Effective Testing

Instructors' most thankless and perhaps most difficult task is to test and assess student performance. Yet it is also a vital task. A well-designed test gives a good measure of how well students are doing in mastering a subject. It can help an instructor identify deficiencies-in student skills and understandings, but also in the instructor's delivery of course material. An effective test can also motivate students to strive for excellence.

So how does one create a well-designed test? Identify your instructional goals, including the content you want students to master and the skills you want them to acquire. The test's questions should measure whether the students have accomplished these goals. The questions should not be biased or ambiguous. And they should evaluate higher-order learning skills, including students' ability to apply knowledge.

Some of the most effective advice about testing and grading is simply a matter of common sense.

1. Test what is covered in class and in the reading.

2. Create tests that are appropriate for your students' knowledge and sophistication.

3. Discuss the test format in advance.

4. Update tests frequently.

5. Combine a variety of testing methods. These might include multiple choice questions, true-false questions, matching exercises, and short-answer and essay questions.

6. Write questions that involve skills other than recall.

7. Grade and return tests promptly.