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.
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Test
Item Quiz
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(circle
the correct answer)
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1.
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Essay
exams are easier to construct than are objective exams.
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T
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F
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?
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2.
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Essay
exams require writing skills where objective exams do not.
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T
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F
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?
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3.
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Essay
exams teach a person how to write.
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T
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F
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?
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4.
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Essay
exams are more subjective in nature than are objective exams.
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T
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F
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?
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5.
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Objective
exams encourage guessing more so than essay exams.
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T
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F
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?
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6.
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Essay
exams limit the extent of content covered.
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T
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F
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?
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7.
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Essay
and objective exams can be used to measure the same content or ability.
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T
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F
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?
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8.
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Essay
and objective exams are both good ways to evaluate a student's level of
knowledge.
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T
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F
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?
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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.
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Learning
Objectives
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Most
Suitable Test Item
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The
student will be able to categorize and name the parts of the human skeletal
system.
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Objective
Test Item (M-C, T-F, Matching)
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The
student will be able to critique and appraise another student's English
composition on the basis of its organization.
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Essay
Test Item (Extended-Response)
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The
student will demonstrate safe laboratory skills.
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Performance
Test Item
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The
student will be able to cite four examples of satire that Twain uses in
Huckleberry Finn.
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Essay
Test Item (Short-Answer)
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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 of this booklet. 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.
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