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Educational Measurement and Evaluation

Notes (ii) complete scoring objectivity is to be ensured;
(iii) more questions are to be set to encompass more topics or content elements;
(iv) more valid responses through supply-type responses are preferred;
(v) multiple-choice questions are to be combined with VSQ in one section of the question
paper, ensuring maximum objectivity in scoring;
(vi) examinees are not well conversant with the multiple-choice questions; and
(vii) assessment objectives are not of higher order like application or analysis objective.
(b) SAQ
SAQ of free-response type can better be used when :
(i) freedom of response is to be provided instead of a fixed response;
(ii) more than one credit point are to be tested, say 2 to 4 (not unlimited);
(iii) brief, precise and to-the-point answers are expected;
(iv) acceptable answers can be scored quite objectively;
(v) a functional and accurate marking scheme is desired;
(vi) more number of questions are to be included in the test for better sampling of content to
increase reliability;
(vii) each and every competency must be tested in a limited time;
(viii) bluffing, redundant and superfluous responses are to be discouraged; and
(ix) a particular content area or element is neither amenable to essay-type nor multiple-
choice items.
Thus we find that SAQ have indeed a great potentiality for use in a question paper. They can ensure
more validity and reliability of a test by adequate sampling of content and competencies, ease of
construction, better scoring objectivity and inclusion of more number of questions in the test.
29.3 Principles of Construction Short Answer Type Test

Very Short Answer Questions

Most of the paper setters have wrong notion that the easiest questions to be constructed are the very
short-answer questions (VSQ). Make any statement or an interrogative sentence asking for a word
or phrase that is quite specific, factual of trivial and you get a question. Such questions are certainly
easy to construct when you are interested in testing rote memory, factual information and textual
statements based on knowledge objective. If VSQ are to be, developed to test comprehension or
understanding of concepts, it requires a great skill. Still more difficult and sometimes impossible to
write a VSQ testing higher objective like Application. It is indeed a tough, difficult and time-
consuming exercise to develop such questions of VSQ type. That is why one would seldom find
entry of VSQ under application objective in a blueprint prepared even by experienced subject
specialists trained in item writing. In fact in actual practice such items have usually low difficulty
level. Nevertheless, if principles listed below are followed, the quality of VSQ can be improved to
a large extent.
Specific hints are given below.
(a) Direct question forms evoke more favourable response from students compared with statement
or incomplete stem with fill-in-the-blank type.
(i) What is the chemical formula of hydrogen peroxide ? (Better)
(ii) Chemical formula of hydrogen peroxide is ____ . (Poor)
(b) Only key and significant words should be omitted in blanks to pinpoint the answer.
(i) Adjective is a _____ word that qualifies the noun. (Poor)
(ii) Adjective is a describing word that qualifies a _____ . (Better)

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