Page 352 - DEDU504_EDUCATIONAL_MEASUREMENT_AND_EVALUATION_ENGLISH

Educational Measurement and Evaluation

Notes which, where; (ii) list; (iii) outline; (iv) describe; (v) contrast; (vi) compare; (vii) explain; (viii)
discuss; (ix) develop; (x) summarise and (xi) evaluate. Likewise, Monroe and Carter divided ETQ
into 21 categories, ranging from selective recall to ...cause and effect...application of
principles...criticism... new procedure to inferential thinking.

30.3 Principles of Constructing Essay Type Test

General Hints
(i) Use ETQ where you must and avoid where you can.
(ii) Try to increase the number of questions by including more questions of restricted-response
variety in preference to extended-response variety.
(iii) Avoid giving choice, especially free options (6 out of 9 type), in ETQ to discourage teaching
and selective learning besides ensuring better comparison of students.
(iv) If only ETQ are included in a question paper, ensure wider range of difficulty level to cater
to poor, average and bright students using lower-order, middle-order and higher-order
questions.
(v) Frame each question keeping in view the stipulated time requirement.
(vi) Write explicit and clear instructions for examinees to enable them to attempt questions on
similar lines for similar goal.
Specific Hints
(i) Pinpoint the specific assessment objectives, which becomes the basis of your question.
(ii) Select content clusters from one or more content areas of syllabus which are relevant to
assessment objectives.
(iii) Use familiar and appropriate directional words that evoke the desired responses and demand
exercise of intended mental process (list, describe, compare, discuss, justify, evaluate etc.).
Avoid directional words like ‘what do you know of, ‘write short notes on’, ‘give an account
of’ etc.
(iv) Structure the question to pinpoint the area of response and delimit the scope of expected
response, by proper wording of the question.
(v) Avoid semantic difficulties by using simple, precise and unambiguous language.
(vi) Set task in the question that require students to demonstrate command of the essential
knowledge, not the factual information.
(vii) Indicate clearly part-wise marks for each question that has more than one parts, e.g. Define
germination. What are the conditions necessary for germination ? Illustrate with the help of
an experiment. (2 + 3 + 5)
(viii) Write model answer to test the efficacy of your questions. It helps improve the question if
needed.
(ix) Work out the marking scheme, indicating major value points and their corresponding marks
and the mode of deduction of marks, if any.
All the hints given above are not only useful in improving the quality of ETQ but also for
ensuring greater objectivity in grading or scoring of questions. If care is taken to observe all the
guidelines given above, most of the defects associated with ETQ can be done away with to make
these questions a more valid measure of determining pupils’ learning outcomes.

30.4 Grading of Essay Type Test

Effectiveness of ETQ depends largely on how well they can be graded. A poorly developed ETQ

346 LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY