Sunday, March 09, 2014

Easy way to mark test paper

This website allows a teacher to mark test papers from students using plain paper OMR. It can help the teacher to reduce the marking load, especially for regular tests.
http://c-omr.com/

Here are some tips on how to write good multiple choice questions:
http://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/writing-good-multiple-choice-test-questions/

Multiple choice test questions, also known as items, can be an effective and efficient way to assess learning outcomes. Multiple choice test items have several potential advantages:
Versatility: Multiple choice test items can be written to assess various levels of learning outcomes, from basic recall to application, analysis, and evaluation.  Because students are choosing from a set of potential answers, however, there are obvious limits on what can be tested with multiple choice items. For example, they are not an effective way to test students’ ability to organize thoughts or articulate explanations or creative ideas.
Reliability: Reliability is defined as the degree to which a test consistently measures a learning outcome. Multiple choice test items are less susceptible to guessing than true/false questions, making them a more reliable means of assessment. The reliability is enhanced when the number of MC items focused on a single learning objective is increased.  In addition, the objective scoring associated with multiple choice test items frees them from problems with scorer inconsistency that can plague scoring of essay questions.
Validity: Validity is the degree to which a test measures the learning outcomes it purports to measure. Because students can typically answer a multiple choice item much more quickly than an essay question, tests based on multiple choice items can typically focus on a relatively broad representation of course material, thus increasing the validity of the assessment.
The key to taking advantage of these strengths, however, is construction of good multiple choice items.

2 comments:

ron said...

Multiple Choice answers is not a reliable method to test knowledge or skills.

It may be good for a game like Jeoprody.

Multiple choice answers can be confusing as the answers may be too narrow and it encourages candidates to gamble ( tikam, tikam )using process of elimination.

Ultimately we want candidates to learn and the ability to recall is just one dimension. The ability to articulate and to present sound analysis has a greater effect on life long learning.

It is also ineffective to apply rubrics in Multiple Choice answers.

Marking papers is a tedious affair but only if we create ineffective assessment tools. Automating marking removes the person. Learning & educating is all about the person and being connected with the person.

Tan Kin Lian said...

I have used multiple choice questions for tests of undergraduates taking my course in the university. I find these tests to be useful to assess various levels of learning outcomes, from basic recall to application, analysis, and evaluation. It depends on how well the questions and choices are designed.
If the questions are badly designed, the MCQ is not a good method, as pointed out by Veronica But, if they are well designed, they can challenge the students and assess their understanding of the subject.



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