Principles for construction of objective, short answer and Long type tests and their advantages & Disadvantages:

 Principles for construction of objective, short answer and Long type tests and their  advantages & Disadvantages:

Objective type test (very short answer) : The objective type test items are highly structured and require learners to supply (construct) or select response. These responses may consist of one or two words  or from given  options  (multiple choice question). There can be only one correct answer they are highly objective in scoring.

Examples:

Q.1  What  is  the first positive integer?

Q.2 Solve the equation  : 3x - 18 = 24      1)2       2)14         3)18            4)126        

Advantage :

v Learners may solve answer quickly

v Answer can be solve by  the given options

v It takes very less time to solve

v It can be calculated easily

v It is fit for  the learners

Disadvantages:

v Guess work can be done

v It cannot be easier to construct.

v Each skills cannot be develop

Short answer (SA) test :  The short answer (SA) test items require learners to supply (or construct) or select responses in one sentence or so.

Short answer items usually measure simple learning outcomes and mostly emphasize measure of recall of memorized information (response construction type) or identify information (selection type).

Examples:

Q.1The average age of a woman and her daughter is 46 years .The ratio of their present ages is 15:8 respectively .What is the daughter’s age?

Q.2. The length of a rectangle exceeds its breadth by 7cms. If the perimeter of the rectangle is 126cm,then what will be the breadth of the rectangle?

Advantage : Short answer type items are being used widely for merits. They are very effective for measuring specific learning outcomes objectively and directly. They are easier to construct because these usually measure simple learning outcomes. They can use both types of test items: construct response (supply) and response selection. The main advantages of short answer type item can be summarized as follows:

Ø It can measure simplest learning outcomes.

Ø  It is easier to construct.

Ø It can cover a wide sample of course materials. Constructed Response Items

Ø It can best be used in numerical questions requiring a number or symbol as an answer. Some of the short answer type test items can also measure knowledge and understanding  

Ø Short answer type test items present well defined problems.

Ø  It is simple to score with objectivity.

Disadvantages: Scholastic learning includes all those learning outcomes that are based on higher mental processes like application, analysis, synthesis, evaluation, problem-solving abilities, etc. Short answer (SA) test items suffer from many shortcomings so far as measurement of   complex learning outcomes are concerned. Some of the disadvantages of short answer type items are that these do not provide:

v A more valid measure of real academic achievement of higher order learning outcomes.

v opportunities to relate facts, principles, thoughts etc.

v Sufficient opportunities for demonstration of logical progression of content, language flexibility of thought, coherence, interpretative ability etc.

 Long answer (LA) :The long answer (LA test items require learners to select, organize and present answer in details form

It is known as long answer test. These tests make use of the ability to: (i) construct answer than merely identify interpretations and applications. (ii) to select  organize and integrate ideas and express in original terms related to content, and (iii) provide freedom to learners to construct their own responses and thus encourage their originality and flexibility.

Examples:

Q.1.The digits of a two digit number differ by 2. If the digits are interchanged and resulting number is added to original number. We get 88. Find the original number.

Q.2. Prove that sum of angles of triangle is 180⁰

Advantages:

v It can measure complex learning outcomes of higher order learning objectives and this use is not confined to recall of facts only.

v A question (especially extended response type) is its emphasis on the integration and application of thinking and problem-solving skills.

v Clear the complete concept to the learners

v Calculation skills will be more strong

v Develop the hypothesis skills.

Disadvantages:

v It takes much time to solve

v Learners  can do many mistakes etc.