Creating tests is crucial to evaluating students’ grasp of course material and their degree of skill in utilizing what they have learned. There are key considerations that teachers should factor in when designing classroom tests. These are the current stage of course content, where the teacher is heading or the goal of the assessment, and how to achieve the objectives of the assessment (DeLuca et al., 2018). More importantly, teachers must be aware of validity and reliability and the lack of bias while selecting and utilizing testing methods. Validity of content indicates the extent to which test items are appropriate and representational of the assignments deemed by the instructor to reflect their aims and goals (DeLuca et al., 2018). Reliability relates to the uniformity of the assessment. At the same time, bias arises when elements in the testing technique skew a student’s achievement due to personal traits such as race, gender, or socioeconomic status (DeLuca et al., 2018). Validity and reliability are linked to the methods the teacher uses to instruct learners.
Learners can be motivated and empowered to flourish as agents of their education if they are assessed appropriately. However, assessment can lead to extreme anxiety in many learners, which is complicated by the tests being problematic to plan effectively and grade and laborious (Posamentier & Smith, 2020). These factors underscore the importance of using different questions when assessing students. Typically, teachers can use at least seven types of examination questions. These comprise true/false, multiple-choice, matching, essay, short answer, oral, and computational (Tracy, 2017). In addition, teachers must be familiar with the features of a broad range of classroom testing methods. Using different questions enables teachers to tailor different subjects and competencies according to student attributes.
References
DeLuca, C., Valiquette, A., Coombs, A., LaPointe-McEwan, D., & Luhanga, U. (2018). Teachers’ approaches to classroom assessment: A large-scale survey. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 25(4), 355-375. Web.
Posamentier, A. S., & Smith, B. (2020). Teaching secondary school mathematics: Techniques and enrichment. Pearson Education.
Tracy, K. (2017). The international encyclopedia of language and social interaction. Wiley-Blackwell.