Chapter 6

This chapter mainly talked about tests and what makes up a good test. I learned about mixing traditional and non-traditional questions in a test and about mixing forced choice and constructed response questions in a test. I learned what is considered traditional and not traditional. Traditional questions tend to be true/false, matching, fill-in-the-blank, multiple choice, definitions, essays, and short answers. Non-traditional questions tend to be questions that incorporate analogies, drawings, diagrams, demonstrations/performances, more than one topic, and brainstorming. I learned the difference between forced choice and constructed response questions. Forced choice questions are questions and prompts that require students to choose from the responses provided by the teacher. Constructed response questions are questions or prompts for which students must generate the information themselves and apply it in the manner requested by the teacher. Some key points that the chapter pointed out about tests were the less students have to guess, the more they can achieve; and students appreciate meaty tasks more than drudgery tasks. Some tips that the chapter gave teachers were to give smaller more frequent tests, to list the standards at the top of the test, and to arrange challenge level of the problems either by starting easy and getting progressively harder or to mix the level throughout the test. The tips and suggestions that this chapter gave will impact me when making lesson plans and when creating tests. Knowing what makes a good test will help me evaluate tests that I will create and see if I have incorporated the things that make a good test into my tests.