ESSAY TEST refers to any written test that requires the examinee to write a sentence, a

paragraph or longer passages

Essay Questions: Forms

They represent a continuum in how much freedom of response is allowed, ranging

from restricted-response essays on one end to extended-response essays on the other.

1. Restricted-response essay
- most useful for measuring learning outcomes requiring the interpretation and
application of date in a specific area.

a. limits content and response to be given

b. can limit via how narrowly question is phrased (e.g., as specific as a

short-answer question)
c. can limit via scope of the problem posed (e.g., with introduction like that
of an interpretive exercise)
d. therefore, can approach the objectivity of short-answer and interpretive
exercises

Example of Restricted-response essay

1 Write the life sketch of mahatma Gandhi in 100 words?

2 State any five definition of education?

2. Extended-response essay
a. great freedom so that allows problem formulation, organization,
originality
b. therefore, shares similar scoring difficulties with performance-based
tasks

It is at the levels of synthesis and evaluation of writing skills that this type of questions
makes the greatest contribution.

Example of Extended-response Essay

1. Describe at length the defects of the present day examination system in the state
of Maharashtra. Suggest ways and means of improving the examination system. 2. Describe
the character of hamlet. 3. Global warming is the next step to disaster. Explain
 Merits of essay writing:

1. It is relatively easier to prepare and administer a six-question extended response

essay test than to prepare and administer a comparable 60 item multiple choice test
items.

2. It is the only means that can assess an examinee’s ability to organize and present
his ideas in a logical and coherent fashion and in effective prose.

3. It can be successfully employed for practically all school subjects.

4. Some of the objectives – such as ability to organize idea effectively ability to

criticize or justify a statement, ability to criticize or justify a statement, ability to
interpret etc. can be measured by this type of test.

5. Logical thinking and critical reasoning, systematic presentation etc. can be best
developed by this type of test.

6. Its helps induce good study habits such as making outlines and summaries, organizing
the arguments for and against, etc.

7. The student can show their initiative, the originality of their thought and the
fertility of their imagination, as they are permitted freedom of response.

8. The response of the students need not be completely right or wrong. All degrees of
comprehensiveness and accuracy are possible.

9. It largely eliminates guessing.

Demerits of essay writing:

Every coin has 2 sides same ways in essay test if there are merits than
demerits are also there so we will see demerits of essay test writing.

1. Limited sampling of the content: -

It means few questions can be included in given test. Example if in one particular
book 18 chapter are given, teacher cannot ask question from all the chapters. They
have to neglect some areas.

2. Subjectivity of scoring:
 If all students are writing same answer of one question, why they get different
marks? In essay test answer of question are scored differently by different
teacher. Even the same teacher scores the answer differently at different times.

3. Halo effects:

It means teacher knows the particular student very well and has good impression
because of his previous paper and writing skills.

4. Mood of the examiner:

The general feeling of all students after writing your S.S.C board paper what you
had discussed with your fried. I hope the teacher who is checking my paper has not
quarreled with some”

5. Ambiguous wording of the question:

Sometime essay questions are so worded that students do not know the exact
implications of the questions.

6. Examiner contaminated by various factors:

The examiner is contaminated by various factors like hand writing, spelling, grammar
etc some students who has good verbal knowledge may write many things on an essay
topic.

7. It requires an excessive time on the part of students to write while assessing

reading essays is very time-consuming and laborious.

8. Only a teacher or competent professionals can assess it.

9. The speed of writing can influence the performance of the learner. This results in
low scores even if the learner may know the correct answer of all questions.
10. It may not provide a true picture of the comprehension level of the leaner. Grammars
may get good marks.

Suggestions for improving essay questions:

1. Restrict the use of essay questions to those learning outcomes that cannot be
satisfactorily measured by objective items. Such functions as ability to organize’ to
express, to interpret and to elicit understanding may be tested through essay
questions.

2. Do not start the essay questions with words such as what, who, when, enumerate
etc. in general start with compare, contrast, discuss, explain etc.

Wrong: What are Thorndike’s laws of learning?

Correct explain how Thorndike’s law of learning can be applied to

classroom situation

3. Write the essay question in such a way that the task is clearly and unambiguously
defined for each examinee.

Wrong: compare the essay examination with the objective type of examination.

This question is so general and comprehensive that different student will emphasize
different aspects while the examiner may altogether have different view.

Correct: compare the essay examination with the objective type of examination w.r.t
(a) learning outcomes to be measured (b) framing the question (c) scoring (d)
influence of extraneous factors.

4. Directions for the test should be explicitly written.

For example, (a) each question carries 20 marks (b) Marks will be deducted for
spelling mistakes.

5. Avoid the use of optional questions. A fairly common practice in the use of essay
questions is to provide pupils with more questions than they are expected to answer.
When pupils answer different questions, it is obvious they are taking different test
and the common basis for evaluating their achievement is lost.

6. Students are found to be misinformed about the meaning of important terms used
in essay questions. For example: students frequently discuss or describe when asked
 to define. A solution would be to supply the necessary training to the students in
writing essay questions.

7. Allow liberal time limit so that the essay test will not be a test of speed of writing.
While setting up the question paper s that it can be answered in the allotted time,
leaving some time for reading the question, drawing up an outline of the answers and
finally for revision.

8. We have seen that the essay examination suffers from lack of adequate sampling.
This defect can to some extent be overcome by increasing the number of questions
any limiting the length of their answers. A question paper with 10 questions would
represent a better sample than one with 5 questions only.

9. One of the favourite questions of examiners is :

for example: write short notes on: 1. Social education. 2. Homework.

This type of question is worse than the one mentioned in above. The student
dos not know the limits and he goes on writing pages after pages. The better way to
write is e.g. write short notes on (a) objectives of social education (b) misuse of
homework.

Suggestions for scoring the essay examination

1. Prepare on outline of the expected answers in advance, showing what points are
required and the credits to be allowed for each. This will provide a common frame
of reference for evaluating the individual papers
2. Decide in advance that factors are to be measured. If the ability to organize, to
interpret or to apply the principles is to be assessed, the examiner should not allow
him to be biased by bad handwriting, spelling, sentence structure or neatness. The
ability to write, to spell or to use correct English can be assessed through other
suitable tests
3. Examination should be scored as far as possible by the one who frames the questions.
He is the person who can give a clear picture of the expected responses whenever
more than one examiner is involved; they should be brought together to develop a
uniform scoring procedure. Model answers and marking schemes may be discussed
and finalized in this meeting
4. Grade the paper as nearly anonymously as possible, the less you know about who
wrote an answer, the more objectively you can grade papers before considering
another question. This type of scoring permits the examiner to concentrate on the
 answer to a single question and judge better the merits of the several pupil
responses to the same question.

5. Score one question through all of the papers before considering another question.
This type of scoring permits the examiner to concentrate on the answer to a single
question and to judge better the merits of several pupils responses to the same
question.

6. When important decisions such as selection for awards or scholarships are to be

based on the results, obtain two or more independent rating and average them.

7. The mechanics of expression (legibility, spelling, punctuation, grammar) should be

judged separately from what the student writes i.e. the subject matter content.
Provide comments and correct answers in the answer book. This will explain the
teacher’s, method of assigning a particular score or grade to particular paper.

Reference

http://educationalevaluationhema.blogspot.com/2011/03/essay-test.html