1.Select to add a test item.

2.Select Essay Question as the Type of test item.

Figure 265: Test Item Detail Screen - Essay Question

3.Then complete the fields listed below.

4.Select Save to save the test item. Select Cancel to return to the list of entries if you do not wish to save the new essay question.

Test Item Delivery (For Assessment Element Test Items Only)

The Test Item Delivery defines how the test item is going to be delivered during a test. Hence, this field is only available for test items you create on an Assessment element. The list shown can be customized on the Customizations tab and includes as standard:

•Open if the test item is open book.

•Close if the test item is closed book.

Stem

The Stem of the question or statement of the test item should include any specific test item instructions. The Essay Question test item is a free response test item that measures a participant's ability to organize data and express thoughts clearly in writing. Because of the large amount of text that a participant will produce to answer an essay question test item, this test item is more practical for smaller numbers of participants.

When writing the stem be clear and concise as to the type of response required. Provide any limitations to the length and/or time allowed to answer the test item. An alternative to the essay question test item is multiple the short answer test items, which may be easier to score.

Essay question test items can be difficult to score objectively, though a rubric can help. They can also be time consuming to score. While guessing is eliminated in the answers, bluffing is not. Depending on the actual stem, an essay question may not measure more than recall or memorization. Essay question test items do place a premium on writing skills, and are, thus, appropriate to use, when writing skills are important on the job.

Associated Resource

The Associated Resource allows you to specify a resource that will be output with the stem of the test item. This could be a graphic that the participant uses to answer the test question.

Select the Associated Resource link to open the Resource Selection screen and select a resource. To remove a selected resource, select Delete to the right of the resource.

Caption

The Caption of the associated resource is a copy of the selected resource's Title that you can edit as needed. The caption is output with the associated resource.

Add/Edit Answer Text

The Add/Edit Answer Text field provides the answer to the essay question test item. As essay question test items are harder to score, the answer should include detailed information on how to score the test item. Make sure to include what elements are required to be included in the answer, as well as those items, or lack of items that would cause a participant to fail the test item.

A rubric is a good way to score an essay question test item. On the rubric you can specify the standards for performance, providing examples for below standard, at standard, and exceeds standard. The top row of the rubric contains the levels of the standards from low to high. The left column contains the areas or items the essay should cover. The cells contain descriptions of the standard for the different levels. Typically, you only need to provide descriptions for three levels (if you have 5 standards) and not for all standards, as shown in the example below.

However you decide to score an essay question test item, make sure to include a scoring guide in the Add/Edit Answer Text field. If you are using a rubric, you can include the score in each cell, or for each standard (as shown in the example layout of a scoring rubric). For more information on how to use the text editor, click here.

Reference

The Reference defines the source of test item, that is the resource that contains the information the test item is based on. You can only select a reference after you save a test item.

Figure 266: Test Item Reference Tab

•Add a Resource entry.

•Paste a copied Resource entry to the end of the list of entries.

•Select Explain Flag to review the reasons a resource entry has been flagged.

•Edit a selected resource entry.

•Delete a selected Resource entry. Once you've selected OK to the confirmation message, an Undo button displays on the bottom left of the screen that allows you to revert the deletion.

•Copy /Paste a selected Resource entry.

•Move a selected Resource entry Up or Down in the list of entries to resequence the list of entries.

Select View for the essay question. Then you can:

•View/Edit the Storyboard for the test item.

•View the Design Considerations for the Enabling Objective Level.

•Select Edit to make changes to the stem or the answer. Make the desired changes then select Save to keep the changes or select Cancel to return to view the essay question.

•You will need to select the X at the top right of the test item screen to return to the list of test items.