Sunday, December 11, 2011

Thought Process & Rational for Test Items EDU645


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. 


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