ERIC Number: EJ1291102
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2021-Apr
Pages: 14
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1694-609X
EISSN: N/A
Changing the Quality of Teachers' Written Tests by Implementing an Authentic Assessment Teachers' Training Program
Villarroel, Verónica; Bruna, Daniela; Brown, Gavin T. L.; Bustos, Claudio
International Journal of Instruction, v14 n2 p987-1000 Apr 2021
This case study aimed to change the construction of teachers' written tests so that items were designed to assess competencies in an authentic and challenging way. A small group of five psychology teachers participated in 10 sessions of an authentic assessment faculty-training program, to learn to assess problem-solving competencies for situations typically faced by professionals in the workplace. The authentic assessment training emphasized the incorporation of three main characteristics: (1) inclusion of a realistic context, (2) measurement of higher order thinking skills, and (3) development of evaluative judgment, concerning the quality of their own performance. Post-training the items´ construction was analysed, according to their type and authenticity. Mixed effects logistic regression showed a statistically significant increase in open-response items, and two-way ANOVA indicated that cognitive challenge improved. The results showed written tests had: a) more open-response items of higher cognitive complexity, b) fewer items requiring closed, memorized responses, c) more use of realistic contexts to measure knowledge in a situated way, and d) improvement in curriculum alignment of tests and greater consistency in measuring competencies. These advances validate the authentic-assessment training program for a better written assessment design.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, College Faculty, Teacher Made Tests, Performance Based Assessment, Student Evaluation, Training, Thinking Skills, Problem Solving, Evaluative Thinking, Test Items, Test Construction
Gate Association for Teaching and Education. e-mail: iji@ogu.edu.tr; Web site: http://e-iji.net/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Chile
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A