The process and rationale I used
for composing test items and one essay item is as follows. First, I have to remember the purpose for
testing students. Kubiszyn and Borich
(2010) explain that, “The purpose of testing is to collect objective
information that may be used in conjunction with subjective information to make
better educational decisions” (p. 87).
Second, I had to decide what assessment items I would use in order to
test students in the fairest way possible.
The test items I chose were multiple choice, completion, and matching,
and I also included one essay item.
When creating these items, I had
to consider my unit of study and the learning outcomes for this study. I had to keep in mind that test items have
their advantages and disadvantages which affect the way questions are written. I must also remember to avoid “gender and/or
racial biases” while constructing the items (Kubiszyn & Borich, 2010, p.
156). Because I wanted to see what my
students learned about rainforests, I made sure to include questions about rainforest
locations, animals living in the rainforest, and the stratum of the rainforest.
One other point to recall when
creating test items is what our textbook says about higher-level thinking and
Bloom’s Taxonomy, “We also need to spend some time discussing a technique to
help you remember to write objectives and test items at different levels to
ensure our tests include items that measure higher-level thinking” (Kubiszyn
& Borich, 2010, p. 123-124). While I
was developing my essay item, the authors’ statement came to mind. In putting together these measurements, I
will be able to ascertain what students have learned about the rainforest.
Reference:
Bing Images. (2011).
Free tropical rainforest clipart.
Retrieved from
http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=free+tropical+rainforest+clipart&id=9B646009D
Kubiszyn, T. & Borich, G. (2010).
Educational testing and
measurement: Classroom application and practice. (9th ed.). John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Hoboken, NJ.
