Text And Tests 2 Higher Level Solutions

[Charolette Antosh]

Thereare 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.

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.

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:

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:

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:

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.

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:

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.

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.

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.

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,

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.

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.

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 citl...@illinois.edu.

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If you have never held a BEI certificate before, you must start at the Basic Level. If you have been previously certified with another organization, we ask that you present your current certification card along with your performance test application. At that time, you may be eligible to begin at a higher level if you choose.

All new applicants for BEI Certification, or all certified interpreters wishing to become certified at the Basic, Advanced, or Master level for the first time, must pass the Test of English Proficiency (TEP) before being eligible to apply for any BEI performance test. The written Test of English Proficiency (TEP) for sign language interpreters is available year round upon request. Download the TEP application.

There are no specific dates for administering the TEP. The Texas Health and Human Services Commission has contracted with the University of Texas at Austin, K-16 Distance Education Center, to coordinate and administer the TEP testing process. This test may be taken at various colleges and universities in the state of Texas at your convenience. Most of the colleges and universities will require a proctoring fee which will range from $10-30; this is in addition to the TEP application fee. Applicants should be prepared to pay this fee to the proctor when reporting to take the TEP.

For your convenience the BEI staff has compiled a list of sites that have been approved to administer the TEP. Please review our approved list of sites and write your preferred testing site on page two of your application.

The TEP process consists of several stages. There is a 30 day processing period from the date the application is submitted until it has been approved by BEI staff. Upon BEI approval, applicants have a 90 day window to schedule the exam directly with the testing site designated on the application. Applicants should allow 1-2 weeks for the exam to arrive on site before scheduling. Written test results will be reported by email approximately 30 days after taking the TEP.

Prospective applicants should keep this in mind when considering future performance testing dates, and apply as early as needed. Applicants who receive a passing score on the TEP will be eligible to apply for the performance test. Applicants who do not receive a passing score must wait 6 months to retake the test and submit a new application and fee.

Once your TEP application has been approved, you will be notified with an email confirmation. Your exam will be sent to your preferred testing center and will be available to you for 90 days. After receiving your email confirmation, you must contact the testing center for business hours and appointment scheduling. Please allow 1-2 weeks for your test to arrive on site. Failure to complete your exam within 90 days will result in a forfeiture of fees. Upon completion of your exam, it is mailed to the BEI headquarters for scoring and result reporting. You will receive your results electronically by email approximately 30 days after taking your exam. Please add dhhs...@hhs.texas.gov to your safe sender list. All BEI communications will be sent from this address.

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