The author and other teaching faculty take pride in their ability to write creative and challenging examination questions. Their self-assessment is based on experience and their knowledge of their subject and discipline. Although their judgment may be correct, it is done usually in the absence of deep knowledge of what is known about the…

Describes 10 objective item types which can be used to develop tests for social studies. Teachers need to develop and use a variety of test designs. Three questions must be answered in developing tests: "What do students need to know?"; "How should they demonstrate knowledge?"; and "How can I create items to assess the students' progress on these…

Four considerations that enhance the instructional importance of tests are content match, use of feedback, a flagging function, and the increasing tendency to attach sanctions and rewards to standardized test results. These sanctions are apt to force greater attention to the other three characteristics, strengthening the links between instruction…

Views teacher-made tests as a fundamental part of the educational process, defining instructional purposes, influencing what students study, and helping instructors gain perspective on their courses. Offers examples of test items that can perform these functions, while assessing knowledge and skills. (DMM)

Outlines the benefits associated with true-false and multiple-choice tests and sets forth rules for writing effective items for such tests. (FL)

Notes that essay responses allow students to display the broadest range of cognitive skills. Considers ways of improving essay exams and claims that evaluating essay questions necessitates maintaining the author's anonymity, predetermining the method of awarding points, and scoring papers in a random order. (MM)

Educators are called upon to improve the quality of classroom tests to enhance the learning of content. Less faculty concern for tests than for other features of instruction, compounded by a lack of knowing how to assess different levels of learning with test questions that measure complex processes, appear to generate poor quality classroom…

This article presents the perspective that the quality of teacher-made, small classroom tests has not improved, and may have declined in recent years. This decline may be due to the fact that teachers have come to believe that the kinds of objective items used in national standardized tests are the only item types appropriate for classroom use.…

Provides guidelines for teachers writing machine-scored examinations. Explains the use of item analysis (discrimination index) to single test items that should be improved or eliminated. Discusses validity and reliability of classroom achievement tests in contrast to norm-referenced examinations. (JHZ)