Efektyvaus istorijos testo sudarymo metmenys
| Author | Affiliation | |
|---|---|---|
LT |
| Date | Volume | Issue | Start Page | End Page |
|---|---|---|---|---|
2012 | 85 | 1 | 63 | 72 |
Based on the practice of designing history tests in the US, the author proposes to enhance the effectiveness of multiple choice tests – to increase the number of the available answers to 5; to increase the number of such questions in tests, to reduce the result by ¼ point for an incorrect answer, thus encouraging pupils not to guess, and to orient the questions towards higher cognitive skills.
The article addresses the issue of designing history tests. It highlights that a document regulating the content of history teaching – ‘General Programmes’ – covering four activity fields needs to be followed when designing a history test. Test questions should be oriented towards all components of historical development – causes and consequences of events, peculiar characteristics of events, historical personalities, concepts; they should also include questions on the place and time of events, as well as the tasks dedicated to the analysis and interpretation of historical sources. The author notes that the tests should provide the tasks of different cognitive skills. One part of questions should check pupils’ knowledge of historical facts, the second part of questions should be oriented towards the application of the knowledge of history, while the third part of questions should be targeted at higher cognitive skills: analysis, synthesis, independent evaluation. A test should also include tasks for the pupils of different levels of academic performance – satisfactory, basic and higher level. In such a way the same test would be appropriate for all pupils.
It should be noted that history tests should include the questions with a high item discrimination index. High item discrimination is when an individual test question can separate stronger pupils from weaker pupils. Hence, it is important to include such a question which could definitely be answered by skillful pupils, while the pupils of unsatisfactory, satisfactory or even basic level could not answer a question, the more so – guess the answer.