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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Objective Type Questions
Guidelines For Test Construction

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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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Selection Type Questions and Its Uses

In selection type test items several possible answers/alternatives for each question are already given and the students are only required to select the correct or best answer in them instead of recalling facts or information from their own memories and supplying them. Therefore, this type of test items are  comparatively easy to answer than the supply type test items. Selection type test items are generally consist of the following Types:  

a.    True-false or alternative-response Type Test Items
This type of test items consist of declarative statements in which the students have to point out the true or false, right or wrong, or correct or incorrect statements according to the directions of the test developer. For example:

Read the following statements and write T for true and F for false statements.

i.  Plants release oxygen during photosynthesis.                                                       

ii. The atomic number of carbon is 10.

iii. Fern is a flowering plant.                        

b.     Matching Type Test Items

Matching type test items consist of two different sets/groups of statements, words, phrases, numbers, dates and events, symbols etc. These sets/groups are usually written in two opposite columns. For example, set X is written in column A while set Y is written in column B. Students are required to match an item in column A with an item in column B on the basis of some logical  relationship/connection between them. For example:

Match the animals in column A with their respective groups  in column B. You can use a word in Column B once, more than once or not at all.

Column A                 Column B

Snake                            Fish

Toad                              Mammals

Dolphin                         Reptile

Whale                           Amphibian 

Monkey                        Bird 

USES OF MATCHING TEST ITEMS

Matching test items are usually used for measuring the ability of students to identify a connection/relationship between two things. This relationship may exists in the form of time, date, place, events, class, physical characteristics etc.

ADVANTAGES:

i.    Matching test items can be used for measuring  the ability of students to identity the relationship among numerous things in a relatively short time.

ii.   Matching test items are easy to construct.

LIMITATIONS:

i.    Matching test items are limited to measuring the information based on root learning. So they can’t be used for measuring complex abilities.

ii.   They are highly susceptible to the presence of irrelevant clues, which minimize its functionality.

iii.  Sometimes, it is difficult to find relevant homogeneous materials to be used as the test items.

SUGGESTIONS FOR CONSTRUCTING MATCHING TEST ITEMS

i.    Use only homogeneous items in the list of premises (items for which a match is sought) and responses (items from which a selection is made).

ii.   The number of responses should be more than the number of premises.

iii.  Place the words in alphabetical order and numbers in sequence in the list of premises and responses.

iv.  Direct the students that they can use an item in the list of responses once, more than once or not at all.

v.    Tell the students about the basis upon which the match is sought.

vi.   Place responses to the right of premises.   

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Supply Type Questions and Its Uses

Supply type test items are those which can be answered by a word, phrase, number or symbol. Supply type test items can be further divided into short answer test items and completion test items.

a.   Short answer

Short answer test items are open-ended questions which require the students to recall and reproduce the needed information from their memories. They are called short answer test items because their answers usually consist of few words, phrases or sentences.  For example:

i.    Who invented television?

ii.   What is the capital of UK?

Uses of short answer test items

 Short answer items can be used for the following purposes:

Knowledge of Terminology:

Short answer items can be used for testing the knowledge of students about various terminologies. For example:

i.   What is the name of the instrument, which is used for the measurement of temperature?

Knowledge of Secific Facts:

Short answer items can be used for testing the knowledge of students about various facts. For example:

i.    What is the name of the scientist who invented microscope?

ii.   What is the name of the largest planet in the solar system?

Knowledge of Principles:

Short answer item can also be used for testing the knowledge of students about various principles. For example:

i.     What would happened if two atoms of hydrogen and one atom of oxygen are mixed together?

ii.  What would happened if we increase the pressure applied to a gas while keeping its temperature constant?

Knowledge of Method or Procedure:

Short answer items can be used for testing the knowledge of students about various methods or procedure. For example:

i.   What device is used for measuring the flow of current in an electric circuit?

ii.   What teaching method is most effective for the teaching of history?

Simple Interpretations of Data:

Short answer items are used for simple interpretation of data. For example:

i.    In the word “know”, which is the silent letter?

ii.   How many tens are there in the number 45?

b.   Completion Type Test Items

Completion type test items are those which are presented in the form of an incomplete statements. For example:

i.   The name of the scientist who invented television is___________.

ii.  The capital of UK is ____________.

The uses of completion type test items are similar to those of short answer type test items.

Advantages

Following are some of the advantages of short answer type test items:

i.    They are easy to construct.

ii.   They are best for testing the ability of students in the recall of memorized information.

iii.  Since in short answer test items the students have to supply the correct answer, instead of choosing it from the given alternatives, as in the case of MCQs, therefore, there is no chance of guessing in this type of test items.

LIMITATIONS

Short answer test items have some limitations, which are given as under:

i.    They can’t be used for  measuring complex learning outcomes.

ii.   If the wording or phrasing of the test item is too difficult to be accurately comprehended by the students, then majority of the students will prefer to leave it unanswered.

iii.  If a test item is constructed in such a way that can be accurately answered in multiple ways, then the teacher will face difficulty in scoring this item.

SUGGESTIONS FOR CONSTRUCTING SHORT-ANSWER ITEMS

The above-mentioned limitations of short answer test items can be sufficiently removed by acting upon the following suggestions.

i.    Word the test item in a simple language, so that all the students may easily comprehend it.

ii.   The test item should be stated clearly and definitely so that it may lead all the students to one and only one possible answer.

iii.  Phrases or sentences of the textbook should not be directly used as test items.

iv.   Blanks for all possible answers should be equal  in length and horizontally aligned with the test items. 

v.   As far as possible, write your test items in direct question form, like interrogative sentences, rather than writing them as  incomplete statements.

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Objective Type Test Questions

Objective type test items require the students to supply a single and correct answer of their own or select the correct or best answer from the given alternatives. They are called objective because each objective test item has a single and correct answer which can be predicted easily. Therefore, the subjective thinking of test takers can not affect the correct answer of a given test item. Similarly, objective type test items are also free from the subjective judgment of examiner. Therefore, different examiner will score the same test item in the same way. For example if one examiner gives one score for one correct answer other examiners will also do the same. Objective type test items are highly structured and more reliable than subjective type test items. Following are some of the well known types of objective type test items.

1. Supply Type Test Items
2. Selection Type Test Items
3. Multiple Choice Type Test Items

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1. Subjective Type Questions
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Types Of Test Questions

The aim of every educational program/process is to bring desired changes in students’ behaviors. These changes are mentioned in the form of educational goals and objectives in a  curriculum. But how we would know that whether these educational goals and objectives have been successfully achieved or not at the end of any educational episode. To answer this question we would need some tools of assessment and measurement.  Classroom tests and standardized test are those tool which can be used for this purpose.  They play a crucial role in the process of learning and instructions. They can be used for measuring a variety of learning outcomes, ranging from simple to complex and higher-order skills.  In other words, different tests and assessment tools are used for measuring different learning outcomes at different levels. So the same type of test items could not be used for measuring all types of learning outcomes. There are mainly two types of test items which are extensively used in the field of education i.e. objective type test items and subjective or essay type test items.

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Useful Guidelines for Classroom Tests Construction

In the field of education, we use a variety of test items for measuring various learning outcomes. We usually think that all of them are equally valid and reliable in measuring the desired learning outcomes. But, unfortunately, it is not always true, in fact, its validity and reliability is subject to its careful construction and applications. Therefore, it is necessary to specify some rules for its construction. Test specialist/experts have suggested some general rules for constructing various test items. Here I am going to tell you about some of the general rules of test construction. While pacific rules for each type of test items will be discussed later.

1.    Write more test items than needed. So it would be possible to replace one item, if it seemed inadequate to you during the final review, by another suitable item.

2.    All the test items should be exclusively constructed, so that one test item may not be used for answering another test item by the test taker.

3.    The wording and phrasing of test items should be simple and not beyond the learned vocabulary of the students.

4.    Test items should be written in advance. In other words, It will be better to write down test items during each instructional session. So you will have a sufficient repository of test items at the end of an educational episode.

5.    One test item should represent only one problem at a time.

6.    Write test items in such a way that every test item would  have one and only one correct or agreed upon answer.

7.    Use table of specifications as a guide when you are constructing a test.

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Table Of Specifications

Table of specification is a two-way chart which is constructed by the class teacher before the development of any classroom test. The main function of this chart is to ensure that all the important content areas have been included in the test and nothing worth assessment has been left behind. It guides the teacher in the process of test construction. It is like a blue print of a test. It shows the relationship between the content areas and the performance objectives. It usually consists of general instructional objectives, specific learning outcomes (derived from those general objectives), instructional contents (which indicate the area wherein the students are expected to show the desired performance) and the relative weights (which are usually represented by percentages in the table) given to each content area. The construction of table of specifications generally involves the following steps.
1. Specify general educational objectives.
2. Specify learning outcomes in light of the general educational objectives.
3. Specify the content areas in which the students would be assessed.
4. Specify the number of test items to be included in the test for each content area.
For example if a class teacher wants to construct a classroom test of 25 items on the topic of curriculum his/her table of specification may look like as follows.

Content Areas	General Objectives
	Knowledge	Understand		Application		Analyze		Total Items
	Specific Learning Outcomes
	Define	Explain	Compare	Apply	Use	Analyze	Criticize
Curriculum	2 2 2	1 1 2	1 1 1	1 1 1	1 1 1	1 1 1	1 1 1	8 8 9
Nature Types Models
Total Items	6	4	3	3	3	3	3	25

Looking at the above table of specification, we see that the test consists of 25 test items in which eight items are about the nature of curriculum, eight items about the Types of curriculum and nine items about the various models of curriculum. This test may be either objective type or subjective type or a mix of both types, it depends solely on the discretion of a class teacher.

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Hidden Curriculum

As we know that learning produces a desired change in students’ behavior. Either this change may be the result of planned and deliberate efforts by the teachers/schools or it may be the result of unplanned or unintentional events or processes taking place inside the school. In other words, learning may be either intended or unintended. Intended learning occurs as a result of planned or overt curriculum. It takes place either inside the school or outside the school in a controlled setting. It is usually endorsed by the state and implemented by the teachers. The outcomes of formal/overt curriculum can be assessed by teachers/institutions through various assessment tools.

On the other hand, students learn many things unintentionally while they are in school. This type of learning, unintended learning, takes place as a result of hidden curriculum. Various things are responsible for it. It may emanate from the moral or disciplinary environment of the school, from the relationship between teachers and students, and students themselves. And in the broader sense from the way the students understand and give meaning to different things around them in the school or in the classroom. In the past, very little attention has been paid to this type of learning but with the passage of time, it is getting more and more importance due to its substantial share in the overall development and learning of children.

Historically, the idea of hidden curriculum emerged from the research studies conducted in the second half of twentieth century by different research.

In 1968, Jackson showed that living in a crowd of age-mates, learning to defer gratification and learning one’s place in a variety of pecking orders constitutes indelible consequences of schooling, perhaps more powerful than intended subject matter.

 In 1961, Durkheim  writes in his book ”Moral Education”:

"In fact, there is a whole system of rules in the school that predetermine the child’s conduct. He must come to class regularly; he must arrive at a specified time and with an appropriate bearing and attitude. He must not disrupt things in class. He must have learned his lessons, done his homework, and have done so reasonably well, etc. There are, therefore, a host of obligations that the child is required to shoulder. Together they constitute the discipline of the school. It is through the practice of school discipline that we can inculcate the spirit of discipline in the child".  

The concept of hidden curriculum can be easily understood by perusing the following definitions presented by different educationists and researchers.

Hidden curriculum (Martin, Jane, 1983: 122–139) is a side effect of education, lessons which are learned but not openly intended such as the transmission of norms, values, and beliefs conveyed in the classroom and the social environment.”

Hidden curriculum (Print, 1993: 9-16) refers to the outcomes of education and/or the processes leading to those outcomes, which are not explicitly intended by educators. These outcomes are generally not explicitly intended because they are not stated by teachers in their oral or written lists of objectives nor are they included in educational statements of intent such as syllabi, school policy documents or curriculum projects.

According to Ornstein and Hunkins (2004), covert curriculum refers to the behaviors and attitudes conveyed in the classrooms and schools that often go unnoticed and unmentioned because they were never explicitly stated as expected.

Glatthorn(1987) defines hidden curriculum as “covert curriculum refers to those aspects of schooling, other than the intentional curriculum, that seem to produce changes in learners’  values, perceptions, and behaviors”.

Hidden curriculum refers to the unwritten, unofficial, and often unintended lessons, values, and perspectives that students learn in school.

Longstreet and Shane (1993) offer a commonly accepted definition of hidden curriculum “The hidden curriculum refers to the kinds of learnings children derive from the very nature and organizational design of the public school, as well as from the behaviors and attitudes of teachers and administrators.

Conclusion

1. Hidden curriculum doesn’t exist in written or physical form.
2. Hidden curriculum may be either intended or unintended
3. The effects of hidden curriculum on students learning and behaviors may be either positive or negative.
4. Hidden curriculum encompasses a substantial part of students’ learning.
5. Hidden curriculum emerges from the organizational, social and cultural variables of schools.
6. Hidden curriculum is neither stated nor endorsed by the state or institutions.
7. Hidden curriculum operates implicitly inside the school or classroom.
8. Hidden curriculum usually transmits norms, values and beliefs.
9. Hidden curriculum plays an important role in shaping students’ outlooks and attitudes.
10. Hidden curriculum is the socialization process of schooling.
11. Hidden curriculum may enhance, reduce or even neutralize the effects of overt/planned curriculum.

References

DURKHEIM, E (1961). Moral Education. New York: Free Press.

Glatthorn, A.As. (1987).Curriculum Leadership. Glenview Ill, Scott, Foresman and Company Retrieved on 13/12/2016 from http://www.academia.edu/8925551/overt_and_covert_curriculum.

JACKSON, P.W. (1968) Life in Classrooms, New York, Holt, Rinehart and Winston.

Longstreet, W.S. and Shane, H.G. (1993) Curriculum for a new millennium. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Martin, Jane. (1983:122-139)"What Should We Do with a Hidden Curriculum When We Find One?" The Hidden Curriculum and Moral Education. Ed. Giroux, Henry and David Purpel.

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