Writing Test Items Research Articles

중학교 과학과 1학년 물질 분야의 지필평가 문항의 정보제시 오류 분석

ABSTRACT. The purpose of this study was to investigate errors on wr itten tests of science, matters, in middle school 7th grade.Errors were defined something you have done which is considered to be incorrect or wrong, or which should not have been done.We found and classified errors, and then examined the frequency of types of errors on the written tests. A total of 167 test it emsfrom 10 middle schools were analyzed for this study. Errors on the written tests were classified into 5 types: insufficient inf ormation; unnecessary information; inaccurate information; information against curriculum; and unclear information. A total of 81 errors were counted out of 167 test items. The results of this study are expected to help teachers develop written test items to conve y de-finite meanings by text and would be used as basic information for improving written test item standards. Keywords: Errors, Science, Middle School, Examination 중학교 과학과 1학년 물질 분야의 지필평가 문항의 정보제시 오류 분석 박현주* ․ 신주란 † 조선대학교 과학교육학부

Why Students Answer TIMSS Science Test Items the Way They Do

The purpose of this study was to explore how Year 8 students answered Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) questions and whether the test questions represented the scientific understanding of these students. One hundred and seventy-seven students were tested using written test questions taken from the science test used in the Third International Mathematics and Science Study. The degree to which a sample of 38 children represented their understanding of the topics in a written test compared to the level of understanding that could be elicited by an interview is presented in this paper. In exploring student responses in the interview situation this study hoped to gain some insight into the science knowledge that students held and whether or not the test items had been able to elicit this knowledge successfully. We question the usefulness and quality of data from large-scale summative assessments on their own to represent student scientific understanding and conclude that large scale written test items, such as TIMSS, on their own are not a valid way of exploring students' understanding of scientific concepts. Considerable caution is therefore needed in exploiting the outcomes of international achievement testing when considering educational policy changes or using TIMSS data on their own to represent student understanding.

Book Review: Writing test items to evaluate higher order thinking

Book Review: Writing test items to evaluate higher order thinking

Writing Test Items to Evaluate Higher Order Thinking. Haladyna TM. Needham Heights, Mass, Allyn and Bacon, 1997, soft cover, 264 pp, illus. $25.95.

Writing Test Items to Evaluate Higher Order Thinking. Haladyna TM. Needham Heights, Mass, Allyn and Bacon, 1997, soft cover, 264 pp, illus. $25.95.

Test design: putting all the pieces together.

Preparing a nursing examination involves more than writing test items. The design of a test can contribute to measurement error and affect the validity and reliability of students' test scores. Nursing faculty should strive to minimize measurement error by following certain design rules when preparing a test. The author offers guidelines to help teachers design tests that will enable students to demonstrate their best performance.

A Teacher Education Workshop on the Construction of EFL Tests and Materials

The purpose of this paper is to describe a workshop designed to raise teachers' awareness of potential obstacles to student comprehension of test questions. Such an awareness is essential to the process of test writing or the construction of teaching materials. Although this workshop focuses specifically on the EFL reading comprehension test, it has broader implications, as the construction of tests and class assignments necessitates a constant reassessment and clarification of course objectives and the fulfillment of these goals. Because we propose that any test or classroom material constitutes a communicative interchange between the teacher and the student, alerting the teacher to the nature of this interchange and possible impediments to such communication may positively affect the teacher's performance in the classroom. We first present the practical problems among the staff of the Division of Foreign Languages at Tel Aviv University that created the need for a test-writing workshop. Subsequently we describe the workshop, which includes a presentation of theoretically motivated criteria for writing test items, a description of the stages in the test-writing procedure, and hands-on experience in the construction of a reading comprehension test. Finally, we present limitations and advantages of the workshop as well as broader implications for such issues as teacher observation and curriculum development.

A Meta-Analytic Investigation of the Effect of Various Test Item Characteristics on Test Scores and Test Completion Times

The current study reported the results of a meta-analytic investigation of the effects on test scores and test completion times of three aspects of writing test items: The number of answers in multiple-choice exams, the order of item difficulty, and the organization of items by content. The results of meta-analysis indicated that three-choice questions are slightly easier than four-choice questions (d = .90) and take significantly less time to complete (d = −.61). Exams beginning with easier items and then moving to more difficult items are slightly easier than exams with randomly ordered items (d = .11) or exams beginning with difficult items (d — .22). Exams in which the items are organized by content are slightly easier than exams containing randomly ordered items (d = .04). All of the above effect sizes are small.

The Effect of Student Planning and Self-Competence on Self-Motivated Performance

AbstractThis study evaluated the self-regulated performance of 130 collegiate teacher education majors assigned to either the condition of being given forms to plan their performance on a specific task or to the condition of being given no planning forms. The task enabled students to earn various exam grade point bonuses for writing test items related to weekly reading assignments in a required educational psychology course. Students were divided into high and medium + low perceived self-competence groups based on their self-rated capability for writing test items before the task began. Planning form users earned significantly more grade bonuses than did students not given the form, but this finding was true only for students of medium + low perceived self-competence. Planning appeared to provide those unsure of their own capability with the strategy necessary to perform well on the task.

Motivating college students: A model based on empirical evidence

Motivation, as reflected by the amount of self-regulated performance engaged in, was studied by offering students the opportunity to earn a grade bonus by writing test items as part of a Voluntary Homework System (VHS). While internal or dispositional factors such as self-confidence, payoff expectation and importance, and procrastination tendency were found to be important, external (and, therefore, potentially manipulable) factors such as task magnitude, informational feedback, encouragement, goal setting, group outcomes, and preset versus normative standards also had considerable influence on effort and persistence. Based on these findings, a procedure that can be used in the college classroom to enhance student motivation is offered.

Computer‐Assisted Writing of Achievement Test Items: Toward a Future Technology

Five appproaches to writing test items with computer assistance are descibed. The authors propose a scheme for modeling knowledge by a set of structures and outline a system for implementing it.

A comprehensive performance-based assessment of fourth-year students' clinical skills.

Written examinations are widely used for assessment in clinical clerkships and for licensure and specialty board certification, as opposed to assessment based on actual performance with patients. This reliance on written examinations is due to their ease of use and perceived objectivity and occurs despite the fact that the examinations assess few components of clinical competence. Simulated patients can standardize the presentation of a patient problem; and, if the patients are employed in an assessment in a manner parallel to the design of written test items, the assessment can have an objectivity similar to that enjoyed by written tests. Such an assessment allows the major components of clinical competence to be tested. The results and feasibility of using simulated patients in a multiple-station assessment of an entire senior class in January 1986 are described. A second assessment was administered to a different senior class in December 1986. This latter assessment was designed in collaboration with another medical school that administered the same assessment to its senior students in March 1987.

Product knowledge of fabric sales personnel: a comparison of three measurement methods

This study was designed to compare responses of fabric sales personnel to three types of product knowledge measures. These measures were: (1) written test items on a questionnaire; (2) oral items administered by a researcher posing as a consumer; and (3) projective items that require estimation of other clerks' knowledge. Fifty‐four clerks participated in the consumer interviews and 100 completed a questionnaire containing the written test and projective items. Forty clerks completed all three measures. In contrast to some of the findings regarding the measurement of attitudes, estimation of other people's knowledge was not found to be a useful indicator of the estimator's own knowledge. Furthermore, the consumer interview and written test methods were found to produce similar, but not completely interchangeable, results. A major implication of these findings is that one should consider the objectives of the measurement process in selecting a method for measuring product knowledge.

Writing Test Items Scientifically

Writing Test Items Scientifically

Comparison of Recognition and Recall Responses to Written Test Items for a Fire Captain Promotional Examination

This study compared responses to recognition and recall test items for firefighters who took a written test as part of a promotional procedure for municipal fire captain. The objective of the study was to determine if recall test items would provide additional information for public personnel officers to use in making promotions based on merit. As expected, results showed that the recall test items were more difficult than the recognition items for 72 white subjects and 6 black subjects. There was no difference between whites and blacks on the recognition items, the recall items, or the total scores. However, a significant correlation of .68 was found between the recognition and recall test items for the total group of subjects, suggesting that little benefit is gained from using the recall items for promotional examinations in public employment settings, especially when considering the time and difficulty involved in scoring recall test items.

Improving the quality of computer scored tests in agronomic courses

Student evaluation can be greatly facilitated by using computer scored and analyzed multiple choice tests. Test parameters can aid the instructor in the interpretation of student scores, and item analyses can provide him with valuable feedback for improving both teaching and writing. The caliber of testing influences the caliber of learning, and at college level it is more appropriate to evaluate complex learning outcomes than it is simply to test recall of information. Therefore we are justified in making an effort to evaluate attainment of higher levels of knowledge on multiple choice tests and to de-emphasize rote memorization. This paper describes ways of increasing the quality and usefulness of computer scored tests by examples from an introductory soil science course. The authors use test and item analysis; define the variable to be tested; and make a table of specifications to assure that the test reflects a balance, characteristic of the course, of both subject matter and level of knowledge. Most of their examples show how to write better test items, but they also give examples of ways to reduce the guessing factor and how to increase the value of the distractor. Some techniques for writing test items for high-level knowledge are: 1) using terms in problems rather than defining the terms, 2) presenting novel rather than familiar situations, 3) using problems that require applying knowledge, and 4) asking for interpretations of data requiring both knowledge and reasoning.

Writing Proficiency and Achievement Tests

Teachers of English to speakers of other languages are often confronted with the problem of writing good test items both for the proficiency-type test and the achievement-type test. The technique of writing test items for the achievement test is similar to that for the proficiency test in that both are designed to measure the amount of skill in speaking and writing the language, and the level of listening and reading comprehension of the language. Test items designed to measure the four different types of language skills as well as five different combinations or integration of these skills will be presented in this article. Various presentations of item types are also illustrated, such as the question, statement, sentence completion, short dialog forms, and their combinations. Also the best possible uses will be brought out for each of the different types. Test items can be written for each of the separate language skills as well as their combinations, such as: