Do teachers write their own test questions or are they set by external officials

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   joanveronicaposted 11 years ago

   Do teachers write their own test questions or are they set by external officials?
   
   At present, some teachers probably write their own questions and in some countries they may be set by educational authorities. I'm interested in multiple choice, completion, true/false and so on. These can be technically complex to write, so I'm wondering if teachers at present have the skills for constantly producing many test questions on a daily/weekly/monthly basis.
   Another point of inrterest is how the different countries and educational systems focus on this issue

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2. 70

   Rhonda_Mposted 11 years ago

   There are many options depending on the type of course you teach, and the publisher of your textbook, and the nature of your relationship with your department. Do you have standardized tests that are done in collaboration with a department and other instructors, or do you have some freedom or leeway. As a college instructor I have used "testbank" which are test questions put together by the publisher of my text book, I have created my own tests from scratch, and i have worked in collaboration with my department to set exams that have multiple essay question options.
   
   That said, there is a way to write multiple choice questions (You may want to check out some books on assessment ). Typically a multiple choice question has a "stem" which is the core of the info you want to test, and then different variations including an almost right but not the best answer, the best answer, a silly answer and one that might be the opposite. Do some research and check. The info is out there. I do agree, though, it is time consuming to create a multiple choice test. there's stuff on the internet you can modify, or even publisher sites have free resources.
   
   Good luck.

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      joanveronicaposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you for a very complete answer!

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   heidithorneposted 11 years ago

   As a former junior college teacher (and married to one who taught for 20+ years), it's a mixed bag of both teacher-generated testing and questions provided by textbook or other educational materials. At the colleges I taught at, it was completely up to the discretion of the instructor as to what was included on tests and the format (multiple choice, true/false, fill the blank or essay). It also was dependent on the level of the course and the subject. But remember, this was at the college level. I'm sure that it's a wholly different scenario for K-12.

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      joanveronicaposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you so much, this is such interesting information for me! I'm trying to detect some trends in this topic!

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   Paul Kuehnposted 11 years ago

   At the school in Thailand where I teach EFL, teachers are free to write their own questions for all kinds of quizzes, mid-term, and final tests.  The only guidance we receive from administration is that at least three different types of questions be included on the test.  These types could include fill in the blank, true or false, matching, enumeration, fill in the blank, and essay.  Very few of the foreign instructors have received any guidance or training in constructing good test questions.  Consequently, many of our school's tests are either too difficult or too easy.

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      joanveronicaposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks Paul, this is just the sort of information I was looking for!  I have vague ideas about writing an ebook on this topic, but I'm still feeling my way around. This is very helpful.  See you!

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