Essay or Subjective Type Questions and Its Uses

Essay type test items are usually used for measuring those learning outcomes for which objective type test items can not be used adequately and efficiently. They are generally used for measuring complex learning outcomes such as the students’ ability to select and organizing suitable words, phrases, or sentences for stating/describing a given state, situation, concept, or event. Similarly, they are extensively used for measuring students’ abilities/capabilities to analyze, interpret, evaluate, appraise, or criticize a given process, concept, or phenomenon.  Essay type test items provide the students freedom of conceptualizing, integrating, and constructing ideas according to their own taste and will. There are mainly two types of essay type test items which are discussed as under:

a.     Restricted Response Questions:
Restricted response essay questions are used when it is necessary or reasonable to restrict students to a certain type of answers, in terms of contents or length of responses.  For example:

i.  Describe ten salient features of national education policy 2009.
 

ii. Briefly discuss the main difference between evaporation and condensation.

iii. Describe the main steps involved in water filtration.

b. Extended Response Questions:

Extended response test items provide the test taker with the complete freedom to select, organize, integrate, conceptualize or present ideas according to his/her best judgment and rational. In other words, the test takers are free to select/use whichever and how much content they think suitable for presenting a given concept or an idea.  So there would be no single agreed upon answer to this type of test items but it can be answered correctly in a multiple ways and different students/test takers will answer it differently.  For example, look at the following questions.

i.  How you will manage an overcrowded classroom?

ii. What is the significance of AV aids in teaching and learning?
 
iii. What is the difference between classroom tests and standardized tests?

  

ADVANTAGES:

Following are some of the advantages of essay type test items:
i.  Essay questions are easy to construct.

ii. Essay questions are efficient in measuring complex learning outcomes and higher-order skills.

iii.  It give the test taker a freedom of selection and presenting ideas according to his/her own way.
 
iv.  Writing skills can be efficiently and directly measured by it.

v    As compared to objective type test items, essay type questions can be constructed in a shorter time.

LIMITATIONS:  
In spite of its exclusive efficiency in measuring complex learning outcomes and higher-order skills, essay type test items have some limitations too which are given as under:

i.    Difficult to Score
Since different test taker will answer it differently, therefore difficulty will arise in connection with its scoring.

ii.   Low Reliability
Since different examiner will score the same answer differently, depending on their own emphasis on the different learning outcomes, and even the same examiner will score the same answer differently at two different times, therefore essay type test items are considered less reliable than objective type test items.

iii.  Low Efficiency in Scoring

Since essay type test items can be answered in a multiple ways, therefore different test takers will answer it differently. So much time would be needed for scoring and evaluating each answer separately.

iv.   Low Efficiency in Sampling

Since limited content area could be covered/sampled by essay type test items, therefore its scope is narrower than objective type test items. They are usually used for measuring those learning outcomes for which objective type test items could not be used efficiently.

SUGGESTIONS FOR CONSTRUCTING ESSAY QUESTIONS

The validity and reliability of essay type questions could be sufficiently improved if they are carefully constructed and scored.  Below are given some useful suggestions for its construction:

Use essay type questions where objective type test items cannot be used efficiently.
 

Write the essay questions in a simple and clear language.

The problem of interest should be clearly defined by the essay question.

Essay question should be concise and as short as possible, so that the test taker might not be confused by its lengthy wording.

Time limit should be given for answering essay type test items

No optional questions should be given in essay type test.  

Give necessary instructions at the beginning of essay questions.

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Multiple Choice Questions and Its Uses

Multiple choice questions are the most widely used type of objective type test items nowadays. The main reason behind their popularity is their ability to measure a comparatively large number of various learning outcomes. Moreover, they are free from most of the shortcomings possessed by other test items like short answers, completion, true-false and matching type test items. Multiple choice test items have two parts. The first part is called the stem, which consists of either a direct question or an incomplete statement. The second part consists of alternatives which is further divided into two parts i.e. a response which consists of a correct response to the question asked in the stem and distracters which consist of items intended to confuse the students in selecting the correct response to the question asked in the first part(stem) of the test item. There are two types of multiple choice test items which are given as under:

1.    Correct-answer Type

Correct-answer type is used for measuring the surface knowledge of students about various things. It is used when the answer to the given question is  exactly and absolutely one. Correct-answer type test item can be presented in two forms which are given as under:

1.1   Direct Form

In direct form, a question is presented by the assessor in the form of interrogative sentence and the students are asked to answer it by selecting the correct alternative from the given list of options. For example:

Which one of the following plants belongs to the group of non-flowering plants?

A.  Wheat
B.  Rice
C.  Fern
D.  Maize

1.2   Incomplete Statement Form

This form of MCQs consists of an incomplete statement and the students are asked to complete it by selecting the correct options from the given list. For example:

First antibiotics was extracted from a ________.

A.     Bacteria
B.     Virus
C.    Fungus
D.    Plant

2.    Best-Answer Type

Best-Answer type is used for measuring complex, rather than simple or factual, learning outcomes. They are intended for testing the critical and analytical thinking abilities of the students. In this type of test items, like other multiple-choice question, usually more than one possible answer are given to the question, and the students are required to select the most suitable answer from the given options. In other words, all the given options seem more or less correct but only one of them is the best answer to the given question. Students often become confused in selecting the correct options. Therefore, only those students who are well versed in the tested area can answer it correctly. For example:

1.    Matter is the thing that occupies space and has __________.

a.    weight
b.    volume
c.    shape
d.    mass

Look at the above example each one of the given options seem fully or partially correct answer to the given  question but only one i.e. option d, is the best answer in them.

USES OF MULTIPLE CHOICE ITEMS

Multiple choice items can be used for measuring a variety of learning outcomes. Usually they are used for measuring the knowledge of students about various facts and terminologies, procedures, principles, methods and its application, and cause and effect relationship etc. The only exception of its use is in measuring the ability of students in selecting and organizing various thoughts and ideas about a given topic or subject, for which essay type test items are usually used.

LIMITATIONS

Besides its wide usability for measuring relatively a large number of learning outcomes, multiple choice items have some limitations also which are given as under:

i.    They can be used for measuring learning outcomes at verbal level only.

ii.   Sometimes finding of sufficient and plausible distracters are difficult.

iii.  As already mentioned, they can’t be used for measuring the ability

      of students to organize and presents ideas.

SUGGESTIONS FOR CONSTRUCTING MULTIPLE CHOICE ITEMS

Like other test items, multiple choice test items need expertise and careful planning before its construction. To benefit from its general usability and universal functionality, the following points should be kept in mind: 

1.    The wording of the item should be simple and clear.

2.    The stem of the test item should be concise and self-explanatory.

3.    The stem of the item should define the problem clearly and accurately.

4.     Avoid stating the stem negatively as far as possible.

5.    The alternatives should be relevant and free of clues.

6.    All the alternatives should be grammatically consistent with the stem.

7.    The distracters should be identical to the responses.

8.    Verbal association between the stem and correct answer should

       be avoided.

9.    The correct answer should be placed alternatively and randomly at different positions.

10. The use of “none of the above” or “all of the above” options should be avoided as far as possible.

11.  The “none of the above” option should be used for measuring computational skills and spelling ability.

12.  The multiple choice items should be used only when other test items are not appropriate for measuring the desired learning outcomes.

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