Education – Developing assessments
Write a series of eleven test items as if you were writing a competency exam for Western Governors University students.
Your work will be graded according to the quality guidelines detailed in the readings, as indicated below under “Task.” While these guidelines are key to your success at creating test items, bear in mind that they should act as a framework for your creativity. There may be some cases where you cannot follow every guideline without violating another, so follow the guidelines as closely as possible, but allow yourself a little leeway.
For this assignment:
A. Access and read the following articles before beginning part B:
Required Reading:
Abel, M. H., & Zane, T. W. (2002). The art of item development: Creating valid, high quality test and assessment items. AMC Corporation. (Excerpts only.) See “Art of Item Development,” attached below.
Optional Reading:
Linn, R. L., & Miller, M. D. (2005). Measurement and assessment in teaching (9th ed., chap. 6–10). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson
B. Complete the following after reading the guidelines and articles noted above:
1. Select a learning objective from the mathematics and social sciences objective lists that is appropriate for each item type. (See “Objectives for Mathematics” and “Objectives for Social Sciences” attached below.)
Note: You may use the same learning objective to write more than one item of the same type. However, each item must be independent and different from the other items. For example, if you are creating an essay prompt, make sure that the learning objective you choose is suitable for writing an essay.
2. Use the appropriate item template (See various templates attached below) for each of your items. To use the templates:
a. Open the appropriate template in TaskStream.
b. Title the document Multiple-Choice, Matching, Short Answer, or Essay as appropriate and save the template in *.rtf (Rich Text Format) or *.pdf (Portable Document Format) files.
c. Follow any specific directions on the template.
d. Enter your items into the template and save the changes.
e. Submit your items as an attachment in TaskStream.
3. Indicate at the top of each item template which learning objective the item is designed to measure.
4. Write the following items:
a. Three multiple-choice items (numbered MC-1, MC-2, and MC-3)
b. Three short answer items (numbered SA-1, SA-2, and SA-3)
c. Three matching items (numbered MAT-1, MAT-2, and MAT-3)
d. Two essay items (numbered Essay-1 and Essay-2) [Note: Do not build scoring rubrics for the essay items]
5. Fill out each template completely, including objective, stem, instructions, options, and key. If necessary, include a given statement.
Task:
You will be graded on the following criteria for each item:
A. Appropriateness of the objective for the item type
B. Alignment of the item to the objective
C. Relevance of the item to a WGU competency exam
D. Overall clarity and understandability of the item
E. Absence of bias and stereotyping
F. Adherence to the guidelines in the readings for:
1. Multiple-choice items
2. Short Answer items
3. Matching items
4. Essay ite