EXAMINATIONS AND SCHOLASTIC TESTS
Chapter 35
EXAMINATIONS AND SCHOLASTIC TESTS
The Chapter at a Glance
The essay type examination or our current
examination system.
The standardized test or scale.
The new type examination or the objective test.
Overhauling of the examination system.
All
education aims at bringing about certain desirable changes in the thought and behavior
of the learner. A successful education makes an addition to the knowledge of
the students in certain specified subjects of study like history, geography,
mathematics, languages, social sciences, biology, physics, chemistry, etc. In
addition to this, education brings about desirable changes in the character and
personality of the learners and tends to turn them into better and more
efficient citizens.
The Role of Educational Examinations
When
a certain amount of instruction has been imparted to the learners, a stage comes
when the teacher feels that he must take stock of the entire situation and
survey the quality and quantity of progress made by them. Examinations,
scholastic tests, etc., enable him to judge whether or not the learners have
grasped the substance of the material taught to them.
The
custom of employing some sort of an examination is as old as education itself.
Those who teach mankind's young ones have always, all down the ages, felt the
need for measuring the effect of their instruction through various systems of
tests and examinations.
Kinds of Examinations and Tests
Whatever
the nature of the examination system it aims at measuring the quality, the
quantity and the speed of improvement which is taking place in the learners as
a result of the instruction imparted to them.
Broadly
speaking the main kinds of educational examinations and scholastic tests are
as follows:—
(1)
The Essay Type Examination.
(2)
The Standardized Test or Scale.
(3)
The New Type Examination or the Objective Test.
The
Essay Type Examination
Or
Our Current Examination System
The
Essay Type examination is the examination system in vogue in our country. This
is the traditional type of examination, consisting of a series of questions
presented to the candidates requiring written answers. The very nature and construction
of the questions necessitates lengthy and descriptive answers of the essay
type.
The Essay Type Questions and Answers
To
take a concrete example, a matriculation student of history may be asked to
"describe in detail the reforms affected by Sher Shah Suri, etc.” The
students are thus obliged to write a detailed descriptive type of essay in
order to answer the question. Similarly, in other fields of knowledge students
are asked to describe, reproduce, state, evaluate, compare, comment, discuss,
etc., certain topics specified in the question paper.
Let
us analyze the merits and demerits of such a type of examination. As already
stated our examination system is the essay type system. A critical appraisal of
the essay type examination, therefore, is an evaluation of our present system
of examination.
Merits of the Essay Type Examination
The
main merits of the essay type examination are as follows:
(1) It
provides training in written composition.
(2) It
endeavors to measure educational achievement in school subjects.
(3) It provides incentive for further achievement.
Training in
Written Composition: By asking the students to state,
express and explain the given topics, the essay type examination provides a
valuable training in writing. By attempting various questions students get
valuable exercise in logical thinking and coherent presentation of the
subject-matter in written language.
Measure of
Educational Achievement: It is said that the essay type
examination is a good measure of assessing pupils' achievements in school
subjects. This is especially true of those school subjects in which proficiency
cannot be ascertained except through an examination of detailed and descriptive
writings. From this point of view the essay type examination is especially
valuable in measuring educational achievement in languages, history, aesthetic
ability, etc., of the students.
Incentive for
Further Achievement: It has been pointed out that the
essay type examination provides further incentive for achievement. A student is
motivated to acquire more and more proficiency in school subjects so that he
might be able to do well in the examination.
Demerits of the Essay Type Examination
Those
who disapprove such a system or' examination point out several defects. Some of
the prominent drawbacks that have commonly been pointed out are as follows:—
(1)
Restricted range of the question paper.
(2)
Encouraging of the guess-making tendency.
(3)
Unreliable marking system.
(4)
Credit for other factors besides knowledge.
(5)
Premium on rote memory.
(6)
Turning teaching into dictation work.
Restricted Range
of the Question Paper: The range of the questions in the
essay type examination is restricted. The usual time allowed to answer the
questions is three hours per subject. In each question paper students are asked
to attempt about 5 questions out of a total of 8, 9 or 10 questions. It is
evident that such a small number of questions cannot possibly cover the entire
range of the subject-matter which a question paper purports to test. While
setting the question paper, the examiner is, therefore, obliged to omit several
significant portions of the subject.
Encouraging of
the Guess-Making Tendency: By its very nature our examination
system promotes the guess-making tendency. Thus in every school a large number
of clever students can be found who succeed in defeating the very purpose of
the examination by making successful guesses about the expected questions. Such
students, therefore, remain busy in preparing ‘guesses’ or answers for 'likely' questions, rather than concentrating on the books and the
class instruction.
Furthermore,
there are several booksellers who exploit this guess-making tendency by
specializing and trading in the publishing and selling of "guess
papers". When the examinations are at hand they start publicizing that
their guess papers contain a large percentage of the questions from the original
question papers set by the examiner.
Most of them guarantee the refund of the buyer's money; some even promise
the award of penalties should their guess paper not come true. Such booksellers
do wonderfully brisk business during the examination season.
Unreliable
Marking System: The main defect with the essay type
examination is the unreliable marking system. It has no objective system of
evaluating, scoring, grading, etc. Thus, for instance, if copies of one and the
same answer of a candidate appearing in any of our examinations is circulated
among a number of examiners most of them are bound to vary in their awards. The
variations might range from awarding a distinctive first division to poor third
division marks.
Even
the same examiner might award different marks for the same answer book if he
were to examine it at different times.
Credit for
Other Factors besides Knowledge: An examiner is liable to give credit
for other factors which are not connected with proficiency in the subject.
Some of the common irrelevant factors that usually impress and hence mislead
our examiners are as follows:—
(a)
The hand-writing of the examinee.
(b)
Neat and orderly arrangement of the
answers.
(c) Proficiency in language and the ability
to write well whether or not the
candidate knows the
actual contents of the subject.
Premium on Rote
Memory: An essay type examination demands that the students should
commit the prescribed courses of study to memory by some method or other. In
the examination they are expected simply to parrot back in the answer books
all the stuff that they crammed from the class-notes and textbooks. The
examination, therefore, is unintelligent reproduction or vomiting back of the
crammed or mugged up matter. It involves the least intelligent grasp of the
subject-matter and its least thoughtful presentation.
Turning
Teaching into Dictation Work: A related development in this
direction is the tendency on the part of the teachers to turn their class
instruction into dictation work in order to meet the requirements of the
examinations.
Even
when a conscientious teacher desires to develop student interest in books,
original thinking and creative expression, the persistent demand of the
students for spoon feeding through dictation of notes compels him to change his
teaching methods. Most of our students expect a teacher to dictate notes on
"the very important" portions in the syllabi which they could cram
and simply parrot back in the examination without altering a single letter.
Book-Ridden Personalities
The
collective result of all these undesirable features is that the very
fundamental purpose of education is defeated. Class instruction fails to touch
the depths of learner's personality. The craze to cram text-books and
class-notes prevents students from grasping the real essence of the
subject-matter, from thinking independently and from assimilating the true
spirit of the subject of study.
Our
examination system thus aims at producing book-ridden personalities with
parrot-like abilities.
Suggested Improvements for the Essay-Type Examination
The
essay type examination of our existing system of examination needs an entire
remodeling in order to make it a fair measure of scholastic achievement. Some
of the needed improvements are briefly mentioned below:—
(1)
Widening the range of the question paper.
(2)
Discouraging the guess-making tendency.
(3)
Objective standards of marking.
(4)
Disregard of irrelevant factors.
(5) Premium on intelligent grasp of the subject and
creative ability.
(6)
Need for creative teaching.
Widening the
Range of the Question Paper: As far as possible the question paper
in an essay type examination should be widely spread over the subject as to
cover a maximum range. This could be effected by including shorter but more
numerous questions on different aspects of the subject. Asking the candidates
to write brief, condensed notes could also serve the purpose partially.
Another
method of widening the range of the question paper could be to supplement the
written question paper by another viva voce or a new type test. This latter
test should touch those other aspects of the subject which are not covered by
the written paper.
The
Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, Lahore, has tried this in their
Secondary School examination.
Discouraging
the Guess-Making Tendency: The numbers of the "guess-makers"
among our students are surprisingly shooting up. It is hardly necessary to
point out that guessing is inimical to their healthy scholastic and mental
progress. The situation needs the serious attention of educators.
The
teacher could defeat the guess-maker by deviating from the traditional set
procedures whenever possible. He could, for instance, repeat a few questions
from the preceding years' papers, put such questions as an attempt at bringing
out qualitative responses from the students, give little credit for verbatim reproductions,
etc.
Effective
social and legal steps also need to be taken against those booksellers who
trade on this guess making tendency of the students by publishing misleading
guess papers. Strong public opinion should be mustered against the guess paper
publishing trade. By far the best way to deal with it would be to declare it
illegal by statute. It is heartening to learn that on the recommendation of the
Education Commission the Government has now banned the publication of
guess-papers, key books and notes. However, the illegal practice is still going
on.
Objective
Standard of Marking: The examiner should endeavor his utmost
to be as objective as possible while marking the answer books. For his guidance
he could set up before him an objective standard of a first, second and third
division and also determine precisely the various ranges within these grades.
He should stick to such a standard throughout his marking.
In
cases where there is more than one examiner it would be desirable if they could
hold a conference and arrive at objective evaluative criteria with regard to
various aspects of the marking work.
Disregard of Irrelevant Factors: Handwriting, neatness, orderly arrangement of the subject-matter,
etc., should not be paid any consideration at all while examining the
answer-books.
Premium on
Intelligent Grasp and Creative Ability: Teachers should encourage an
intelligent grasp of the subject and evidence of the creative ability of the
students. They could do this by giving liberal marks to students who prove that
they have grasped the subject-matter and have given independent thought to it.
On the other hand, those candidates who offer a verbatim reproduction of the
crammed material or appear to have relied on key books and notes should be give
poor awards.
Need for Creative
Teaching: Much depends upon the teacher and his
approach towards teaching. If he is creative in his methods, emphasizes the
true essence of the subject, highlights the necessity of grasping the meaning
rather than the mere form and inspires the students to think independently,
discuss, differ and argue, he can redress a large proportion of the harm done
to the students by our diseased system of examination.
The
Standardized Test or Scale
A
standardized test or scale is one that has been standardized with respect to
administration and scoring. The questions on the standardized test are prepared
very carefully. Before they are administered they are standardized on a large
number of students. This means that they are tried on several thousand children
in order to determine their suitability for various categories of the
students. On the basis of the results various tests are declared standard for
students in various classes.
Giving and Taking of Standardized Test
The
standardized tests are very easy and pleasant both to give as well as to take.
In order to answer the questions in them the students have simply to put ‘yes’
or ‘no’, ‘true’ or ‘false’, etc., against them. The time consumed in taking
these tests is also very short as compared with that taken in the essay type
examination. The examiners, too, are relieved of much bother in marking the
answer books.
Kinds of Standardized Tests
These
tests could be divided into two main groups as follows:-
(a) Those
that fulfill some specific educational purpose.
(b)
Those that test efficiency in a school subject or in general information, etc.
Some standardized tests that fulfill some
specific educational purpose are as follows:—
(i)
Quantity, Rate and Speed Tests: These standardized tests aim at measuring the
quantity, rate and speed of pupils in a
particular subject or skill.
(ii)
Range
Tests: Such tests are designed to measure the extent to which an
individual
can answer questions which go on increasing in
difficulty progressively.
(iii)
Quality
Tests: These tests purport to measure the quality of a
subject-matter,
handwriting, art, skill,
etc.
(iv)
Accuracy
Tests: Such tests measure the accuracy of a pupil in fields like
reading,
spelling, arithmetic, typewriting, etc.
(v)
Mixed
Tests: This type of the standardized test combines in one and
the same test the
purposes of all the four tests mentioned
above.
The
two main groups of the standardized test which purport to measure efficiency
in subjects of study are as follows:-
(i) One variety of the test aims at measuring
proficiency in a number of school subjects
through
one and the same test.
(ii) The other variety of the test
is designed to measure proficiency in various schools
subjects
though different and separate tests. Each one of these tests is devoted to
testing
and measuring proficiency in one particular subject.
Evaluation of Standardized Tests
As
compared with the essay type examination, standardized tests are definitely a
far more accurate measure of student achievement in subjects and skills.
Through the help of such test a teacher can readily spot out the brightness or
weakness of students in various school subjects. He can then provide them with
adequate opportunities to make the necessary improvements.
These
tests have been specifically helpful in yielding useful information regarding
aptitudes of students for specific abilities, e.g., artistic, musical,
mechanical and social abilities. With the requisite knowledge of students'
aptitudes in these fields a teacher can also provide them with adequate
vocational guidance during their school career.
The New Type Examination
Or
The
Objective Test
The
new type test closely resembles the standardized test. It is, however,
fundamentally a class-room test devised by the teacher to measure the
educational achievement of the pupils.
Salient Features of the New Type Test
The
salient features of the new type test are as follows:—
(a)
Multiplicity
of Questions: Unlike the essay type examination it
consists of a wide range
of questions, usually from 100 to 200 in one
test. The questions are graded in
difficulty.
(b)
Fool-Proof Directions: The directions for giving and taking the new type test are
explicit and devoid of any
possibility of misinterpretation.
(c)
Objective
and Simplified Marking: Marking is objective, easy and
simplified. Just
anybody who can understand the instructions
can mark these answer-books.
(d) No Partial Credits : Answers to questions are to be given clearly ‘yes' or 'no',
'right' or
'wrong', 'true' or 'false',
etc. No partial or fractional credit is given for any ambiguous
answer.
(e) Disregard for Disturbing Factors: No credit is given for irrelevant factors, e.g.,
handwriting, neatness, etc.
Varieties of the New Test
Numerous
varieties of the new type test have been evolved. Some of the frequently used
forms of this test are as follows:—
(1)
The True-False Test.
(2)
The Mixed Sentence Test.
(3)
The Multiple Choice Test.
(4)
The Completion Test.
(5)
The Recall Test.
(6)
The Classification Test.
(7)
The Arrangement Test.
(8)
The Analogies Test.
(9)
The Similarities Test.
(10)
The Opposites Test.
(11)
The Matching Test.
(12)
The Number Continuation Test.
(1) The True-False Test: A number of
statements are mentioned in the test with the words 'true' and 'false' written
against each one. The student is asked to underline the word 'true' if the
statement appears to him to be true. He is to underline the word 'false' if the
statement appears to be false. Examples:
(i) Botany is the
scientific study of human behavior.
True False.
(ii) Excessive heat lowers
human efficiency.
True False.
(2) The Mixed Sentence Test: This test
consists of sentences which are all mixed up. Against each the words 'true', ‘false’
and ‘unknown’ appear. The subject is instructed to range the sentence in order
mentally and then if the arranged sentence appears true underline the word
'true', otherwise underline the word ‘false’ in case the subject does not know
or is unable to describe whether the mentally arranged sentence is true or
false he is to underline the word ‘unknown’
A few items from a Mixed Sentence Test
constructed by the author* for adults are given below:—
(i) is a of kind bird sparrow … True False
Unknown.
(ii) fly cows some True False Unknown
(iii) they up girls men when grow
become True False Unknown
(iv) out manufactured glass are
chalk iron of and principally True False Unknown
(v) makes of the a us friendship
friendship always
person unhappy True False Unknown
(vi) thoroughly the to the class
room
must prepare before goes teacher
he lesson True False Unknown
(3) The Multiple Choice Test: This test is
also known by the following names:—
(i) The Multiple Responses Test.
(ii) The Best Answers Test.
(iii) The Best Judgments Test.
The
test consists of a number of items each of which provides 3 to 5 alternative
responses. One of these is correct or
definitely better than the others. The
subject is asked to spot this out.
Examples:
Underline
the word in the second line in each case that makes the correct answer:
(i)
Jute is an important agro-produce of
India
Ceylon Pakistan New Zealand .
(ii) The tribal people are more akin to
people from
East Lahore Peshawar Calcutta.
Pakistan.
Russia. Region.
(4) The Completion Test: This test
consists of a sentence or a paragraph from which one or more words or phrases
are omitted. The subject is asked to fill in the blanks. This test resembles
the Fill-in-the Blanks type of the question in the essay type examination.
Examples:
(i)
Rashid is a nice little———.—of seven.
(ii)
Money———the mare go.
(5) The Recall Test: Another similar test is known as
Recall Test. This test requires the subject to write a word or a short phrase
on each blank line in order to make a sentence true. In order to do this he has
to recall from memory. Examples:
(i) The shortest day of the year
is———.
(ii) The inventor of the
electricity was————.
(6) The Classification Test: This is also
known as the Cross out Test. The subject is asked to cross out one word in a
given series of words that does not belong to the class of the series.
Some
of the items on the author’s Classification Test are as follows:-
(i)
Ghalib Hali
Jinnah Iqbal Zauq.
(ii)
Peshawar Multan
Karachi Dacca Lahore.
(iii)
Have own
possess keep catch.
(iv)
Sweet Dish Sour
Slat Bitter.
(v)
Fire Budding
Flames Ashes Smoke.
(vi)
Appreciation
Wonder Amazement Surprise Astonishment
(7) The Arrangement Test: This test consists in presenting a list of words to the subject
and asking him to arrange them in a certain specified order. Examples:
Indicate
the chronological order (i.e. the time order) in which the following persons
lived in history by placing figure (1) in the brackets before the person who
lived first, figure (2) before the person who lived next, and so on:-
v Emperor Akbar
v Iqbal
v Buddha
v Ghalib
v Abraham Lincoln
v Bernard Shaw
v Alexander
(8) The Analogies Test: This is also
known as the Mixed Relations Test. In each test item there are two lines. The
first line contains two words which are related to each other because of one
factor or the other. It also contains a third word which is similarly related
to only one of the four or five words given in the second line, the subject is
asked to underline the right word in the second line. Examples:
(i) Far is to near as that is to
Here
Close Short This
(ii) Ice is to Cold as Fire is to
Hot
Hell Red Flames
(iii) Mosquito is to Malaria as Cloud is to
Sky
Slip Umbrella Rain
(iv) Sweet is to Honey as Bitter is to
Experience
tongue Quinine Taste
(9) The Similarities Test: This test presents a number of words
and asks the subject to find out the similarities between them. Examples:
Discover
the way in which the first three things mentioned in the first Line resemble
each other. Then look at the five other things mentioned in second line and
underline the one which is most like the first three things in the first line
:—
(i)
Sparrow Crow Pigeon.
Black Camel
Snake Parrot Buffalow.
(ii)
Sweet Sour Salt.
Honey Butter Tasty Bitter Ripe.
(10) The Opposites
Test: The subject is presented with rows of words each
containing about four words within brackets and one outside the brackets. He is
asked to underline the one word in the bracketed group of words that is
opposite in meaning to the one word without the brackets.
A few items in one of the author's Opposites Test are* as follows:—
(i)
Come (Sit,
Away, Far, Go),
(ii)
Sell (Get, Buy, Own, Receive).
(iii)
Temporary (Strong,
Permanent, Universal, First),
(iv)
Foolishness (Wisdom,
Knowledge, Education, Piety).
(v)
Innocent (Liar, Chief, Guilty, Bad).
(11) The Matching Test: This is also known as the Association Test. It consists of a
column of items each of which is to be matched with the appropriate item from
the other column. The items may be words, phrases, sentences or even
paragraphs. Example:
Number
each one of the topics in Column Two with the corresponding numbers from Column
One so as to show by pairs which are the most closely associated:
Column One Column
Two
(1)
Rain ( ) Mecca
(2)
Freud ( )
Water
(3)
Tractor ( )
Monsoon
(4)
Pilgrimage ( )
Unconscious
(5)
HO 2 ( )
Agriculture
(12) The Number
Continuation Test: This test presents rows of numbers
which continue according to a set pattern or order. The subject is asked to
discover the order and to put two more numbers on the blank lines which
continue the series in the same order.
Some
of the items from a Number Continuation Test by the author* are as follows:--
(i) 6 5 4 3 _______ _______
(ii) 202 203 404 505 _______
_______
(iii) 1 8 2 16 3 32 _______ _______
(iv) 40 10 35 15 30
_______ _______
Evaluation of the New Type Test
Several
evaluative studies of the new type test have been made. These studies have
revealed some merits and demerits of this type of test.
Merits: The merits that have most commonly
been pointed out are as follows:—
(1) Economical: Though these tests take a longer time to prepare as compared with
the
essay type tests they are easier and quicker to score. They are
thus economical and
time saving in the long run.
(2) Comprehensive: New type tests are more comprehensive than the essay type tests
because the range of their questions is not
limited.
(3) No
Favoritism: Being objective they are free from
the dangers of bias, favoritism or
victimization.
(4) Premium on
Thinking: These tests defeat the crammer by putting premium on
thinking
and analyzing before answering.
(5) Defeating
the Irrelevant Writer: As they do not provide much scope to
write, they
defeat those irrelevant writers
who 'pad' their answers or beat about the bush and
never come to the point.
(6) Objective
Scoring: The most obvious merit of these tests is that they can be
scored
objectively by any one.
Demerits of the New Type Tests: These tests,
however, are not an unmixed blessing. Their main disadvantages are follows:—
(1) Premium on Factual
Knowledge: The New Type Tests are mainly meant
for testing
factual knowledge. They
only test knowledge subjects adequately.
(2) No Training
for Written Work: They do not provide any training for
written
composition and good literary style.
(3) No Check against
Guessing: If a subject resorts to guessing in his answers the
examiner
cannot ascertain precisely where knowledge
stopped and guessing started.
It
may, however, be noted that the merits of the new type tests far outweigh the
demerits. By continued efforts and systematic research most of the defects
inherent in the method could be minimized.
Overhauling of
the Examination System
The
foregoing discussion brings out one thing very clearly. Our examination system
(i.e. the essay type examination) is defective to the core and needs immediate
overhauling. It affects the mental and physical health of the students very
adversely. By putting
premium on cramming, it stifles
all individuality and creativity in the learner. By subjecting the students to
a highly tension-involving situation our examinations also ruin the physical
health of many of them.
Combining the Essay and the New Types
The
best method, however, would be to evolve an examination system which combines
the advantages of both of these two systems of examination. The combined
examination system should employ the new type tests for assessing the factual
knowledge gained by students in school subjects; and the essay type test for
practical subject skills and those subjects which involve literary and
aesthetic appreciation e.g. history, languages, etc.
One
of the most valuable contributions of the Commission on National Education is
its wholesale condemnation of our current system of examination. It is hoped
that the constructive changes suggested by the Education Commission and the Curriculum
Committee would go a long way in evolving a healthier system of examination.
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