Understanding Educational Tests

• Tests offer a systematic way to compare individual performance against a set standard.
• Tests involve observing students, conducting interviews and using questionnaires to understand attitudes and feelings.

Common Types of Tests

• Achievement tests measure acquired learning, often from classroom or training experiences.
• Achievement tests aim to assess mastery of content or tasks after instruction.
• Achievement tests measure progress in specific curriculum areas, based on a child's experiences.
• Aptitude tests gauge a student's ability to learn specific behaviors or skills when trained.
• Aptitude tests determine the capacity to learn and can predict future performance across various abilities.
• Ability tests evaluate the power to perform a task, assessing individual skills, knowledge, achievement, and aptitudes.
• While achievement tests assess specific learning experiences, ability tests measure the result of more general experiences.
• Personality tests assess personality traits, including attitude, character, reaction to situations, honesty, and integrity.
• Intelligent tests measure students' mental development using the Intelligent Quotient (IQ).
• IQ is calculated using the formula: IQ = (mental age / chronological age) * 100.
• Mental age is the child's average mental development or achievement in mental aptitude tests.
• Chronological age is the child's actual age from birth.

Standardized Tests

• Standardized tests are created, administered, scored, and interpreted by experts under set conditions.
• Standardized tests include instructions for uniform administration and interpretation of results.
• Standardized tests are constructed with detailed specifications and a manual for administration and interpretation, covering broad knowledge areas.

Teacher-Made Tests

• Teacher-made tests are prepared by classroom teachers for specific classes.
• Teacher-made tests cover smaller areas of knowledge and skills.
• Teacher-made tests are informal, covering what teachers have taught.
• Teacher-made tests include marking schemes and allocated marks and are targeted at specific objectives.

Types of Test Items

• Various types of test items include essay, short answer, and unstructured types.

Essay Test Types

• Essay tests require written or oral responses and can be brief or extensive.
• Essay tests allow test-takers to construct sentences, paragraphs, or passages.
• Essay tests provide freedom of response based on knowledge and experience.
• Essay tests are subjective, as the scorer's opinion influences the scoring.

Extended Response Essays

• Extended response essays grant students extensive freedom to respond.
• Extended response essays allow students to select, organize, integrate, and evaluate ideas without length restrictions.
• Compare and contrast the essay and objective types of examinations is an example of an extended response question.
• Describe a typical mathematical laboratory is an example of an extended response question.

Restricted Response Essays

• Restricted response essays limit the nature, length, or organization of the response.
• Restricted response essays restrict the scope of the topic.
• Restricted response essays measure specific curriculum areas or learning outcomes.
• An example of a restricted response essay is to state three advantages of essay tests and three advantages of objective tests.
• Another example of a restricted response essay is to explain any three good qualities of a teacher.

Advantages of Essay Tests

• Essay tests require students to recall, analyze, and constructively organize data and facts.
• Essay tests are relatively easy to construct, but teachers should consult a table of specifications.
• Essay tests reduce cheating.
• Essay tests promote effective expression, articulation, integration, and synthesis of material.
• Essay tests test a student's ability to select, relate, and organize facts and express them clearly.
• Essay tests require students to supply answers rather than selecting from multiple choices.

Disadvantages of Essay Tests

• Essay tests are challenging to score, with scores influenced by personal judgment and leading to unreliability.
• Essay test questions only cover a limited sample of the total instructional content.
• Essay tests take a long time to mark and score.
• Extended freedom in essay tests can lead to bluffing or off-topic writing.

Improving Essay Test Construction

• Restrict essay tests to processes where they are most applicable.
• Essay questions should target processes like comparison, application of facts, or decision-making.
• Limit the breadth of essay items to tie them to a single objective.
• Make essay questions specific.
• All test takers should answer the same questions, as only a few essay items can be presented.
• Provide clear instructions on how to answer the test at the top of the page.
• Give information on expected writing style and details about bonus marks.
• Avoid ambiguous words and phrases to ensure that each item measures the desired domain.
• Indicate the approximate time and score points for each item.
• Limit essay tests to learning outcomes that cannot be measured by objective questions.
• Use a table of specifications to ensure syllabi and curriculum components are tested.
• Use a large number of short-answer questions (restricted response) rather than extended response types.

Reliability of Scoring Essay Papers

• Essay scoring can be made more reliable by following specific rules.
• Apply a consistent set of criteria to all essay responses without being distracted by unrelated elements.

Prescribed Scoring Methods for Essays

• The two main methods are the key method and the ranking method.
• The key method uses an already prepared marking scheme with marks allocated by difficulty level, including special marks for exceptional knowledge.
• The ranking method involves reading through the first item on several papers to get a sense of the variety of responses.
• Sort the papers into about five piles based on the quality of the responses, with doubtful papers set aside for re-reading.
• Assign points to each pile, from lowest to highest ranking.
• Score all papers on the same questions before moving to the next questions.
• Obscure students' names before scoring to avoid bias.
• Ensure papers are marked by more than one person and undergo moderation.
• Decide whether to penalize errors in spelling, grammar, and punctuation and inform students.