Page 356 - DEDU504_EDUCATIONAL_MEASUREMENT_AND_EVALUATION_ENGLISH

Educational Measurement and Evaluation

Notes 30.8 Summary

• An essay test is an assessment technique that requires students to thoroughly respond to a
question or prompt by developing, organizing, and writing an original composition. The
purpose of an essay test is to assess students abilities to construct a logical, cohesive, and
persuasive writing piece.
• Use ETQ where you must and avoid where you can.
• Try to increase the number of questions by including more questions of restricted-response
variety in preference to extended-response variety.
• 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.
• Pinpoint the specific assessment objectives, which becomes the basis of your question.
• Select content clusters from one or more content areas of syllabus which are relevant to
assessment objectives.
• 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.
• Structure the question to pinpoint the area of response and delimit the scope of expected
response, by proper wording of the question.
• Effectiveness of ETQ depends largely on how well they can be graded. A poorly developed
ETQ cannot be salvaged by the most carefully devised method of grading. Improper grading,
however can spoil the well-constructed essay question.
• It is also called the ‘Point score method’, in which a model answer is broken into specific,
value points each of which is given proportional weightage in the allotment of marks.
• It is also called ‘Holistic or rating method’ Ideal answer is split into component parts.
Students’ responses are graded on the quality continuum, which has a number of standards
or anchor points. Rater reads the response, forms a general impression and assigns a rating,
using some standard on quality continuum. Response can be graded on a 3- or 5-point scale
like excellent, good, average, satisfactory and poor.
• Such tests induce good study habits in the pupils.
• The guess work can be eliminated to large extent.
• Such tests are easier to prepare and administer.
• By this type of tests it is possible to measure all degrees of comprehensiveness and accuracy.
• Such tests can be used by all type of schools.
• At present new type of tests are taking the place of traditional or Essay type of tests. This
trend is gaining importance because traditional type of examinations suffer from following
defects.
• Defects from the Point of View of Students
• Defects of Essay-type Tests from the Point of View of the Teacher
• Defects from the Point of View of Achievement

30.9 Keywords

• Extend : To make an idea cover more areas or operate in more places
• Restrict : To control something with rules or laws
• Essay : a short piece of writing by a student as part of a course of study.

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