• 9:00am, Tuesday, October 20

“I can’t believe it! I just can’t believe it!” Donna thought to

herself. “How can he do this to us?” Donna was becoming
more and more upset by the second, as were many of the
other students in Mr. Smith’s government class. They were
taking the midterm exam, on which 50 percent of their grade
would be based. Before the exam, the students spent two
classes discussing this issue. All other classes that semester
dealt with a rather mechanical review of the federal
government. The exam consisted of a single essay item:
Why should presidents be limited or not be limited to two
consecutive terms in office? (100 points)
Why should presidents be limited or not
be limited to two consecutive terms in
office? (100 points)
In class and in your assigned readings, arguments
both for and against giving presidents the
opportunity to complete more than two consecutive
terms in office were presented. Take a stand either
for or against two consecutive terms in office. Use
at least three points made in class or in your
readings to support your position. Both the content
and organization of your argument will be
considered in assigning your final grade. Use no
more than one page for your answer. (28 points)
THE ESSAY TEST
Definition

Essay test is a test that requires the

student to compose responses,
usually lengthy up to several
paragraphs.
An essay item is one for which the student
supplies, rather that selects, the correct
answer. The student must compose, often
extensive, to a question for which no single
response or pattern of responses can be cited
as correct to the exclusion of all other
answers.

The accuracy and quality of such response

can often be judged only by a person skilled
and informed in the subject are being tested.
Essay test measure Higher Level Thinking

Questions that test higher level processes such

as

• Analysis
• Synthesis
• Evaluation
• Creativity
Distinctive Feature of Essay Test
The distinctive feature of essay type test is
the “freedom of response”. The Learners are
free to select, relate and present ideas in their
own words.
 Types of Essay Test

Restricted Extended
Response Response
 1. Restricted Response Essay Questions
Restricted response
• Usually limits both the content and the response by
restricting the scope of the topic to be discussed.
• Useful for measuring learning outcomes requiring
interpretation and application of data in a specific area.

Restricted-response essay test items pose specific

problems for which students must recall and organize the
proper information, derive defensible conclusions, and
express them within a stated time or length.
Example of Restricted Response

• 1. Describe two situations why wearing of helmet

is very important in driving a single motorcycle.

• 2. List the major political similarities and

differences between US participation in the
Korean War and World war II. Limit your answer
to one page. Your score will depend on accuracy,
organization, and brevity.
Advantages of Restricted Response Questions

• Restricted response question is more structured.

• Measure specific learning outcomes.
• Restricted response provide for more ease of
assessment.
• Any outcomes measured by an objective
interpretive exercise can be measured by a
restricted response essay question.
Limitations of Restricted Response Questions

Restricted response question restricts the scope of the

topic to be discussed and indicating the nature of the
desired response which limits student opportunity to
demonstrate these behavior.
2. Extended Response Essay Questions
Extended response question allows student
to select information that they think is
pertinent, to organize the answer in
accordance with their best judgment, and to
integrate and evaluate ideas as they think
suitable.
They do not set limits on the length or exact
content to be discussed.
ExampelsoE
fxetndedResponseEssayQuesoitns

1. Imagine that you are the new Mayor of

Ozamiz city. Write a story about how you
will transform the image of the city.
2. Identify as many diff. ways to generate
electricity as you can. Give the advantage
and disadvantage of each and how might
be used to meet the electrical power
requirement in your city.
Advantages of Extended Response
Questions

• This type of essay item is mostly useful in

measuring learning outcomes at the higher
cognitive levels of educational objectives
such as analysis, synthesis and evaluation
levels. 
• They expose the individual differences in
attitudes, values and creative ability.
Limitations of Extended Response Questions

• They are insufficient for measuring knowledge of

factual materials because they call for extensive
details in selected content area at a time.
• Scoring such type of responses is usually difficult
and unreliable since the examinees have free will
in the array of factual information of varying
degree of correctness, coherence and
expression. 
The following are some of the learning outcomes for
which essay items may be put to use:

• Analyze relationships.

EXAMPLE: The colors blue and gray are related to cool

temperatures. What are some other colors related to?
What effect would these colors have on a picture you
might draw?

• Compare and contrast positions

EXAMPLE: Compare and contrast two characters from

stories you have read to demonstrate how the
characters responded differently 10 conditions in the
stories
• State necessary assumptions

EXAMPLE: When Columbus landed in

San Salvador, what did he assume about
the land he had discovered? Were his
assumptions correct?
• Identify appropriate conclusions.

• Explain cause-and-effect relations.

• Formulate hypotheses.

EXAMPLE:
What can you predict about a coming
storm by observing clouds? Explain what
it is about the clouds that helps you
predict the rain.
• Organize data to support a viewpoint

EXAMPLE: On the board you will find the numbers

of new homes built and autos purchased for each
month over the past year. Use these data to
support the viewpoint that our economy is either
growing or shrinking.

• Point out strengths and weaknesses.

EXAMPLE:
List a strength and a limitation of each of the
following musical instruments: oboe, trumpet, tuba,
violin.
• Integrate data from several sources.

EXAMPLE: Imagine you are celebrating your birthday with

nine of your friends. Two pizzas arrive but each is cut into
four pieces. What problem do you have? What method
would you choose for assuring that all gets a piece of the
pizza?

• Evaluate the quality or worth of an item, product, or

action.

EXAMPLE: Give four factors that should he considered in

choosing a balanced meal from diet basic food groups.
Suggestions for Writing and Using Essay Items
1. Identify mental processes to be measured (e.g.,
application, analysis, decision-making).

Poor Item: Criticize the following speech by our president.

Better Item: Consider the following presidential speech.

Focus on the section dealing with economic policy and
discriminate between factual statements and opinions. List
these statements separately, label them, and indicate
whether each statement is or not consistent with the
president’s overall economic policy.
2. Unambiguously identify the student’s task.

Poor Item: Discuss the value of behavioral objectives.

Better Item: Behavioral objectives have enjoyed increased

popularity in education over the past several years. The
advantages and disadvantages of behavioral objectives
have been discussed in your text and in class. Take a
position for or against the use of behavioral objectives in
education and support your position with at least three of
the arguments covered in class or in the text.
Poor Item: What were the forces that led to the outbreak of
the Civil War?

Better Item: Compare and contrast the positions of the

North and South at the outbreak of the Civil War. Include in
your discussion economic conditions, foreign policies,
political sentiments, and social conditions.
3. Begin essay questions with key words (e.g.,
“compare”, “predict”, “give reasons for”).

Poor Item: List three reasons behind America’s withdrawal

from Vietnam.

Better Item: After more than 10 years of involvement, the

US withdrew from Vietnam in 1975. Predict what would
have happened if America had not withdrawn at that time
and had not significantly increased its military presence
above 1972 levels.
4. Require evidence for controversial questions.

Poor Item: What laws should Congress pass to improve

the medical care of all citizens in the United States?

Better Item: Some feel that the cost of all medical care
should be borne by the federal government. Do you agree
or disagree? Support your position with at least three
logical arguments.
5. Avoid optional items.
6. Establish reasonable time and/or page
limits.
7. Restrict essay items to that which cannot
be easily measured via multiple-choice
items.
8. Relate items to an objective on the test
blueprint
Advantages Of Essay Item

• Most effective in assessing complex

learning outcomes.
• Relatively easy to construct and does
not take much time.
Advantages Of Essay Item
• Emphasize essential communication skills in complex
academic disciplines.
• It does not encourage guessing and cheating during
testing.
• The freedom of response allows the student to express
himself in his own words.
• Essay  tests  promotes  the  development  of  problem-
solving skills.
• It helps students to improve their writing skills such as
writing speed.
Advantages Of Essay Questions
• It  encourages  creativity  by  allowing 
their  own unique  way. 
• It is easy and economical to administer.
• It encourages  good study habits in
students.
• It can be used to measure in-depth
knowledge especially in a restricted subject
matter area.
Disadvantages of Essay Questions

• Difficult to score.
• Scores are unreliable.
 Disadvantages of Essay Questions
• Limited sample of total instructional content.
• Bluffing
• Grading of essay tests is time-consuming.
• Subjective scoring of essay questions.
•  Essay  questions  do  not  cover  the  course  content
and  the objectives as comprehensively as possible.
Disadvantages of Essay Questions

• Evaluating essay questions without adequate attention to

the learning outcomes is just like
“three blind men appraising an elephant” .
One teacher stresses factual content, one organization of
ideas, and another writing skill.
Essay Test Questions
When should they be used?

Essay test items are most appropriate when:

1. Instructional objectives specify high-level cognitive
processes. Essay test items require supplying
information rather than simply recognizing
information.

2. Relatively few test items (students) need grading.

One recommendation is to use only one or two
essay questions in conjunction with objective items

3. Test security is a consideration.

Thank You
To Increase Accuracy and Consistency in Scoring
Essay Tests

• Specify the response length.

• Use several restricted-response essay items

instead of one extended response item.
• Prepare a scoring scheme in which you specify
beforehand all ingredients necessary to
achieve each of the grades that could be
assigned.
Suggestion For Scoring Essay Question
• Chose either the analytical or holistic
(global-quality) method.

Analytical Scoring:
This scoring method requires that the instructor
develop an ideal response and create a scoring
key or guide. The scoring key provides an
absolute standard for determining the total points
awarded for a response. Student responses are
compared to the scoring standard and not to the
responses of their classmates.
Suggestion For Scoring Essay Question

Holistic Scoring:
The reader forms an impression of the overall quality of a
response and then transforms that impression into a
score or grade. The score represents the quality of a
response in relation to a relative standard such as other
students in the class.
Suggestion For Scoring Essay Question
• Score the responses question-
by-question rather than student-
by-student.
• Disassociate the identity of
students from their responses
during the grading process.
• Determine in advance what
aspects of the response will or
will not be judged in scoring.
Thank you !!!