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Constructing Essay Test

Better Essays

CONSTRUCTING and SCORING ESSAY TESTS*

An essay test permits direct assessment of the attainment of numerous goals and objectives. An essay test demands less construction time per fixed unit of student time but a significant increase in labor in time and scoring.

GENERAL TYPES OF ESSAY ITEMS*

>EXTENDED RESPONSE ESSAY ITEM- is one that allows for an in-depth sampling of a student’s knowledge, thinking processes, and problem solving behavior related to a specific topic.

>RESTRICTED RESPONSE ESSAY ITEM- is one where the examinee is required to provide limited response based on a specified criterion for answering the question.

LEARNING OUTCOMES MEASURED EFFECTIVELY WITH ESSAY ITEMS*

>Essay questions are designed to provide …show more content…

*Determine in advance how much weight will be accorded each of the various elements expected in a complete answer.
*Without knowledge of student’s names, score each question for all students.
*Require all students to answer all questions on the test.
*Write questions about materials immediately relevant to the subject.
*Study past questions to determine how students performed.
*Make gross judgments of the relative excellence of answers as a first step in grading.
*Word a question as simple as possible in order to make the tasks clear.
*Do not judge papers on basis of external factors unless they have clearly stipulated.
*Do not make generalized estimate of an entire paper’s worth.
*Do not construct a test consisting of only one question.

SCORING ESSAY TEST*

HOLISTIC SCORING In this type of scoring , a total score is assigned to each essay question based on the teacher’s general impression or over all assessment.

ANALYTIC SCORING In this type of scoring, the essay is scored in terms of components.

GUIDELINES CONSIDERED BY TEACHERS*

*Decide what factors constitute a good answer before administering an essay question.

*Explain these factors in the test items.

*Read answers to a single essay question before reading other questions.

*Reread essay answers a second time after initial

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