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Make Better Objective Tests

Make Better Objective Tests. Bill Cerbin. “ Take Five: Strategies to Improve Teaching and Learning” - January 19, 2010 Hosted by the UW-L Center for Advancing Teaching and Learning – website: http://www.uwlax.edu/catl. Tip 1 – Create a Test Plan. A Test Plan keeps track of number of items

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Make Better Objective Tests

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  1. Make Better Objective Tests Bill Cerbin “Take Five: Strategies to Improve Teaching and Learning” - January 19, 2010Hosted by the UW-L Center for Advancing Teaching and Learning – website: http://www.uwlax.edu/catl

  2. Tip 1 – Create a Test Plan A Test Plan keeps track of • number of items • content or topic of item • learning objective of item 1 “Take Five: Strategies to Improve Teaching and Learning” - January 19, 2010Hosted by the UW-L Center for Advancing Teaching and Learning – website: http://www.uwlax.edu/catl

  3. Test Plan Example Test Plan

  4. Why bother? A test plan can help you match what you test to what you taught (content validity) use items appropriate for learning objectives prevent over- or under-representing topics

  5. Write items while the class period is still fresh Write matching pairs of items—two that test the same thing. Use one for the test and one for review or practice 2 Tip 2 – Write Items After Class “Take Five: Strategies to Improve Teaching and Learning” - January 19, 2010Hosted by the UW-L Center for Advancing Teaching and Learning – website: http://www.uwlax.edu/catl

  6. STEM of the question Short, sharply focused A complete, direct question or a statement that needs to be completed Avoid negative construction, i.e., which one is not . . . 3 Tip 3 – Ten Rules for Writing Good Test Items “Take Five: Strategies to Improve Teaching and Learning” - January 19, 2010Hosted by the UW-L Center for Advancing Teaching and Learning – website: http://www.uwlax.edu/catl

  7. More Rules for Writing Good Test Items RESPONSE ALTERNATIVES Should be brief Grammatically parallel and consistent with the stem Roughly equal in length Avoid no-exception words—all, none, always, never Avoid all of or none of the above Vary the number of response alternatives as appropriate Vary the position of the best answer

  8. Items that test complex learning Prediction Identify a principle or theory Assertion-reason You-are-the-teacher ConcepTests Multiple choice + short written justification 4 Tip 4 – Test Complex Learning Objectives “Take Five: Strategies to Improve Teaching and Learning” - January 19, 2010Hosted by the UW-L Center for Advancing Teaching and Learning – website: http://www.uwlax.edu/catl

  9. Prediction

  10. Identify Principle or Theory

  11. Assertion-Reason

  12. You are the teacher

  13. ConcepTests

  14. Use feedback from Fellow instructors Students—review test results with students and look for patterns of confusion or complaints Item Analysis Item difficulty Item discrimination 5 Tip 5 – Use Feedback to Improve Test Items “Take Five: Strategies to Improve Teaching and Learning” - January 19, 2010Hosted by the UW-L Center for Advancing Teaching and Learning – website: http://www.uwlax.edu/catl

  15. Summary/Questions Summary • Write a Test Plan • Write matching items after class • Follow rules for writing good items • Use items that measure complex learning • Use feedback from colleagues, students and item analysis Questions—anyone, anyone? “Take Five: Strategies to Improve Teaching and Learning” - January 19, 2010Hosted by the UW-L Center for Advancing Teaching and Learning – website: http://www.uwlax.edu/catl

  16. Contact information Bill Cerbin Director CATL cerbin.will@uwlax.edu 785-6881 184 Wing

  17. Resources Workshop opportunities: Contact Bill Cerbin, if you want to schedule a presentation or working session about writing better objective tests (e.g., for a department, program, or a few interested instructors) Writing Better Objective Tests, Bill Cerbin. Handouts from campus workshop http://catl.typepad.com/blog/2009/11/writing-better-objectives-tests.html Revised Test Scoring Display and Item Analysis. This handout describes the item analysis available when you have your tests scored by UW-L IT. Ask for it at the IT Support Center 103 Wing. How to Prepare Better Multiple-Choice Test Items: Guidelines for University Faculty Steven J. Burton, et al. Helpful guide that covers a lot of multiple choice test issues. http://testing.byu.edu/info/handbooks/betteritems.pdf National Board of Medical Examiners Test Writer’s Manualhttp://www.nbme.org/publications/item-writing-manual-download.html This one is for fun—to boggle your mind.

  18. References Slavin, R. E. (2000). Educational psychology: Theory and practice, 6th edition. Allyn and Bacon: Boston, MA. Davis, B. G. (2009). Tools for teaching, 2nd edition. Jossey Bass Publisher: San Francisco. Stiggins, R. J. (1994). Student-Centered Classroom Assessment. Macmillan Publisher: NY. Wiggins, G. (1998). Understanding by design. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development: Alexandria, VA. Revised Test Scoring Display and Item Analysis. Available from UW-La Crosse IT Support Center.

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