note on extended response essay type items

Utilizing Extended Response Items to Enhance Student Learning

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"Extended response items" have traditionally been called "essay questions." An extended response item is an open-ended question that begins with some type of prompt. These questions allow students to write a response that arrives at a conclusion based on their specific knowledge of the topic. An extended response item takes considerable time and thought. It requires students not only to give an answer but also to explain the answer with as much in-depth detail as possible. In some cases, students not only have to give an answer and explain the answer, but they also have to show how they arrived at that answer.

Teachers love extended response items because they require students to construct an in-depth response that proves mastery or lack thereof. Teachers can then utilize this information to reteach gap concepts or build upon individual student strengths. Extended response items require students to demonstrate a higher depth of knowledge than they would need on a multiple choice item. Guessing is almost completely eliminated with an extended response item. A student either knows the information well enough to write about it or they do not. Extended response items also are a great way to assess and teach students grammar and writing. Students must be strong writers as an extended response item also tests a student's ability to write coherently and grammatically correct.

Extended response items require essential critical thinking skills. An essay, in a sense, is a riddle that students can solve using prior knowledge, making connections, and drawing conclusions. This is an invaluable skill for any student to have. Those who can master it have a better chance of being successful academically.  Any student who can successfully solve problems and craft well-written explanations of their solutions will be at the top of their class. 

Extended response items do have their shortcomings. They are not teacher friendly in that they are difficult to construct and score. Extended response items take a lot of valuable time to develop and grade. Additionally, they are difficult to score accurately. It can become difficult for teachers to remain objective when scoring an extended response item. Each student has a completely different response, and teachers must read the entire response looking for evidence that proves mastery. For this reason, teachers must develop an accurate rubric and follow it when scoring any extended response item.

An extended response assessment takes more time for students to complete than a multiple choice assessment . Students must first organize the information and construct a plan before they can actually begin responding to the item. This time-consuming process can take multiple class periods to complete depending on the specific nature of the item itself.

Extended response items can be constructed in more than one way. It can be passage-based, meaning that students are provided with one or more passages on a specific topic. This information can help them formulate a more thoughtful response. The student must utilize evidence from the passages to formulate and validate their response on the extended response item. The more traditional method is a straightforward, open-ended question on a topic or unit that has been covered in class. Students are not given a passage to assist them in constructing a response but instead must draw from memory their direct knowledge on the topic.

Teachers must remember that formulating a well written extended response is a skill in itself. Though they can be a great assessment tool, teachers must be prepared to spend the time to teach students how to write a formidable essay . This is not a skill that comes without hard work. Teachers must provide students with the multiple skills that are required to write successfully including sentence and paragraph structure, using proper grammar, pre-writing activities, editing, and revising. Teaching these skills must become part of the expected classroom routine for students to become proficient writers.

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11.9: Constructed Response Items

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• Kelvin Seifert & Rosemary Sutton
• University of Manitoba & Cleveland State University via Global Text Project

Formal assessment also includes constructed response items in which students are asked to recall information and create an answer— not just recognize if the answer is correct— so guessing is reduced. Constructed response items can be used to assess a wide variety of kinds of knowledge and two major kinds are discussed: completion or short answer (also called short response) and extended response .

Completion and short answer

Completion and short answer items can be answered in a word, phrase, number, or symbol. These types of items are essentially the same only varying in whether the problem is presented as a statement or a question (Linn & Miller 2005). For example:

Exercise \(\PageIndex{1}\)

Completion: The first traffic light in the US was invented by

Short Answer: Who invented the first traffic light in the US?

These items are often used in mathematics tests, e.g.

Exercise \(\PageIndex{2}\)

If x = 6, what does x(x-i) =

A major advantage of these items is they that they are easy to construct. However, apart from their use in mathematics they are unsuitable for measuring complex learning outcomes and are often difficult to score. Completion and short answer tests are sometimes called objective tests as the intent is that there is only one correct answer and so there is no variability in scoring but unless the question is phrased very carefully, there are frequently a variety of correct answers. For example, consider the item Where was President Lincoln born?

The teacher may expect the answer "in a log cabin" but other correct answers are also "on Sinking Spring Farm", 'in Hardin County" or "in Kentucky". Common errors in these items are summarized in Table \(\PageIndex{1}\).

Table \(\PageIndex{1}\) : Common errors in constructed response items

Extended response

Extended response items are used in many content areas and answers may vary in length from a paragraph to several pages. Questions that require longer responses are often called essay questions. Extended response items have several advantages and the most important is their adaptability for measuring complex learning outcomes— particularly integration and application. These items also require that students write and therefore provide teachers a way to assess writing skills. A commonly cited advantage to these items is their ease in construction; however, carefully worded items that are related to learning outcomes and assess complex learning are hard to devise (Linn & Miller, 2005). Well-constructed items phrase the question so the task of the student is clear. Often this involves providing hints or planning notes. In the first example below the actual question is clear not only because of the wording but because of the format (i.e. it is placed in a box). In the second and third examples planning notes are provided:

Example \(\PageIndex{1}\): Third grade mathematics

The owner of a bookstore gave 14 books to the school. The principal will give an equal number of books to each of three classrooms and the remaining books to the school library. How many books could the principal give to each student and the school?

Show all your work on the space below and on the next page. Explain in words how you found the answer. Tell why you took the steps you did to solve the problem.

From Illinois Standards Achievement Test, 2006; ( www.isbe.state.il.us/assessment/isat.htm ')

Example \(\PageIndex{2}\): Fifth grade science: The grass is always greener

Jose and Maria noticed three different types of soil, black soil, sand, and clay, were found in their neighborhood. They decided to investigate the question, "How does the type of soil (black soil, sand, and clay) under grass sod affect the height of grass?"

Plan an investigation that could answer their new question.

In your plan, be sure to include:

• Prediction of the outcome of the investigation
• Materials needed to do the investigation
• Procedure that includes:
• one variable kept the same (controlled)
• one variable changed (manipulated)
• any variables being measure and recorded

• how often measurements are taken and recorded (From Washington State 2004 assessment of student learning )

Exercise \(\PageIndex{3}\): Grades 9-11 English

Writing prompt

Some people think that schools should teach students how to cook. Other people think that cooking is something that ought to be taught in the home. What do you think? Explain why you think as you do.

Planning notes

Choose One:

• I think schools should teach students how to cook
• I think cooking should 1 be taught in the home

I think cooking should be taught in _________ because________ (school) or (the home)

(From Illinois Measure of Annual Growth in English www.isbe.state.il.us/assessment/image.htm dead link found in the Internet Archive)

A major disadvantage of extended response items is the difficulty in reliable scoring. Not only do various teachers score the same response differently but also the same teacher may score the identical response differently on various occasions (Linn & Miller 2005). A variety of steps can be taken to improve the reliability and validity of scoring. First, teachers should begin by writing an outline of a model answer. This helps make it clear what students are expected to include. Second, a sample of the answers should be read. This assists in determining what the students can do and if there are any common misconceptions arising from the question. Third, teachers have to decide what to do about irrelevant information that is included (e.g. is it ignored or are students penalized) and how to evaluate mechanical errors such as grammar and spelling. Then, a point scoring or a scoring rubric should be used.

In point scoring components of the answer are assigned points. For example, if students were asked:

Exercise \(\PageIndex{4}\)

What are the nature, symptoms, and risk factors of hyperthermia?

Point Scoring Guide:

• Definition (natures) 2 pts
• Symptoms (1 pt for each) 5 pts
• Risk Factors (1 point for each) 5 pts
• Writing 3 pts

This provides some guidance for evaluation and helps consistency but point scoring systems often lead the teacher to focus on facts (e.g. naming risk factors) rather than higher level thinking that may undermine the validity of the assessment if the teachers' purposes include higher level thinking. A better approach is to use a scoring rubric that describes the quality of the answer or performance at each level.

Scoring rubrics

Scoring rubrics can be holistic or analytical . In holistic scoring rubrics, general descriptions of performance are made and a single overall score is obtained. An example from grade 2 language arts in Los Angeles Unified School District classifies responses into four levels: not proficient, partially proficient, proficient and advanced is on Table \(\PageIndex{1}\).

Table \(\PageIndex{2}\) : Example of holistic scoring rubric: English language arts grade 2

Assignment. Write about an interesting, fun, or exciting story you have read in class this year. Some of the things you could write about are:

• What happened in the story (the plot or events)
• Where the events took place (the setting)
• People, animals, or things in the story ( the characters)

In your writing make sure you use facts and details from the story to describe everything clearly.

After you write about the story, explain what makes the story interesting, fun or exciting.

Analytical rubrics provide descriptions of levels of student performance on a variety of characteristics. For example, six characteristics used for assessing writing developed by the Education Northwest are:

• ideas and content • organization • voice • word choice • sentence fluency • conventions

Descriptions of high, medium, and low responses for each characteristic are available from Education Northwest

Holistic rubrics have the advantages that they can be developed more quickly than analytical rubrics. They are also faster to use as there is only one dimension to examine. However, they do not provide students feedback about which aspects of the response are strong and which aspects need improvement (Linn & Miller, 2005). This means they are less useful for assessment for learning. An important use of rubrics is to use them as teaching tools and provide them to students before the assessment so they know what knowledge and skills are expected.

Teachers can use scoring rubrics as part of instruction by giving students the rubric during instruction, providing several responses, and analyzing these responses in terms of the rubric. For example, use of accurate terminology is one dimension of the science rubric in Table 40. An elementary science teacher could discuss why it is important for scientists to use accurate terminology, give examples of inaccurate and accurate terminology, provide that component of the scoring rubric to students, distribute some examples of student responses (maybe from former students), and then discuss how these responses would be classified according to the rubric. This strategy of assessment for learning should be more effective if the teacher (a) emphasizes to students why using accurate terminology is important when learning science rather than how to get a good grade on the test (we provide more details about this in the section on motivation later in this chapter); (b) provides an exemplary response so students can see a model; and (c) emphasizes that the goal is student improvement on this skill not ranking students.

Table \(\PageIndex{3}\) Example of a scoring rubric, Science

*On the High School Assessment, the application of a concept to a practical problem or real-world situation will be scored when it is required in the response and requested in the item stem.

Performance assessments

Typically in performance assessments students complete a specific task while teachers observe the process or procedure (e.g. data collection in an experiment) as well as the product (e.g. completed report) (Popham, 2005; Stiggens, 2005). The tasks that students complete in performance assessments are not simple— in contrast to selected response items— and include the following:

• playing a musical instrument
• athletic skills
• artistic creation
• conversing in a foreign language
• engaging in a debate about political issues
• conducting an experiment in science
• repairing a machine
• writing a term paper
• using interaction skills to play together

These examples all involve complex skills but illustrate that the term performance assessment is used in a variety of ways. For example, the teacher may not observe all of the process (e.g. she sees a draft paper but the final product is written during out-of-school hours) and essay tests are typically classified as performance assessments (Airasian, 2000). In addition, in some performance assessments there may be no clear product (e.g. the performance maybe group interaction skills).

Two related terms, alternative assessment and authentic assessment are sometimes used instead of performance assessment but they have different meanings (Linn & Miller, 2005). Alternative assessment refers to tasks that are not pencil-and-paper and while many performance assessments are not pencil-and paper tasks some are (e.g. writing a term paper, essay tests). Authentic assessment is used to describe tasks that students do that are similar to those in the "real world". Classroom tasks vary in level of authenticity (Popham, 2005). For example, a Japanese language class taught in a high school in Chicago conversing in Japanese in Tokyo is highly authentic— but only possible in a study abroad program or trip to Japan. Conversing in Japanese with native Japanese speakers in Chicago is also highly authentic, and conversing with the teacher in Japanese during class is moderately authentic. Much less authentic is a matching test on English and Japanese words. In a language arts class, writing a letter (to an editor) or a memo to the principal is highly authentic as letters and memos are common work products. However, writing a five-paragraph paper is not as authentic as such papers are not used in the world of work. However, a five paragraph paper is a complex task and would typically be classified as a performance assessment.

Advantages and disadvantages

There are several advantages of performance assessments (Linn & Miller 2005). First, the focus is on complex learning outcomes that often cannot be measured by other methods. Second, performance assessments typically assess process or procedure as well as the product. For example, the teacher can observe if the students are repairing the machine using the appropriate tools and procedures as well as whether the machine functions properly after the repairs. Third, well designed performance assessments communicate the instructional goals and meaningful learning clearly to students. For example, if the topic in a fifth grade art class is one-point perspective the performance assessment could be drawing a city scene that illustrates one point perspective. (www.sanford-artedventures.com) . This assessment is meaningful and clearly communicates the learning goal. This performance assessment is a good instructional activity and has good content validity— common with well designed performance assessments (Linn & Miller 2005).

One major disadvantage with performance assessments is that they are typically very time consuming for students and teachers. This means that fewer assessments can be gathered so if they are not carefully devised fewer learning goals will be assessed— which can reduce content validity. State curriculum guidelines can be helpful in determining what should be included in a performance assessment. For example, Eric, a dance teacher in a high school in Tennessee learns that the state standards indicate that dance students at the highest level should be able to do demonstrate consistency and clarity in performing technical skills by:

• performing complex movement combinations to music in a variety of meters and styles
• performing combinations and variations in a broad dynamic range
• demonstrating improvement in performing movement combinations through self-evaluation
• critiquing a live or taped dance production based on given criteria
• ( https://www.tn.gov/education/instruction/academic-standards/arts-education.html )

Eric devises the following performance task for his eleventh grade modern dance class .

In groups 0/4-6 students will perform a dance at least 5 minutes in length. The dance selected should be multifaceted so that all the dancers can demonstrate technical skills, complex movements, and a dynamic range (Items 1-2). Students will videotape their rehearsals and document how they improved through self evaluation (Item 3). Each group will view and critique the final performance of one other group in class (Item 4). Eric would need to scaffold most steps in this performance assessment. The groups probably would need guidance in selecting a dance that allowed all the dancers to demonstrate the appropriate skills; critiquing their own performances constructively; working effectively as a team, and applying criteria to evaluate a dance.

Another disadvantage of performance assessments is they are hard to assess reliably which can lead to inaccuracy and unfair evaluation. As with any constructed response assessment, scoring rubrics are very important. An example of holistic and analytic scoring rubrics designed to assess a completed product are in Table \(\PageIndex{2}\) and Table \(\PageIndex{3}\). A rubric designed to assess the process of group interactions is in Table \(\PageIndex{4}\).

Table \(\PageIndex{4}\) : Example of group interaction rubric

This rubric was devised for middle grade science but could be used in other subject areas when assessing group process. In some performance assessments several scoring rubrics should be used. In the dance performance example above Eric should have scoring rubrics for the performance skills, the improvement based on self evaluation, the team work, and the critique of the other group. Obviously, devising a good performance assessment is complex and Linn and Miller (2005) recommend that teachers should:

• Create performance assessments that require students to use complex cognitive skills. Sometimes teachers devise assessments that are interesting and that the students enjoy but do not require students to use higher level cognitive skills that lead to significant learning. Focusing on high level skills and learning outcomes is particularly important because performance assessments are typically so time consuming.

• Ensure that the task is clear to the students. Performance assessments typically require multiple steps so students need to have the necessary prerequisite skills and knowledge as well as clear directions. Careful scaffolding is important for successful performance assessments.

• Specify expectations of the performance clearly by providing students scoring rubrics during the instruction. This not only helps students understand what it expected but it also guarantees that teachers are clear about what they expect. Thinking this through while planning the performance assessment can be difficult for teachers but is crucial as it typically leads to revisions of the actual assessment and directions provided to students.

• Reduce the importance of unessential skills in completing the task. What skills are essential depends on the purpose of the task. For example, for a science report, is the use of publishing software essential? If the purpose of the assessment is for students to demonstrate the process of the scientific method including writing a report, then the format of the report may not be significant. However, if the purpose includes integrating two subject areas, science and technology, then the use of publishing software is important. Because performance assessments take time it is tempting to include multiple skills without carefully considering if all the skills are essential to the learning goals.

Tips for writing a killer extended response

Sam Di Sano

Teacher and School Enablement Leader at Atomi

So, what makes a good extended response? Glad you asked. Be honest, how many times has your teacher pulled the old PEEL card trick out and you’ve just been sitting there in class thinking ‘wtf is this old guy going on about?’

Well I’ve gotta say - your teacher has a point. PEEL is the way to go if you want to write a solid extended response, with all the analysis, evidence and links that you need to get those top marks.

Let’s break it down

What is this PEEL concept all about? Pretty much it’s about breaking down your 4-6 sentence paragraphs into smaller chunks, which will help you write really concise statements that actually answer the question. To do this you need to include your P oint or topic sentence, a little E vidence with an E xplanation of that evidence and then finally a L ink sentence.

Let’s break these down some more:

Point or Topic Sentence

This is your opening statement where in one sentence you essentially answer the question (so address that key term, i.e. 'explain', 'discuss', 'analyse') by using the words of the question and by stating your position and formulating your own argument or thesis. This can then be followed by another sentence or two giving a little more information for those people who are still a little confused and need it to be explained a bit more.

This is where you start to bring in the proof you need to cement your position. Remember, you’re trying to argue your perspective so you have to be able to back up what you’re saying with actual evidence from the text or stimulus you’ve been given. Here you get the opportunity to bring in all those quotes or key dates you’ve spent the last 3 weeks trying to memorise. It’s also a good chance to show the marker that you’ve analysed the stimulus and have a good understanding of these.

Explanation

Your next couple of sentences now need to explain how that evidence is actually proving your point. This is your chance to really bring in those critical thinking and analysis skills that you’ve been practising. It’s also the perfect time to bring in any techniques that can also help you prove your point. Whether it’s the use of analogy in English, or the context of the source given in a History exam, these details can really bulk up your explanations and show the marker that you know what you’re talking about and are able to put together a really solid argument.

Like any good piece of writing, it’s all about structure. So, now it’s time to wrap it all up and bring it back to where you started. A little like public speaking I guess, you draw your audience back to the question and your point or topic. No, this does not mean you get to just restate your first sentence exactly. It’s all about summing up how every point you just made in that paragraph answers the question and reconfirms your point of view.

But it doesn’t stop there. Repeat these steps a couple of times per paragraph and that’s when you’ll get some really quality paragraphs starting to come together.

Why mine is better than yours

So if it is that simple, what makes one paragraph better than another? There are two things that will make your work stand out over the person next to you;

• The level of sophistication you put into the language you use.
• The level of sophistication you put into the techniques you use and facts you quote.

That’s where you can really develop an edge. Remember, you don’t want your extended responses to go over the word limit or be so long that you can't get the whole thing down in an exam, so make an effort to keep your writing really tight and succinct. You can't waste any time fluffing around with your words so choose every one of them carefully. Same with your evidence. Be well read and use a body of work to prove your point wisely. You don’t have to prove a theory is right - you need to prove your particular perspective is plausible and you do that by using sources of evidence that think the same way you do.

If it’s your first time writing out a paragraph using the PEEL method, a really good way to keep track of everything is to use different coloured pens or a different colour highlighter for each of your PEEL sentences. The more you do this, the easier it’ll become and before you know it you’ll be writing paragraphs that fit the structure without even trying.

See - it’s really not that hard to write a good extended response, but it does take heaps of practice to really sharpen and polish your work. The more you practice, the more sophisticated your writing will become. I see you band 6 👀!

Published on

July 18, 2018

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• 2009 Cutoff Scores Math
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• 2009 Cutoff Scores French
• 2009 Cutoff Scores German
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• 2009 Cutoff Scores Spanish
• 2009 Advanced Placement (AP) Program
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• 2008 Cutoff Scores Math
• 2008 Cutoff Scores Chemistry
• 2008 Cutoff Scores Rhetoric
• 2008 Cutoff Scores French
• 2008 Cutoff Scores German
• 2008 Cutoff Scores Latin
• 2008 Cutoff Scores Spanish
• 2008 Advanced Placement (AP) Program
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• Log in & Interpret Student Profiles
• Mobius View
• Classroom Test Analysis: The Total Report
• Item Analysis
• Error Report
• Omitted or Multiple Correct Answers
• QUEST Analysis
• Assigning Course Grades

Improving Your Test Questions

• ICES Online
• Myths & Misperceptions
• Longitudinal Profiles
• List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent by Their Students
• Focus Groups
• IEF Question Bank

For questions or information:

• Choosing between Objective and Subjective Test Items

Multiple-Choice Test Items

True-false test items, matching test items, completion test items, essay test items, problem solving test items, performance test items.

• Two Methods for Assessing Test Item Quality
• Assistance Offered by The Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning (CITL)
• References for Further Reading

I. Choosing Between Objective and Subjective Test Items

There are two general categories of test items: (1) objective items which require students to select the correct response from several alternatives or to supply a word or short phrase to answer a question or complete a statement; and (2) subjective or essay items which permit the student to organize and present an original answer. Objective items include multiple-choice, true-false, matching and completion, while subjective items include short-answer essay, extended-response essay, problem solving and performance test items. For some instructional purposes one or the other item types may prove more efficient and appropriate. To begin out discussion of the relative merits of each type of test item, test your knowledge of these two item types by answering the following questions.

Quiz Answers

1 Sax, G., & Collet, L. S. (1968). An empirical comparison of the effects of recall and multiple-choice tests on student achievement. J ournal of Educational Measurement, 5 (2), 169–173. doi:10.1111/j.1745-3984.1968.tb00622.x

Paterson, D. G. (1926). Do new and old type examinations measure different mental functions? School and Society, 24 , 246–248.

When to Use Essay or Objective Tests

Essay tests are especially appropriate when:

• the group to be tested is small and the test is not to be reused.
• you wish to encourage and reward the development of student skill in writing.
• you are more interested in exploring the student's attitudes than in measuring his/her achievement.
• you are more confident of your ability as a critical and fair reader than as an imaginative writer of good objective test items.

Objective tests are especially appropriate when:

• the group to be tested is large and the test may be reused.
• highly reliable test scores must be obtained as efficiently as possible.
• impartiality of evaluation, absolute fairness, and freedom from possible test scoring influences (e.g., fatigue, lack of anonymity) are essential.
• you are more confident of your ability to express objective test items clearly than of your ability to judge essay test answers correctly.
• there is more pressure for speedy reporting of scores than for speedy test preparation.

Either essay or objective tests can be used to:

• measure almost any important educational achievement a written test can measure.
• test understanding and ability to apply principles.
• test ability to think critically.
• test ability to solve problems.
• test ability to select relevant facts and principles and to integrate them toward the solution of complex problems. 

In addition to the preceding suggestions, it is important to realize that certain item types are  better suited  than others for measuring particular learning objectives. For example, learning objectives requiring the student  to demonstrate  or  to show , may be better measured by performance test items, whereas objectives requiring the student  to explain  or  to describe  may be better measured by essay test items. The matching of learning objective expectations with certain item types can help you select an appropriate kind of test item for your classroom exam as well as provide a higher degree of test validity (i.e., testing what is supposed to be tested). To further illustrate, several sample learning objectives and appropriate test items are provided on the following page.

After you have decided to use either an objective, essay or both objective and essay exam, the next step is to select the kind(s) of objective or essay item that you wish to include on the exam. To help you make such a choice, the different kinds of objective and essay items are presented in the following section. The various kinds of items are briefly described and compared to one another in terms of their advantages and limitations for use. Also presented is a set of general suggestions for the construction of each item variation. 

II. Suggestions for Using and Writing Test Items

The multiple-choice item consists of two parts: (a) the stem, which identifies the question or problem and (b) the response alternatives. Students are asked to select the one alternative that best completes the statement or answers the question. For example:

Sample Multiple-Choice Item

*correct response

Advantages in Using Multiple-Choice Items

Multiple-choice items can provide...

• versatility in measuring all levels of cognitive ability.
• highly reliable test scores.
• scoring efficiency and accuracy.
• objective measurement of student achievement or ability.
• a wide sampling of content or objectives.
• a reduced guessing factor when compared to true-false items.
• different response alternatives which can provide diagnostic feedback.

Limitations in Using Multiple-Choice Items

Multiple-choice items...

• are difficult and time consuming to construct.
• lead an instructor to favor simple recall of facts.
• place a high degree of dependence on the student's reading ability and instructor's writing ability.

Suggestions For Writing Multiple-Choice Test Items

Item alternatives.

13. Use at least four alternatives for each item to lower the probability of getting the item correct by guessing.

14. Randomly distribute the correct response among the alternative positions throughout the test having approximately the same proportion of alternatives a, b, c, d and e as the correct response.

15. Use the alternatives "none of the above" and "all of the above" sparingly. When used, such alternatives should occasionally be used as the correct response.

A true-false item can be written in one of three forms: simple, complex, or compound. Answers can consist of only two choices (simple), more than two choices (complex), or two choices plus a conditional completion response (compound). An example of each type of true-false item follows:

Sample True-False Item: Simple

Sample true-false item: complex, sample true-false item: compound, advantages in using true-false items.

True-False items can provide...

• the widest sampling of content or objectives per unit of testing time.
• an objective measurement of student achievement or ability.

Limitations In Using True-False Items

True-false items...

• incorporate an extremely high guessing factor. For simple true-false items, each student has a 50/50 chance of correctly answering the item without any knowledge of the item's content.
• can often lead an instructor to write ambiguous statements due to the difficulty of writing statements which are unequivocally true or false.
• do not discriminate between students of varying ability as well as other item types.
• can often include more irrelevant clues than do other item types.
• can often lead an instructor to favor testing of trivial knowledge.

Suggestions For Writing True-False Test Items

In general, matching items consist of a column of stimuli presented on the left side of the exam page and a column of responses placed on the right side of the page. Students are required to match the response associated with a given stimulus. For example:

Sample Matching Test Item

Advantages in using matching items.

Matching items...

• require short periods of reading and response time, allowing you to cover more content.
• provide objective measurement of student achievement or ability.
• provide highly reliable test scores.
• provide scoring efficiency and accuracy.

Limitations in Using Matching Items

• have difficulty measuring learning objectives requiring more than simple recall of information.
• are difficult to construct due to the problem of selecting a common set of stimuli and responses.

Suggestions for Writing Matching Test Items

5.  Keep matching items brief, limiting the list of stimuli to under 10.

6.  Include more responses than stimuli to help prevent answering through the process of elimination.

7.  When possible, reduce the amount of reading time by including only short phrases or single words in the response list.

The completion item requires the student to answer a question or to finish an incomplete statement by filling in a blank with the correct word or phrase. For example,

Sample Completion Item

According to Freud, personality is made up of three major systems, the _________, the ________ and the ________.

Advantages in Using Completion Items

Completion items...

• can provide a wide sampling of content.
• can efficiently measure lower levels of cognitive ability.
• can minimize guessing as compared to multiple-choice or true-false items.
• can usually provide an objective measure of student achievement or ability.

Limitations of Using Completion Items

• are difficult to construct so that the desired response is clearly indicated.
• are more time consuming to score when compared to multiple-choice or true-false items.
• are more difficult to score since more than one answer may have to be considered correct if the item was not properly prepared.

Suggestions for Writing Completion Test Items

7.  Avoid lifting statements directly from the text, lecture or other sources.

8.  Limit the required response to a single word or phrase.

The essay test is probably the most popular of all types of teacher-made tests. In general, a classroom essay test consists of a small number of questions to which the student is expected to demonstrate his/her ability to (a) recall factual knowledge, (b) organize this knowledge and (c) present the knowledge in a logical, integrated answer to the question. An essay test item can be classified as either an extended-response essay item or a short-answer essay item. The latter calls for a more restricted or limited answer in terms of form or scope. An example of each type of essay item follows.

Sample Extended-Response Essay Item

Explain the difference between the S-R (Stimulus-Response) and the S-O-R (Stimulus-Organism-Response) theories of personality. Include in your answer (a) brief descriptions of both theories, (b) supporters of both theories and (c) research methods used to study each of the two theories. (10 pts.  20 minutes)

Sample Short-Answer Essay Item

Identify research methods used to study the S-R (Stimulus-Response) and S-O-R (Stimulus-Organism-Response) theories of personality. (5 pts.  10 minutes)

Advantages In Using Essay Items

Essay items...

• are easier and less time consuming to construct than are most other item types.
• provide a means for testing student's ability to compose an answer and present it in a logical manner.
• can efficiently measure higher order cognitive objectives (e.g., analysis, synthesis, evaluation).

Limitations In Using Essay Items

• cannot measure a large amount of content or objectives.
• generally provide low test and test scorer reliability.
• require an extensive amount of instructor's time to read and grade.
• generally do not provide an objective measure of student achievement or ability (subject to bias on the part of the grader).

Suggestions for Writing Essay Test Items

4.  Ask questions that will elicit responses on which experts could agree that one answer is better than another.

5.  Avoid giving the student a choice among optional items as this greatly reduces the reliability of the test.

6.  It is generally recommended for classroom examinations to administer several short-answer items rather than only one or two extended-response items.

Suggestions for Scoring Essay Items

Examples essay item and grading models.

"Americans are a mixed-up people with no sense of ethical values. Everyone knows that baseball is far less necessary than food and steel, yet they pay ball players a lot more than farmers and steelworkers."

WHY? Use 3-4 sentences to indicate how an economist would explain the above situation.

Analytical Scoring

Global quality.

Assign scores or grades on the overall quality of the written response as compared to an ideal answer. Or, compare the overall quality of a response to other student responses by sorting the papers into three stacks:

Read and sort each stack again divide into three more stacks

In total, nine discriminations can be used to assign test grades in this manner. The number of stacks or discriminations can vary to meet your needs.

• Try not to allow factors which are irrelevant to the learning outcomes being measured affect your grading (i.e., handwriting, spelling, neatness).
• Read and grade all class answers to one item before going on to the next item.
• Read and grade the answers without looking at the students' names to avoid possible preferential treatment.
• Occasionally shuffle papers during the reading of answers to help avoid any systematic order effects (i.e., Sally's "B" work always followed Jim's "A" work thus it looked more like "C" work).
• When possible, ask another instructor to read and grade your students' responses.

Another form of a subjective test item is the problem solving or computational exam question. Such items present the student with a problem situation or task and require a demonstration of work procedures and a correct solution, or just a correct solution. This kind of test item is classified as a subjective type of item due to the procedures used to score item responses. Instructors can assign full or partial credit to either correct or incorrect solutions depending on the quality and kind of work procedures presented. An example of a problem solving test item follows.

Example Problem Solving Test Item

It was calculated that 75 men could complete a strip on a new highway in 70 days. When work was scheduled to commence, it was found necessary to send 25 men on another road project. How many days longer will it take to complete the strip? Show your work for full or partial credit.

Advantages In Using Problem Solving Items

Problem solving items...

• minimize guessing by requiring the students to provide an original response rather than to select from several alternatives.
• are easier to construct than are multiple-choice or matching items.
• can most appropriately measure learning objectives which focus on the ability to apply skills or knowledge in the solution of problems.
• can measure an extensive amount of content or objectives.

Limitations in Using Problem Solving Items

• require an extensive amount of instructor time to read and grade.
• generally do not provide an objective measure of student achievement or ability (subject to bias on the part of the grader when partial credit is given).

Suggestions For Writing Problem Solving Test Items

6.  Ask questions that elicit responses on which experts could agree that one solution and one or more work procedures are better than others.

7.  Work through each problem before classroom administration to double-check accuracy.

A performance test item is designed to assess the ability of a student to perform correctly in a simulated situation (i.e., a situation in which the student will be ultimately expected to apply his/her learning). The concept of simulation is central in performance testing; a performance test will simulate to some degree a real life situation to accomplish the assessment. In theory, a performance test could be constructed for any skill and real life situation. In practice, most performance tests have been developed for the assessment of vocational, managerial, administrative, leadership, communication, interpersonal and physical education skills in various simulated situations. An illustrative example of a performance test item is provided below.

Sample Performance Test Item

Assume that some of the instructional objectives of an urban planning course include the development of the student's ability to effectively use the principles covered in the course in various "real life" situations common for an urban planning professional. A performance test item could measure this development by presenting the student with a specific situation which represents a "real life" situation. For example,

An urban planning board makes a last minute request for the professional to act as consultant and critique a written proposal which is to be considered in a board meeting that very evening. The professional arrives before the meeting and has one hour to analyze the written proposal and prepare his critique. The critique presentation is then made verbally during the board meeting; reactions of members of the board or the audience include requests for explanation of specific points or informed attacks on the positions taken by the professional.

The performance test designed to simulate this situation would require that the student to be tested role play the professional's part, while students or faculty act the other roles in the situation. Various aspects of the "professional's" performance would then be observed and rated by several judges with the necessary background. The ratings could then be used both to provide the student with a diagnosis of his/her strengths and weaknesses and to contribute to an overall summary evaluation of the student's abilities.

Advantages In Using Performance Test Items

Performance test items...

• can most appropriately measure learning objectives which focus on the ability of the students to apply skills or knowledge in real life situations.
• usually provide a degree of test validity not possible with standard paper and pencil test items.
• are useful for measuring learning objectives in the psychomotor domain.

Limitations In Using Performance Test Items

• are difficult and time consuming to construct.
• are primarily used for testing students individually and not for testing groups. Consequently, they are relatively costly, time consuming, and inconvenient forms of testing.
• generally do not provide an objective measure of student achievement or ability (subject to bias on the part of the observer/grader).

Suggestions For Writing Performance Test Items

• Prepare items that elicit the type of behavior you want to measure.
• Clearly identify and explain the simulated situation to the student.
• Make the simulated situation as "life-like" as possible.
• Provide directions which clearly inform the students of the type of response called for.
• When appropriate, clearly state time and activity limitations in the directions.
• Adequately train the observer(s)/scorer(s) to ensure that they are fair in scoring the appropriate behaviors.

III. TWO METHODS FOR ASSESSING TEST ITEM QUALITY

This section presents two methods for collecting feedback on the quality of your test items. The two methods include using self-review checklists and student evaluation of test item quality. You can use the information gathered from either method to identify strengths and weaknesses in your item writing. 

Checklist for Evaluating Test Items

EVALUATE YOUR TEST ITEMS BY CHECKING THE SUGGESTIONS WHICH YOU FEEL YOU HAVE FOLLOWED.  

Grading Essay Test Items

Student evaluation of test item quality , using ices questionnaire items to assess your test item quality .

The following set of ICES (Instructor and Course Evaluation System) questionnaire items can be used to assess the quality of your test items. The items are presented with their original ICES catalogue number. You are encouraged to include one or more of the items on the ICES evaluation form in order to collect student opinion of your item writing quality.

IV. ASSISTANCE OFFERED BY THE CENTER FOR INNOVATION IN TEACHING AND LEARNING (CITL)

The information on this page is intended for self-instruction. However, CITL staff members will consult with faculty who wish to analyze and improve their test item writing. The staff can also consult with faculty about other instructional problems. Instructors wishing to acquire CITL assistance can contact [email protected] . 

V. REFERENCES FOR FURTHER READING

Ebel, R. L. (1965). Measuring educational achievement . Prentice-Hall. Ebel, R. L. (1972). Essentials of educational measurement . Prentice-Hall. Gronlund, N. E. (1976). Measurement and evaluation in teaching (3rd ed.). Macmillan. Mehrens W. A. & Lehmann I. J. (1973). Measurement and evaluation in education and psychology . Holt, Rinehart & Winston. Nelson, C. H. (1970). Measurement and evaluation in the classroom . Macmillan. Payne, D. A. (1974).  The assessment of learning: Cognitive and affective . D.C. Heath & Co. Scannell, D. P., & Tracy D. B. (1975). Testing and measurement in the classroom . Houghton Mifflin. Thorndike, R. L. (1971). Educational measurement (2nd ed.). American Council on Education.

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TOPICS A. Fill-in-the-Blank Items B. Essay Questions C. Scoring Options

Assignments

Extended Response

Extended responses can be much longer and complex then short responses, but students should be encouraged to remain focused and organized. On the FCAT, students have 14 lines for each answer to an extended response item, and they are advised to allow approximately 10-15 minutes to complete each item. The FCAT extended responses are scored using a 4-point scoring rubric. A complete and correct answer is worth 4 points. A partial answer is worth 1, 2, or 3 points.

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• Extended response

Extended response items are used in many content areas and answers may vary in length from a paragraph to several pages. Questions that require longer responses are often called essay questions. Extended response items have several advantages and the most important is their adaptability for measuring complex learning outcomes” particularly integration and application. These items also require that students write and therefore provide teachers a way to assess writing skills. A commonly cited advantage to these items is their ease in construction; however, carefully worded items that are related to learning outcomes and assess complex learning are hard to devise (Linn & Miller, 2005). Well-constructed items phrase the question so the task of the student is clear. Often this involves providing hints or planning notes. In the first example below the actual question is clear not only because of the wording but because of the format (i.e. it is placed in a box). In the second and third examples planning notes are provided:

Example 11.1: Third grade mathematics:

The owner of a bookstore gave 14 books to the school. The principal will give an equal number of books to each of three classrooms and the remaining books to the school library. How many books could the principal give to each student and the school? Show all your work on the space below and on the next page. Explain in words how you found the answer. Tell why you took the steps you did to solve the problem. From Illinois Standards Achievement Test, 2006; ( http://www.isbe.state.il.us/assessment/isat.htm )

Example 11.2: Fifth grade science: The grass is always greener

Jose and Maria noticed three different types of soil, black soil, sand, and clay, were found in their neighborhood. They decided to investigate the question, “How does the type of soil (black soil, sand, and clay) under grass sod affect the height of grass?"

Plan an investigation that could answer their new question.

In your plan, be sure to include:

• Prediction of the outcome of the investigation
• Materials needed to do the investigation
• logical steps to do the investigation
• one variable kept the same (controlled)
• one variable changed (manipulated)
• any variables being measure and recorded
• how often measurements are taken and recorded
• Procedure that includes:

(From Washington State 2004 assessment of student learning )

http://www.k12.wa.us/assessment/WASL/default.aspx )

Example 11.3: Grades 9-11 English:

Writing prompt

Some people think that schools should teach students how to cook. Other people think that cooking is something that ought to be taught in the home. What do you think? Explain why you think as you do.

Planning notes

Choose One:

• I think schools should teach students how to cook
• I think cooking should l be taught in the home

I think cooking should be taught in_________________ because__________ (school) or (the home)

(From Illinois Measure of Annual Growth in English http://www.isbe.state.il.us/assessment/image.htm )

A major disadvantage of extended response items is the difficulty in reliable scoring. Not only do various teachers score the same response differently but also the same teacher may score the identical response differently on various occasions (Linn & Miller 2005). A variety of steps can be taken to improve the reliability and validity of scoring. First, teachers should begin by writing an outline of a model answer. This helps make it clear what students are expected to include. Second, a sample of the answers should be read.

This assists in determining what the students can do and if there are any common misconceptions arising from the question. Third, teachers have to decide what to do about irrelevant information that is included (e.g. is it ignored or are students penalized) and how to evaluate mechanical errors such as grammar and spelling. Then, a point scoring or a scoring rubric should be used.

    In point scoring components of the answer are assigned points. For example, if students were asked:

    What are the nature, symptoms, and risk factors of hyperthermia?

    Point Scoring Guide:

       Definition (natures) 2 pts        Symptoms (1 pt for each) 5 pts        Risk Factors (1 point for each) 5 pts        Writing 3 pts

This provides some guidance for evaluation and helps consistency but point scoring systems often lead the teacher to focus on facts (e.g. naming risk factors) rather than higher level thinking that may undermine the validity of the assessment if the teachers' purposes include higher level thinking. A better approach is to use a scoring rubric that describes the quality of the answer or performance at each level.

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Part 5: How to Write a Year 6 Extended Response in 6 Steps

Guide Chapters

• 1. Grammar Mistakes
• 2. Comprehension Skills
• 3. Reading Journals
• 4. Creative Writing
• 5. Extended Responses

Are you anxious that your writing won’t be up to scratch for High School? To help you with your transition from Year 6 to Year 7 English, we’ve developed this post to help you write the perfect extended response in only 6 steps.

Do any of these sound like you:

• I’m unsure how to write an extended response?
• I don’t know what makes a strong extended response?
• How am I going to how to tackle writing extended responses when I’m in High School in a few months?

Did you nod your head as you read these questions?

We know the struggle. We get it.

To help you out, we are giving you our 6 step plan on how to write an extended response.

In this post we will go through:

• An overview of how to write an extended response
• Common struggles
• Writing an extended response: In-depth

Get a helping hand with our Junior English PEEL Paragraph Planner!

How to write an extended response: overview.

The key to writing a 20/20 extended response lies in mastering how to write PEEL paragraphs and practising this skill.

Let’s have a quick overview of what junior students are taught at Matrix (Don’t worry, we’ll go into it deeper further down this post):

• Read the question and understand what it is asking
• Brainstorm ideas which you could incorporate into your answer
• What type of piece are you writing?
• Write a list of keywords you can use in your response
• Plan a structure
• Write a topic sentence
• Introduce and present your example
• Explain your example
• Link your paragraph
• Put it all together
• Get feedback

Why do Year 6 students struggle with extended responses?

They make some common blunders: 

• They are unsure about how to structure a response.
• They do not know what makes an extended response strong.
• They present an abundance of information. But can’t effectively put it in one response concisely.
• They do not realise what the shortcomings in their extended response are.
• They do not completely understand how to write succinctly.

Do you see yourself in these 5 common struggles?

That’s okay. These struggles can be removed and writing can become easy and enjoyable. Let’s see how our 6 step guide will help you write the perfect extended response.

How to write a Year 6 extended response in 6 steps: In-depth

Now, let’s look at how to write that outstanding extended response in depth. To help you understand the process we’ll put the steps into perspective by going an example from the novel ‘Holes,’ by Louis Sachar.

Step 1: Unpacking the question

As tempting as it may be to dive in and start writing straight away-DON’T!

The first step to write an extended response is unpacking the question. As you move from Year 6 to Year 7, the questions increase in difficulty.

It is really important you understand the question and what it is asking, so you can write succinctly and get the best possible mark!

Step 1A: Read the question twice.

The question we are going to look at is:

How does Sachar convey the power of individual choices through his novel ‘Holes’?

Read this question twice and think about what the question is asking of you.

Step 1B: Highlight keywords in the question.

Get out a trusty highlighter and highlight the keywords in the questions.

The keywords are those words which you need to tackle in your extended response.

Your ideas will arise from the keywords in the question.

Highlight the verb and the key ideas the question wants you to tackle.

If we look at the question in our example, the keywords we will highlight are:

How, power, individual choices

Step 1C: Write a simple sentence answering the question.

Doing this will allow you to narrow down your ideas and think about what you understand from the question.

If we think back to our example, a sentence we could write is:

Sachar uses emotive language and the relationship between Stanley and Zero to highlight that the choices we make have a powerful impact on both our present and future.

Step 2: Brainstorm

You have unpacked the question. Now, it’s time to start brainstorming!

• Get a blank piece of paper and write the question on top of the page. Remember to highlight the keywords!
• Underneath the question, write the sentence which explains your understanding of the question. This sentence will help guide your thinking.
• Write down all the ideas which come in your head. Write down everything ordinary and wacky.

Brainstorming is about writing everything down! The more ideas and words you write, the easier your planning process will be.

You don’t have to write full sentences down whilst brainstorming: write down trigger words and short phrases instead.

Here is an example of our brainstorm for Holes:

Step 3: Plan

Learning to plan your responses early, is a skill that will benefit you when you finally hit the HSC (it may seem a long way away, but those 6 years are going to fly by!)

Planning your extended response will save you time and help you write concisely without rambling on.

• Write down the theme of the paragraph
• Write down the example.
• Write the literary technique associated with the example.

Your plan should have an order of how you want your extended response to flow.

Ensure you do not jump from idea to idea, instead move methodically.

Hot tip: To get from a-z to we need to go through all the letters of the alphabet first. The same rule applies for writing. You cannot jump from idea to idea, you need to write fluently.

Step 4: PEEL Paragraph

Now it’s time to write that PEEL paragraph. Let’s slice the process up to make it easy to get perfect.

Step 4A- Topic Sentence 

The topic sentence introduces the idea you want to discuss in the paragraph. In the previous step, you already have the idea written down. The topic sentence will frame this into a sentence.

A good topic sentence tells the reader:

• The main idea that will be discussed in the paragraph
• The logic behind the argument

Write down the answer to the above two points for your paragraph separately. After you have done that, combine the two answers into one sentence (but if it gets too long, keep it as two sentences.

Ideally, your topic sentence should be concise, easy to understand and shorter than 25 words.

A good way you can structure the topic sentence is:

Through the (NAME OF TEXT), (AUTHOR’S NAME) highlights (IDEA) in an attempt to (LOGIC BEHIND THE IDEA).

Example: Holes

So, our topic sentence would be :  Through ‘Holes’, Sachar highlights the lack of freedom in an attempt to bring light to the idea that choices influenced by those around you will ultimately make you powerless.

Step 4B: Introduce and present your example

Once you have written your topic sentence, it is time to introduce your example. Examples strengthen your argument and provide evidence to your idea.

In the planning stage, we have already chosen the example for each paragraph.

In this step, we are simply writing the example in a sophisticated manner as stating the quote is not enough.

When presenting an example, you need to clearly state:

• Who is speaking
• Any context relevant to the example
• The technique used in the example

After you have answered these parts, you need to put the information into a sentence.

Example: Holes – Freedom

Step 4C: Explain your example

After presenting your example, you need to explain the logic behind it and why it strengthens your argument. The explanation allows the reader to understand your perspective of the text and the question.

The key questions you should answer when explaining your example are:

• Why is this quote relevant?
• What does it illustrate?
• How does it create meaning?

You do not have to summarise your explanation in one sentence, it can be a bit longer!

This is the most important part of your PEEL paragraph! So, make sure you provide as much detail as possible without rambling on.

Example- Holes

Explanation of Freedom quotes:

Step 4D- Link your paragraph

In an extended response, you will have a number of paragraphs. Each paragraph will require a linking statement that summarises the argument for the paragraph as well as connect the paragraph to the question. It should tie everything you have said in the paragraph together to each other and the overall argument.

Remember the linking statement is different from a conclusion. A linking statement in an extended response ties the paragraph together whilst a conclusion summarises the entire response.

Do not introduce any new ideas in your linking statements!

Linking sentence: Theme of Freedom

Step 4E: Put it all together

Put the previous 4 steps together into one paragraph.

Example: Holes; theme of Freedom

Follow the PEEL structure for each paragraph. This will help you put together a strong extended response that has a consistent structure and flow.

Step 5: Get feedback

You have written the response! It’s all done and dusted…nearly. It is now time to get some feedback!

One of the key steps in writing the perfect extended response is getting feedback.

Matrix students receive extensive feedback on their responses so they can improve and refine their writing for their senior years. Getting feedback from your tutor or teacher will help you pick up on mistakes you may have not noticed initially, strengthen your response and improve.

Step 6: Re-draft

Getting feedback is not enough! You need to use the feedback as constructive criticism so you can enhance your response and boost your marks.

• Read the feedback.
• Understand what it is suggesting and why that may have been suggested.
• If you do not understand a piece of feedback- go ask the marker for more help.
• Read your response out loud.
• Edit your writing by incorporating the feedback into the response.
• Read your response backwards to pick up on misspellings and wrong words.
• Show your edited response to a teacher or tutor for the second round of feedback.
• Edit it again.

Hot Tip: the more you edit, the stronger your response will be!

© Matrix Education and www.matrix.edu.au, 2023. Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Matrix Education and www.matrix.edu.au with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

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Essay test: types, advantages and limitations | statistics.

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After reading this article you will learn about:- 1. Introduction to Essay Test 2. Types of Essay Test 3. Advantages 4. Limitations 5. Suggestions.

Introduction to Essay Test:

The essay tests are still commonly used tools of evaluation, despite the increasingly wider applicability of the short answer and objective type questions.

There are certain outcomes of learning (e.g., organising, summarising, integrating ideas and expressing in one’s own way) which cannot be satisfactorily measured through objective type tests. The importance of essay tests lies in the measurement of such instructional outcomes.

An essay test may give full freedom to the students to write any number of pages. The required response may vary in length. An essay type question requires the pupil to plan his own answer and to explain it in his own words. The pupil exercises considerable freedom to select, organise and present his ideas. Essay type tests provide a better indication of pupil’s real achievement in learning. The answers provide a clue to nature and quality of the pupil’s thought process.

That is, we can assess how the pupil presents his ideas (whether his manner of presentation is coherent, logical and systematic) and how he concludes. In other words, the answer of the pupil reveals the structure, dynamics and functioning of pupil’s mental life.

The essay questions are generally thought to be the traditional type of questions which demand lengthy answers. They are not amenable to objective scoring as they give scope for halo-effect, inter-examiner variability and intra-examiner variability in scoring.

Types of Essay Test:

There can be many types of essay tests:

Some of these are given below with examples from different subjects:

1. Selective Recall.

e.g. What was the religious policy of Akbar?

2. Evaluative Recall.

e.g. Why did the First War of Independence in 1857 fail?

3. Comparison of two things—on a single designated basis.

e.g. Compare the contributions made by Dalton and Bohr to Atomic theory.

4. Comparison of two things—in general.

e.g. Compare Early Vedic Age with the Later Vedic Age.

5. Decision—for or against.

e.g. Which type of examination do you think is more reliable? Oral or Written. Why?

6. Causes or effects.

e.g. Discuss the effects of environmental pollution on our lives.

7. Explanation of the use or exact meaning of some phrase in a passage or a sentence.

e.g., Joint Stock Company is an artificial person. Explain ‘artificial person’ bringing out the concepts of Joint Stock Company.

8. Summary of some unit of the text or of some article.

9. Analysis

e.g. What was the role played by Mahatma Gandhi in India’s freedom struggle?

10. Statement of relationship.

e.g. Why is knowledge of Botany helpful in studying agriculture?

11. Illustration or examples (your own) of principles in science, language, etc.

e.g. Illustrate the correct use of subject-verb position in an interrogative sentence.

12. Classification.

e.g. Classify the following into Physical change and Chemical change with explanation. Water changes to vapour; Sulphuric Acid and Sodium Hydroxide react to produce Sodium Sulphate and Water; Rusting of Iron; Melting of Ice.

13. Application of rules or principles in given situations.

e.g. If you sat halfway between the middle and one end of a sea-saw, would a person sitting on the other end have to be heavier or lighter than you in order to make the sea-saw balance in the middle. Why?

14. Discussion.

e.g. Partnership is a relationship between persons who have agreed to share the profits of a business carried on by all or any of them acting for all. Discuss the essentials of partnership on the basis of this partnership.

15. Criticism—as to the adequacy, correctness, or relevance—of a printed statement or a classmate’s answer to a question on the lesson.

e.g. What is the wrong with the following statement?

The Prime Minister is the sovereign Head of State in India.

16. Outline.

e.g. Outline the steps required in computing the compound interest if the principal amount, rate of interest and time period are given as P, R and T respectively.

17. Reorganization of facts.

e.g. The student is asked to interview some persons and find out their opinion on the role of UN in world peace. In the light of data thus collected he/she can reorganise what is given in the text book.

18. Formulation of questions-problems and questions raised.

e.g. After reading a lesson the pupils are asked to raise related problems- questions.

19. New methods of procedure

e.g. Can you solve this mathematical problem by using another method?

Advantages of the Essay Tests:

1. It is relatively easier to prepare and administer a six-question extended- response essay test than to prepare and administer a comparable 60-item multiple-choice test items.

2. It is the only means that can assess an examinee’s ability to organise and present his ideas in a logical and coherent fashion.

3. It can be successfully employed for practically all the school subjects.

4. Some of the objectives such as ability to organise idea effectively, ability to criticise or justify a statement, ability to interpret, etc., can be best measured by this type of test.

5. Logical thinking and critical reasoning, systematic presentation, etc. can be best developed by this type of test.

6. It helps to induce good study habits such as making outlines and summaries, organising the arguments for and against, etc.

7. The students can show their initiative, the originality of their thought and the fertility of their imagination as they are permitted freedom of response.

8. The responses of the students need not be completely right or wrong. All degrees of comprehensiveness and accuracy are possible.

9. It largely eliminates guessing.

10. They are valuable in testing the functional knowledge and power of expression of the pupil.

Limitations of Essay Tests:

1. One of the serious limitations of the essay tests is that these tests do not give scope for larger sampling of the content. You cannot sample the course content so well with six lengthy essay questions as you can with 60 multiple-choice test items.

2. Such tests encourage selective reading and emphasise cramming.

3. Moreover, scoring may be affected by spelling, good handwriting, coloured ink, neatness, grammar, length of the answer, etc.

4. The long-answer type questions are less valid and less reliable, and as such they have little predictive value.

5. It requires an excessive time on the part of students to write; while assessing, reading essays is very time-consuming and laborious.

6. It can be assessed only by a teacher or competent professionals.

7. Improper and ambiguous wording handicaps both the students and valuers.

8. Mood of the examiner affects the scoring of answer scripts.

9. There is halo effect-biased judgement by previous impressions.

10. The scores may be affected by his personal bias or partiality for a particular point of view, his way of understanding the question, his weightage to different aspect of the answer, favouritism and nepotism, etc.

Thus, the potential disadvantages of essay type questions are :

(i) Poor predictive validity,

(ii) Limited content sampling,

(iii) Scores unreliability, and

(iv) Scoring constraints.

Suggestions for Improving Essay Tests:

The teacher can sometimes, through essay tests, gain improved insight into a student’s abilities, difficulties and ways of thinking and thus have a basis for guiding his/her learning.

(A) White Framing Questions:

1. Give adequate time and thought to the preparation of essay questions, so that they can be re-examined, revised and edited before they are used. This would increase the validity of the test.

2. The item should be so written that it will elicit the type of behaviour the teacher wants to measure. If one is interested in measuring understanding, he should not ask a question that will elicit an opinion; e.g.,

“What do you think of Buddhism in comparison to Jainism?”

3. Use words which themselves give directions e.g. define, illustrate, outline, select, classify, summarise, etc., instead of discuss, comment, explain, etc.

4. Give specific directions to students to elicit the desired response.

5. Indicate clearly the value of the question and the time suggested for answering it.

6. Do not provide optional questions in an essay test because—

(i) It is difficult to construct questions of equal difficulty;

(ii) Students do not have the ability to select those questions which they will answer best;

(iii) A good student may be penalised because he is challenged by the more difficult and complex questions.

7. Prepare and use a relatively large number of questions requiring short answers rather than just a few questions involving long answers.

8. Do not start essay questions with such words as list, who, what, whether. If we begin the questions with such words, they are likely to be short-answer question and not essay questions, as we have defined the term.

9. Adapt the length of the response and complexity of the question and answer to the maturity level of the students.

10. The wording of the questions should be clear and unambiguous.

11. It should be a power test rather than a speed test. Allow a liberal time limit so that the essay test does not become a test of speed in writing.

12. Supply the necessary training to the students in writing essay tests.

13. Questions should be graded from simple to complex so that all the testees can answer atleast a few questions.

14. Essay questions should provide value points and marking schemes.

(B) While Scoring Questions:

1. Prepare a marking scheme, suggesting the best possible answer and the weightage given to the various points of this model answer. Decide in advance which factors will be considered in evaluating an essay response.

2. While assessing the essay response, one must:

a. Use appropriate methods to minimise bias;

b. Pay attention only to the significant and relevant aspects of the answer;

c. Be careful not to let personal idiosyncrasies affect assessment;

d. Apply a uniform standard to all the papers.

3. The examinee’s identity should be concealed from the scorer. By this we can avoid the “halo effect” or “biasness” which may affect the scoring.

4. Check your marking scheme against actual responses.

5. Once the assessment has begun, the standard should not be changed, nor should it vary from paper to paper or reader to reader. Be consistent in your assessment.

6. Grade only one question at a time for all papers. This will help you in minimising the halo effect in becoming thoroughly familiar with just one set of scoring criteria and in concentrating completely on them.

7. The mechanics of expression (legibility, spelling, punctuation, grammar) should be judged separately from what the student writes, i.e. the subject matter content.

8. If possible, have two independent readings of the test and use the average as the final score.

Related Articles:

• Merits and Demerits of Objective Type Test
• Types of Recall Type Test: Simple and Completion | Objective Test

Educational Statistics , Evaluation Tools , Essay Test

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