Page 56 - DEDU504_EDUCATIONAL_MEASUREMENT_AND_EVALUATION_ENGLISH

Educational Measurement and Evaluation

Notes Another thing to be kept in view while writing questions is to prepare the answers simultaneously
because quite often the answers help in refining the questions.
5.2.9 Assembling the Question Paper
After the questions are prepared, they are to be assembled in a question paper form. For this,
instructions are to be written. General instructions for the paper may be given on top whereas
instructions for specific questions may be given just before the questions.
The order of questions is also to be decided while assembling the question paper. Sometimes it is
according to the forms of questions, i.e., objective type questions may be put first, then very short
answer, short answer and essay type questions or it may be according to the content as in the case
of a language question paper where we may have structure questions first, then questions on unseen
passage and then composition questions.
The assembling and editing of the question paper is important from the point of view of
administration. For example, if the question is divided into two sections, one of which is to be
collected within a specific time limit, clear instructions to do so should be mentioned and also the
arrangement of questions should be such that both the sections are easily demarcated.

5.2.10 Preparing the Scoring Key and the Marking Scheme
Scoring key is to be prepared for objective type questions and the marking scheme for other questions.
The scoring key gives the alphabet of the correct answer and the marks carried by each question.
The marking scheme gives the expected outline answer and the value points for each aspect of the
answer.
Detailed instructions for marking are also worked out, e.g., in marking compositions, etc. It is
specified as to how many marks are to be deducted for spelling mistakes or structural mistakes, or
if the composition is to be graded, how it is to be done and on what basis.
The detailed marking scheme is necessary to ensure consistency and uniformity in scoring by different
examiners. In other words it ensures reliability of scoring.

5.2.11 Preparing Question-wise Analysis
After the question paper and marking scheme are finished, it is desirable to prepare a question-wise
analysis. This analysis helps in tallying the questions in the test with the blue print, It also enables
us to know the strengths and weaknesses of the test better, eg., through the analysis we can know
how many topics have been covered in the syllabus, what is the difficulty level of each question and
what specifications are being tested by each question. The analysis is done on following points :
(i) Number of the question.
(ii) Objective tested by the question.
(iii) Specification on which the question is based.
(iv) Topic covered.
(v) Form of the question.
(vi) Marks allotted.
(vii) Approximate time required for answering.
(viii) Estimated difficulty level.

Standardized testing has received criticism from psychologists, educators and
parents. Criticism of academic testing often focuses on linguistic biases against
minorities, the testing methods that may not work for all types of students and
negative reinforcement of lower performing students.

50 LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY