module 7 essay - usf college of education ·...
TRANSCRIPT
Just like with objec7ve items, essay items can be wri=en well or poorly. We will discuss the strengths and weaknesses of essay items and how to write good items.
But first we will take a look at some examples.
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Here is an example of one essay item. Think about this item.
Here is another example of an essay item tes7ng the same content. Now, think about this item compared to the previous one.
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For an essay item, the student is asked to construct a response to a ques7on, for which no single response or pa=ern of responses can be cited as correct, to the exclusion of all other answers.
The well-‐constructed essay item should aim to test complex cogni7ve skills by requiring the student to organize, integrate, and synthesize knowledge to use informa7on to solve novel problems, or to be original and innova7ve in problem solving.
The accuracy and quality of such a response can oJen be judged only by a person skilled and informed in the subject area being tested.
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Essay items have advantages.
Essay items are effec7ve in assessing complex learning outcomes. Essay items are appropriate tools in measuring higher cogni7ve skills. They require students to organize informa7on construc7vely to solve a problem, analyze and evaluate informa7on, or perform other high-‐ level cogni7ve skills.
Essay items are rela7vely easy to construct. However, you should s7ll use a table of specifica7ons and iden7fy only the topics and objec7ves that can be best assessed through an essay item.
Essay items measure relevant communica7on skills such as using different wri7ng styles, using vocabulary, and prac7cing developing arguments for and against controversial points. However, this assumes the teacher has taught these communica7on skills and they are instruc7onal objec7ves.
Essay items eliminate the chance of guessing because no op7on is provided.
Along with advantages there are also disadvantages of essay items.
Essay items are 7me consuming and difficult to score. It can take a lot of 7me to wade through pages of student handwri7ng. Also it is hard to not allow grammar and spelling mistakes to influence grading or to allow superior communica7on skills cover up incomplete comprehension of the facts.
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There are two types of essay items.
The first one is an extended response item.
Extended response items are open ended. They are flexible in terms of page limits. They are used to measure higher cogni7ve abili7es to analyze, to synthesize, to evaluate, to organize, and to select viewpoints.
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The second type of essay item is a restricted response. These items pose a more specific problem asking the students to recall proper informa7on, organize the informa7on, and make conclusions within the limits of the ques7on.
Restricted responses are more focused and constrained. They usually have page limits and are restricted to specific content. They measure knowledge, comprehension and applica7on level of learning outcomes.
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These two types of essay items can be viewed as being on two ends of a con7nuum. Restricted items are one end and extended response items are on the opposite end. Here are some a=ributes that suggest how the restricted items are on one end of the con7nuum.
The restric7ons that are posed in restricted essays are usually in terms of instruc7ons and the scoring criteria.
The instruc7ons restrict students to page lengths and guide students on how to organize their response and provides evalua7on criteria for scoring.
Some7mes the restric7ons focus on the tasks that students are given in the content area.
Some examples of these task rela7ons restric7ons include ques7ons that ask students to: -‐ compare and contrast -‐ explain cause and effect rela7ons -‐ point out strengths and weaknesses -‐ or analyze rela7onships among items.
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Here is an example of an extended response item.
To respond to this item, students must be able to assemble relevant informa7on, cri7cally analyze the informa7on, synthesize the informa7on to draw conclusions to answer the item.
Obviously, responding to this complex tasks not something you would expect students to be able to do in a class period, or without access to reference materials. Under this condi7on, the extended response items will work well.
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This is an example of a restricted response.
The content is specific to a specific issue. Direc7ons instruct students to limit their answers to one page and explain to them how to organize their response.
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There are some things to consider about the taxonomy levels when developing essay items.
Essay items are wri=en to elicit complex cogni7ve skills, and at 7mes mul7ple levels at one 7me.
Essay items should be wri=en without geVng other factors involved. This means that teachers should be aware ahead of 7me if they are measuring the subject-‐ma=ers only, or if verbal and communica7on skills are being assessed as well.
This can help remove the subjec7vity that occurs during scoring the items.
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Write each prompt targe7ng the taxonomy level you intend. This can be done by deciding which cogni7ve process you want the student to use and by using phrasing that indicate the intended level.
Use the essay types to target the taxonomy levels.
Extended response items should be used for synthesis, comprehension, and evalua7on.
Restricted response items should be used for knowledge, comprehension, and applica7on.
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Let’s try to gauge which taxonomy level was targeted in these two essays items.
Essay item 1 is assessing the facts at the “knowledge” level.
Essay item 2 is targe7ng more high-‐level cogni7ve skills, such as analyzing the data in the table and further synthesizing them to draw conclusions
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There are some guidelines to ensure your essay items are wri=en well.
Essay prompts should offer a clean and unambiguous task.
Ask for and evaluate students responses in terms of the presenta7on of evidence and not the posi7on taken. For example, if asking students to read an ar7cle and then choose a side and defend it, the essay item must be scored on the merit of their arguments, not the side they picked.
Include some specificity in terms of page or 7me limits to indicate the appropriate level of detail expected.
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There are some guidelines that teachers can use to improve their essay items as well as scoring reliability.
Write good essay prompts that include a clear task and specify response lengths.
Use several restricted range rather an a single extended response prompt.
Use a predetermined scoring scheme, like a rubric.
See your text for more informa7on: - table 7.1 & 7.2 (8th ed) - table 8.1 & 8.2 (9th ed)
There are some strategies a teacher can use to improve essay reliability of the scores. Remove or cover the student's names
Score all ques7on 1 before ques7on 2. This will help to keep you focused on a single item and be consistent with your scoring.
Keep previous items scores hidden. You do not want scores on other ques7ons to influence how you grade this ques7on.
Re-‐evaluate papers, averaging any discrepancies.
See your text for more informa7on:
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Here are two examples of essay items. Which essay can be more reliably scored?
Example 1 can be more reliably scored. The task is spelled out for the students; limits are defined; and the policy on spelling, punctua7on and grammar is indicated. The scorer is required to assess whether the student has included at least two assump7ons underlying the proposi7on, and the likely effect on infla7on if each assump7on is violated. There s7ll can be some difficulty agreeing on how the statements on the assump7ons and the effects of the viola7ons may be, but there is less to disagree over.
Example 2 is a poorly wri=en essay item. It is unstructured and unfocused. It fails to define response limits, nor does it define a policy on grammar and spelling. Thus depending on the scorer a response with poor grammar and good content may get a high grade or even an intermediate grade. Different scorers would have different ideas of what a good response to the ques7on would be.
Ques7ons like this, confuse scorers and invite scorer unreliability, the same way they confuse test takers.
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Using a scoring rubric can help scorers increase the test score reliability.
If criteria are not ready for scoring there might be some problems.
Scoring consistency will be reduced.
The criteria may change in between scoring sessions.
Scoring may be affected by fa7gue, distrac7ons, or frame of mind.
A scoring rubric will help the scorers keep focused and makes the scoring process easier.
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There are some components for a scoring rubric. Tuckman proposed three components for scoring high-‐level essay items: content, organiza7on, and process
Essay content needs to be included and scored specifically for its presence and accuracy. Scoring should include whether the student has acquired the prerequisite knowledge and content needed to demonstrate any higher level behaviors that may be required by the ques7on. This in addi7on to grading for applica7on, analysis, or other cogni7ve skills.
Organiza7on is helpful to minimize students rambling on about the topic and increase the chances that the higher level behaviors are included. Students should be told that they are being judged on their organiza7ons. Developing specific criteria for organiza7on can help make sure the content area is learned.
The most important criteria for essay scoring are those that reflect the extent to which high-‐level cogni7ve processes have been carried out. Each process such as applica7on or analysis results in a solu7on, recommenda7on, or decision. The process criteria should a=empt to assess both the adequacy of the solu7on or decision and the reasons behind it.
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