocytes
- 30. Length Clues Poor: The term side effect of a drug refers to________. A. additional benefits from the drug B. the chain effect of drug action C. the influence of drugs on crime D. any action of the drug in the body other than the one the doctor wanted the drug to have Better: Which one of the following, if occurred, would be a side effect of aspirin for a man who had been taking two aspirin tablets every 3 hours for a heavy cold and slight fever? A.Normal body temperature B.Reduction in frequency of coughing B.Easier breathing C.Ringing in the ears
- 31. Grammatical Inconsistency Poor: U.S. Grant is an _______. A. alcoholic B. trader C. pirate D. musician Better: U.S. Grant is a/an _______. A. alcoholic B. trader C. pirate D. musician ◦ Use the option “none of these” or “none of the above” only when the keyed answer can be classified unequivocally as correct or incorrect ◦ Avoid the use of “all of the above” in the multiple- choice item ◦ Each alternative position should appear as answer approximately an equal number of times, but should be arranged in random orders
- 32. Suggestions forConstructing Supply Items ◦ Require short, definite, clear-cut, & explicit answers. E.g., Haddis Alemayehu wrote a book entitled ___. ◦ Specify and announce in advance whether scoring will take spelling into account ◦ The blanks should be at or near the end of the statement, so that the response logically follows the stimulus
- 33. ◦ There shouldpreferably be only one blank per test item, if more than one, they should be for a related series E.g., Poor: __observed great diversity in __in the __. Good: Who was given credit for the early development of the theory of evolution? ◦ Each blank in all items should be the same length ◦ When writing the item do not include any specific determinate (clues). E.g., Poor: When an animal eats plants, it is said to be an ______________. Better: When an animal eats plants, it is said to be a/an ____________.
- 34. ◦ When writingan item, do not take a statement directly from a textbook or from the lecture, but write the item so as to test understanding rather than rote memory ◦ In testing for comprehension of terms and knowledge of definitions, it is often better to supply the term and require a definition than to provide a definition and require the term E.g., Poor What is the general measurement term describing the consistency with which items in a test measure the same thing? Good Define “internal consistency reliability
Editor's Notes
- #7 the format of items, responses, and the desired psychometric properties of the items and test such as: the distribution of item difficulty and discrimination indices.