Chapter 3: Objective testing doc

General principles of multiple choice items IV.. Important guidelines of multiple choice items... Subjective & Objective testing Subjective & Objective terms the scoring methods  All

Chapter 3:

Objective testing

I Subjective & Objective testing

II Objective tests

III General principles of multiple choice items

IV Important guidelines of multiple choice items

I Subjective & Objective testing

 Subjective & Objective terms the scoring methods

 All tests subjectively constructed by the test writer

 Objective tests: only one correct answer

+ scored mechanically by computer

+ responsible for testing a large number

of candidates

 Reading, vocabulary & grammar objective methods

 Writing & speaking  subjective methods

 Objective tests  requiring more careful

preparation

 Pro Duong Thieu Tong:

+ reliability of obj tests: test writers

+ reliability of subj tests: test markers

Some criticism

(1) Obj tests: simpler to answer than subj tests

+ the degree of difficulty determined by the test constructors

+ no indication that all objective tests - easy

+ carefully selected and constructed & rewritten where necessary

+ setting the pass-mark or the cutting - off point depending on the tester’s subjective judgment

or on a particular external situation

+ pre-tested before being administrated on a

wider basis

(2) the multiple choice type encourages

guessing

+ four or five alternatives for each item 

sufficient to reduce the possibility of guessing + In reality, candidates rarely make wild guess; most base their guessing on partial knowledge

Prof Duong Thieu Tong

 If Sts don’t prepare well for the test & the tests are difficult unable to make guess

 long tests unable to guess correctly

 reliability: 0 candidates guess easily

 reliability: high Sts’ guessing (+ score)

 educational experts in the modern time:

prevention of guessing & correction for

guessing

 Obj tests: gram., voc.& phonology

 A poor objective test: poor written items, irrelevant areas or skills (as they are

testable), not communicative skills

 Objective tests cannot

- test students’ ability to communicate

- evaluate their actual performance

 A good classroom test: objective &

subjective items

III General principles of

multiple choice items

 One of the most widely useful types of items

 The most time-consuming item to construct

 Not testing language as communication

 A useful means of teaching & testing various learning situation (esp gram & vocabulary not ability to use the language)

 Measuring Sts’ ability to recognize correct

grammatical forms helping both T &Ss to identify areas of difficulty

The number of options

- public tests: 5 options

- classroom tests (esp grammar) : 4 options

- vocabulary & reading : 5 options

The number of options varying

- the level of difficulty

- the language areas being tested

- the purpose of the test

Multiple choice items

- long enough reliable assessment

- short enough practicable

IV Important guidelines

of multiple choice items

(1) Each item: only one absolutely correct

answer

(2) Only one feature at a time: being tested

(3) Each option: grammatically correct when

placed in the stem.

(4) a grammar item not contain other

grammatical features as difficult as the area being tested, and a vocabulary

item not contain more difficult semantic features in the stem than the area being tested.

(5) Items: as brief and as clear as

possible

(6) Items: arranged in rough order of

increasing difficulty

V Components of multiple choice items

1 The stem

2 The correct option

3 The distractors

1 The stem

and concisely

statement; & (iii) a question.

have otherwise to be repeated in each option

2 The correct option

(a) avoid confusing students by having a different number of correct options for each item

(b) the correct option: approximately the same length as the distractors

3 The distractors

- attractive & plausible

- grammatically correct when standing by itself