Deck 10: Measuring Complex Achievement 2

Question 1

The use of some essay questions in a classroom test will probably improve the assessment's

A)objectivity.
B)practicality.
C)reliability.
D)validity.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Deducting points for neatness on essay responses will have the greatest influence on which of the following?

A)objectivity
B)reliability
C)validity
D)writing ability

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Presenting students with several essay questions and permitting them to choose any two of them to respond to is an undesirable testing practice for which of the following reasons?

A)it encourages students to write more on each question
B)it is difficult for students to adequately prepare for the test
C)the basis of comparing students is undermined
D)students do not have an opportunity to demonstrate all that they have learned

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Which of the following would most likely improve the scoring of essay answers on a test?

A)having a second competent scorer grade the papers
B)including errors in grammar in the total score
C)looking at the student's name before reading each paper
D)reading answers of students who typically are high achieving first

Question 5

In order to assess students' ability to express themselves creatively in writing, it would be best to use which of the following?

A)an objective test of writing skill
B)extended-response essay questions
C)restricted-response essay questions
D)themes and other writing assignments

Question 6

Which of the following is a serious limitation of an essay test?

A)difficulty of construction
B)limited sampling
C)lack of validity
D)susceptibility to cheating

Question 7

For which of the following learning outcomes would objective items be better than essay questions?

A)Identifying the meaning of concepts.
B)Relating concepts to form a theory.
C)Synthesizing the arguments in favor of a proposal.
D)Using concepts in solving problems.

Question 8

Which of the following is a desirable practice for grading essay answers?

A)Grade content and spelling separately.
B)Mark an answer with a zero, if bluffing is detected.
C)Read the essays of the highest performing students first to establish the scoring standard.
D)Score a student's answer in light of what is known about his or her past achievement.

Question 9

Which of the following is useful for improving essay testing?

A)providing unlimited time for student responses
B)permitting students to choose among optional questions
C)determining the scoring procedures in advance
D)scoring the answers while looking at students' names

Question 10

A restricted-response essay question is better than an extended-response question if

A)creativity is desired in the response.
B)scoring is to be done by the rating method.
C)the task involves a global approach to problem solving.
D)specific information needs to be supplied by the student.

Question 11

One major problem in using essay questions to evaluate learning is that they are difficult to

A)administer.
B)construct.
C)interpret.
D)score.

Question 12

Which of the following test construction procedures is most likely to result in valid responses to extended-response essay questions?

A)Clearly indicate the nature of the desired answer.
B)Set brief time limits for each question to restrict "bluffing."
C)Write questions that can be answered in a few sentences.
D)Write questions that are limited to the recall of factual information, but cover a broad range of topics.

Question 13

An extended-response essay question is better than a restricted-response question if

A)administration time is limited.
B)complex learning outcomes are being assessed.
C)questions cannot be phrased clearly.
D)reliable scoring is of special importance.

Question 14

For which of the following types of learning outcomes is the essay item most useful?

A)Application
B)Comprehension
C)Knowledge
D)Synthesis

Question 15

Which of the following characteristics is shared by both objective tests and essay tests?

A)Both are efficient for measuring knowledge of specific facts.
B)Both are useful in both formative and summative assessment
C)Both provide for extensive sampling of content.
D)The reliability of scoring is high for both.

Question 16

Essay questions are more appropriate than objective items when measuring the ability to do which of the following?

A)identify the importance of information
B)integrate information
C)interpret information
D)recall information

Question 17

Essay questions are more appropriate than multiple-choice items when the learning outcome calls for which of the following?

A)development of an argument
B)identification of concepts
C)interpretation of data
D)recognition of relationships

Question 18

Which of the following is considered a sound essay grading procedure?

A)assigning points to restricted-response answers
B)using the rating method for extended-response questions
C)using a separate score for spelling errors
D)grading each student's complete paper before doing the next one

Question 19

Essay questions should be used in achievement tests when

A)a wide sampling of material is desired.
B)knowledge of factual information is stressed.
C)little time is available for scoring.
D)organizing and integrating ideas is important.

Question 20

Which of the following is a desirable practice for scoring restricted-response essay questions?

A)Give extra credit for brief answers.
B)Lower the score if bluffing is detected.
C)Prepare a model answer in advance.
D)Use the rating method of scoring.