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

A discussion is presented which includes the following topics: purposes of testing, planning your test, instructional objectives, testing understanding, testing computation, testing applications and problem solving, evaluation and diagnosis, marking, and communicating with parents. (MK)

A videotape was shown to 648 eighth and ninth grade technology education students. Eight groups of classes received different treatments: test announcements before or after viewing and administration of tests or review of material. Scores on teacher-made tests improved only when announcement was followed by time-on-task learning or the promised…

Computer activities can help children learn fundamental principles and collect information for use in problem solving. Because standardized tests do not accurately measure students' problem-solving skills and teacher-made tests are often unreliable, educators should peruse the "Mental Measurements Yearbook" series for more appropriate…

Discusses the advantages and disadvantages of multiple-choice tests, steps in developing good questions, and common pitfalls. Argues that carefully constructed multiple-choice questions can assess a wide variety of skills including higher-order thinking skills. Suggests that creating a good multiple-choice test starts with a description of the…

Investigated a theoretical framework describing the role of classroom assessment in student effort and achievement using data from four classroom assessments in each of two third-grade classrooms, including interviews with 32 students. In general, the expected positive relationships were found among perceptions of task, self-efficacy, effort, and…

According to advocate Robert J. Marzano, standards are the only policy mandate that can significantly improve student achievement. The standards identification process was clumsy, but started a national conversation about desirable subject-area knowledge requirements. Standards content should be cut by two-thirds; teacher-made tests can be…

The Monte Carlo Quiz (MCQ), a single-item quiz, is so named because chance, with the roll of a die, determines (a) whether the quiz is administered; (b) the specific article, chapter, or section of the assigned reading that the quiz covers; and (c) the particular question that makes up the quiz. The MCQ encourages both punctual completion and deep…

Standardized college-level tests of thinking have serious drawbacks, but they can be used effectively to compare results with other teachers or researchers and to suggest possible ways of measuring aspects of thinking in faculty-constructed tests. Faculty-designed tests should provide opportunities for students to use the important knowledge and…

Commercial achievement tests often provide limited instructional guidance and seldom provide feedback specific to any given classroom. The most instructionally relevant achievement tests are those developed by an individual teacher for use with a particular class. This digest describes the steps of test construction and presents suggestions for…

Diagnostic testing can provide specific information about student skills as a decision-making aid to teachers in prescribing instruction, identifying needs for remediation, determining effective instructional materials and methods, and ultimately, improving student learning. Diagnostic testing, as viewed here, includes individual and group…

This module developed by the Research Applications for Teaching (RAFT) project assists the preservice teacher in constructing test items to better measure the outcomes of instructional objectives. Student teachers are also assisted in the interpretation of results of a student's performance on a standardized test. Students also…

A process of reviewing teacher-made tests was developed to implement the court-approved subplan for a "procedure for continual quality control checks on teacher-constructed tests." The implementation process includes six steps: (1) distribution to teachers of Resource Materials Excerpted from Classroom Test Skills - a package to increase…

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)

This descriptive study compared the assessment practices of 10 elementary school teachers over a 11 weeks to those of Ohio's fourth and sixth grade science Proficiency Tests. Findings show that the assessment practices of these teachers were not aligned with Ohios proficiency test. The tests used in participants' classrooms contained a…