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Creating Exams Assessing

The document provides guidance on creating effective exams by choosing appropriate question types aligned with learning objectives, writing clear instructions, considering exam length and scoring, and creating objective test questions. It advises to select question types like essays or multiple choice that allow students to demonstrate their mastery of the objectives. The instructions should be explicit about expectations and preview the exam format. Exams should be long enough for students to complete but not so long that time pressure impacts performance. Point values should consider question difficulty and skill level assessed. Objective questions are best if they have one right answer, are clearly written without tricks, and have plausible distractors.

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Ivan Galarza
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© © All Rights Reserved
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51 views

Creating Exams Assessing

The document provides guidance on creating effective exams by choosing appropriate question types aligned with learning objectives, writing clear instructions, considering exam length and scoring, and creating objective test questions. It advises to select question types like essays or multiple choice that allow students to demonstrate their mastery of the objectives. The instructions should be explicit about expectations and preview the exam format. Exams should be long enough for students to complete but not so long that time pressure impacts performance. Point values should consider question difficulty and skill level assessed. Objective questions are best if they have one right answer, are clearly written without tricks, and have plausible distractors.

Uploaded by

Ivan Galarza
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Creating Exams – Steps

Choose appropriate item types for your objectives.

Should you assign essay questions on your exams? Problem sets?


Multiple-choice questions? It depends on your learning objectives.
For example, if you want students to articulate or justify an
economic argument, then multiple-choice questions
are a poor choice because they do not require
students to articulate anything. However, multiple-
choice questions (if well-constructed)
might effectively assess students’
ability to recognize a logical economic
argument or to distinguish it from an illogical one. If your goal
is for students to match technical terms to their
definitions, essay questions may not be as efficient a means of
assessment as a simple matching task. There is no single best type of exam question:
the important thing is that the questions reflect your learning objectives.

Highlight how the exam aligns with course objectives.

Identify which course objectives the exam addresses (e.g., “This exam assesses your
ability to use sociological terminology appropriately, and to apply the principles we
have learned in the course to date”). This helps students see how the components of
the course align, reassures them about their ability to perform well (assuming they
have done the required work), and activates relevant experiences and knowledge from
earlier in the course.

Write instructions that are clear, explicit, and unambiguous.

Make sure that students know exactly what you want them to do. Be more explicit
about your expectations than you may think is necessary. Otherwise, students may
make assumptions that run them into trouble. For example, they may assume –
perhaps based on experiences in another course – that an in-class exam is open book
or that they can collaborate with classmates on a take-home exam, which you may not
allow. Preferably, you should articulate these expectations to students before they take
the exam as well as in the exam instructions. You also might want to explain in your
instructions how fully you want students to answer questions (for example, to specify if
you want answers to be written in paragraphs or bullet points or if you want students
to show all steps in problem-solving.)
Word questions clearly and simply.
Avoid complex and convoluted
sentence constructions, double
negatives, and idiomatic language
that may be difficult for students, Write instructions that preview the
especially international students, to exam.
understand. Also, in multiple-choice
Students’ test-taking skills may not be
questions, avoid using absolutes
very effective, leading them to use their
such as “never” or “always,” which
time poorly during an exam. Instructions
can lead to confusion.
can prepare students for what they are
Enlist a colleague or TA to read about to be asked by previewing the
through your exam. format of the exam, including question
Sometimes instructions or type and point value (e.g., there will be
questions that seem perfectly clear 10 multiple-choice questions, each worth
to you are not as clear as you two points, and two essay questions,
believe. Thus, it can be a good idea each worth 15 points). This helps
to ask a colleague or TA to read students use their time more effectively
through (or even take) your exam during the exam.
to make sure everything is clear and
unambiguous.
Think about how long it will take
students to complete the exam.

When students are under time pressure,


they may make mistakes that have
nothing to do with the extent of their
learning. Thus, unless your goal is to
assess how students perform under time
pressure, it is important to design exams
that can be reasonably completed in the
time allotted. One way to determine how
long an exam will take students to
complete is to take it yourself and allow
students triple the time it took you – or
reduce the length or difficulty of the
exam.
Think ahead to how you will score Consider the point value of
students’ work. different question types
When assigning point values, it is useful
to think ahead to how you will score The point value you ascribe to
different questions should be in line
students’ answers. Will you give partial
with their difficulty, as well as the
credit if a student gets some elements of
length of time they are likely to take
an answer right? If so, you might want to
and the importance of the skills
break the desired answer into they assess. It is not always easy
components and decide how many points when you are an expert in the field
you would give a student for correctly to determine how difficult a
answering each. Thinking this through in question will be for students, so ask
advance can make it considerably easier yourself: How many subskills are
to assign partial credit when you do the involved? Have students answered
actual grading. For example, if a short questions like this before, or will
answer question involves four discrete this be new to them? Are there
components, assigning a point value that common traps or misconceptions
is divisible by four makes grading easier. that students may fall into when
answering this question? Needless
to say, difficult and complex
question types should be assigned
Creating objective test questions
higher point values than easier,
Creating objective test questions – such simpler question types. Similarly,
as multiple-choice questions – can be questions that assess pivotal
difficult, but here are some general rules knowledge and skills should be
given higher point values than
to remember that complement the
questions that assess less critical
strategies in the previous section.
knowledge.

Write objective test questions so


that there is one and only one best
answer.

Word questions clearly and simply,


avoiding double negatives, idiomatic
language, and absolutes such as “never”
or “always.”

 Test only a single idea in each


item.
 Make sure wrong answers
(distractors) are plausible.
 Incorporate common student
errors as distractors.
 Make sure the position of the
correct answer (e.g., A, B, C,
D) varies randomly from item
to item.
 Include from three to five
options for each item.
 Make sure the length of response items is roughly the same for each
question.
 Keep the length of response items short.

Format the exam so that response options are indented and in column form.

In multiple choice questions, use positive phrasing in the stem, avoiding words like
“not” and “except.” If this is unavoidable, highlight the negative words (e.g., “Which of
the following is NOT an example of…?”).

Avoid overlapping alternatives.

Avoid using “All of the above” and “None of the above” in responses. (In the case of
“All of the above,” students only need to know that two of the options are correct to
answer the question. Conversely, students only need to eliminate one response to
eliminate “All of the above” as an answer. Similarly, when “None of the above” is used
as the correct answer choice, it tests students’ ability to detect incorrect answers, but
not whether they know the correct answer.)

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