Advantages of Using Essay Test

1. Most advantageous when assessing complex learning outcomes

2. Are relatively easy to construct

3. Emphasize communication skills as a fundamental performance in all areas of complex academic disciplines

4. Cannot be answered by simply recognizing the correct response

5. Do not permit guessing (although students may try to bluff)

Essay tests enable instructors to see how students select, organize and evaluate ideas and apply them to answering the question.

Essays are not efficient ways however, to get at factual matter, associative learning and other lower level cognitive objectives.

A well-constructed test will sample a wide range of course objectives at varying levels of cognitive function.

Limitations of Essay Test

1. They are difficult to score.

2. Their scores are less reliable than well written objective tests.

3. They provide a very limited sample of the content in the typical unit of study.

4. The score is influenced by the readers overall impression of the student.

5. They do not provide a good situation in which to develop good writing skills.

Reliability Concerns of Essay Tests

• They are somewhat less reliable than objective tests.
• Studies show factors like time of day, number of papers being read, mood of the reader, where the paper is in the stack etc. all can change the grade given to the test.
• The paper read just before a student’s paper may influence the outcome of the grading process (both good and bad)( Bracht and Hopkins,1968)
• A reader reading the same paper a second time is likely not to give it the same grade. ( Ashburn,1938)
• Expectations that an instructor has for a student’s performance influences scoring (Chase, 1979).
• Physical elements of the paper (handwriting, erasures, etc. can influence grading outcomes (James, 1927: Chase, 1983).

The use of only a few selected topics increases the possibility that students may get very high or very low, scores by the luck of the topic draw.

There is no data to support that students do better on essay test than objective test.

Making Essay Tests Better

Restrict essay to assess outcomes that require complex higher-level cognitive functions.

1. Compare and contrast X and Y in regards to given Qualities.

2. Present argument for and against a given issue.

3. Illustrate how a principle explains facts.

4. Illustrate cause and effect.

5. Describe an application of a rule or principle.

6. Evaluate the adequacy, relevance, or implication of an arrangement, or materials
   and so on.

7. Form new inferences from data.

8. Organize the parts of a situation, event, or mechanism and show how they interrelate into a whole.

9. Sort out the relevant parts as distinct entities from a total situation, event, or mechanism.

Other Concerns

1. Limit the breadth of the essay question—focus the question

2. It should be tied to a single objective.

3. If the question is too broad it cannot be answered in a short time period and grading it becomes very difficult.

Example POORLY WRITTEN QUESTIONS

• What were the conditions that led up to the Civil War?

• All writers should be asked to respond to the same set of test items.

• Giving students choices, although appearing to be fairer actually creates dozens of different tests, makes comparisons impossible and does not allow for a common grading scale.

• Grammar and spelling should only be taken into account in the grading if they are being taught as an objective in the course.—even then materials from proof reading need to be available to students

• Directions need to be crystal clear and should include what type of writing is being sought (outlines, complete prose, lists).

The question should lead the student toward the answer that the instructor wants.

Example POORLY WRITTEN:

Why does an internal combustion engine work?

Example WELL WRITTEN

Explain the function of fuel, distributor, and the operation of the cylinder’s components in making the internal combustion engine run.

Scoring Essay Tests

List the amount of points that each question is worth to allow students to grasp the stature or importance of each question.

1. Conceal students names.

2. Use a computer lab if available and have students all use the same font and double spacing.

3. Before reading the papers skim through a few to get the overall feel of the papers and to get a sense of what a typical response might be, for the extensiveness of the responses and a sense of what questions they may have had difficulty with.

4. Read only one item across all papers before going on the next item. This will help instructors apply the same criteria across all papers. Also the reader has only one criterion (one answer) to keep in mind.

5. Reshuffle the stack of papers after reading through each item. This insures that no one paper will suffer from always following a good paper or reap the benefits of following a bad paper.

6. Use a prescribed reading procedure. Either the "key procedure" or the "ranking procedure".

Grading Procedures

In the key procedure the reader lays out the ideas that the student should have developed in a complete answer, along with the number of points the student will get for each component of the answer. Research has shown that this is a more reliable score process than having no prescribed procedure.

In the ranking procedure the reader goes through the pile on the first question and lays the paper in 5-7 piles depending on their quality. Grades are assigned relative to the order of the piles (best to least)

Student Bluffing Characteristics on Essay Tests

1. Answering every question even though they do not know the answer.

2. Restating the question as a declarative statement and elaborating on the statement usually does this.

3. Blatant agreement. If the issue is important to the instructor this sometimes can earn a few points.

4. A broad generalization without elaboration.

5. Dropping names with no details. "According to Senator…"

6. Emphasize the importance of the question without really answering it. "This is a vital question in our overpopulated world today…"

7. Writing on a related topic in hopes that there will be some cross over earning some points. "The situation between the Israelis and the Palestinians is much like the situation…"

8. Writing in very general statements that have a ring of truth to them and then arguing for points.

Helping Students Prepare and Write Essay Exams

1. Begin their essays with a true declarative sentence that lays out the direction of their argument and treatise.

2. Never begin with an apology.

3. Students should read all of the test questions before beginning to write. This will provide an overview, stimulate memory and allow for assessment of the time needed for each question.

4. Students should underline the key verbs that clarify what type of answer the instructor is looking for " compare, summarize, contrast"

5. Encourage legible handwriting.

6. Encourage good grammar and organization of ideas.

7. Give a practice test before the first real test to help students know what they need to do to write an effective essay.

Faculty wanting further information about any of these topics are encouraged to contact Terry Doyle at doylet@ferris.edu

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