MODULE No.

12
Subjective Tests: Short-Answer and Essay
Module Introduction:
Arikunto (2007) states that Subjective test is generally a test which needs answers in form generally a test which needs answers in
form of essay, explanation or description. Usually in doing this test, students will be given about 90-120 minutes for 5-10 questions When
a teacher uses subjective test questions, that means students need to use their mind and feelings to make logical claims.

WEEK 8 DAY 16 LESSON NO. 13

LESSON TITLE Subjective Tests: Short-Answer
DURATION/HOURS 1.5 hours
SPECIFIC At the end of the session, the students are expected to:
LEARNING a. describe short-answer type of subjective test; and
OUTCOMES: b. draw/illustrate your feelings on the topic/lesson being discussed using emoji/emoticon;
TEACHING LEARNING ACTIVITIES
Task: Definition
Directions: Describe a Short-Answer Type of Subjective Test.

Processing:
Discussion of Concept No. 1: What are short-answer type of subjective test?
❖ Short-Answer Type
Short-answer questions are open-ended questions that require students to create an answer. They are commonly used in
examinations to assess the basic knowledge and understanding (low cognitive levels) of a topic before more in-depth assessment
questions are asked on the topic.

Structure of Short-Answer Questions

Short Answer Questions do not have a common structure. Questions may require answers such as complete the sentence,
supply the missing word, short descriptive or qualitative answers, diagrams with explanations etc. The answer is usually short,
from one word to a few lines. Often students may answer in bullet form.
Examples:
1. MHz measures the _________________ of the computer.
2. List the different types of test.
3. State third law of motion.
References: https://www.slideshare.net/irshadirshad75457/subjective-test-46780726 and https://www2.slideshare.net/irshadirshad75457/subjective-test

Discussion of Concept No. 2: What are the advantages of short-answer type test?
❖ Advantages of Short-Answer
1. Relatively fast to mark and can be marked by different assessors, as long as the questions are set in such a way that all
alternative answers can be considered by the assessors.
2. Relatively easy to set compared to many assessment methods.
3. Can be used as part of a formative and summative assessment, as the structure of short answer questions are very similar to
examination questions, students are more familiar with the practice and feel less anxious.
4. There is no guessing on answers, students must supply an answer.

❖ Disadvantages of Short-Answer
1. Only suitable for questions that can be answered with short responses. It is very important that the assessor is very clear on
the type of answers expected when setting the questions, because short-answer question is an open-ended question, students
are free to answer any way they choose, short-answer questions can lead to difficulties in grading if the question is not worded
carefully.
2. Typically used for assessing knowledge only, students may often memorize Short Answer Questions with rote learning. If
assessors wish to use short answer questions to assess deeper learning, careful attention (and many practices) on appropriate
questions are required.
3. Accuracy of assessment may be influenced by handwriting/spelling skills.
4. There can be time management issues when answering Short Answer Questions
References: https://www.slideshare.net/irshadirshad75457/subjective-test-46780726 and https://www2.slideshare.net/irshadirshad75457/subjective-test

Discussion of Concept No. 3: How to construct short-answer type test?

❖ Rules and Suggestions for Construction of Short-Answer Type Test
1. The question should not be picked up exactly from the book and should not provide any clue.
2. The scoring key should be prepared and assign marks to each question according to its weightage.
3. Design short answer items which are appropriate assessment of the learning objective.
4. Make sure the content of the short answer question measures knowledge appropriate to the desired learning goal.
5. Express the questions with clear wordings and language which are appropriate to the student population.
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 6. Ensure there is only one clearly correct answer in each question.
7. Ensure that the item clearly specifies how the question should be answered (e.g., Student should answer it briefly and
concisely using a single word or short phrase? Is the question given a specific number of blanks for students to answer?).
8. Consider whether the positioning of the item blank promote efficient scoring.
9. Write the instructions clearly so as to specify the desired knowledge and specificity of response.
10. Set the questions explicitly and precisely.
11. Direct questions are better than those which require completing the sentences.
12. For numerical answers, let the students know if they will receive marks for showing partial work (process based) or only the
results (product based), also indicated the importance of the units.
13. Let the students know what your marking style is like, is bullet point format acceptable, or does it have to be an essay format?
14. Prepare a structured marking sheet; allocate marks or part-marks for acceptable answer(s).
15. Be prepared to accept other equally acceptable answers, some of which you may not have predicted.
References: https://www.slideshare.net/irshadirshad75457/subjective-test-46780726 and https://www2.slideshare.net/irshadirshad75457/subjective-test

Formative: Illustration
Directions: Draw an emoji/emoticon that shows your feeling/s on the topic/lesson being discussed. Explain.
Synthesis: Key Point Summary
Directions: Make a list of bulleted key points of learning from the lesson. Give at least five (5) key points.
RESOURCES ▪ Educational Measurement and Evaluation: Subjective Test -
https://www.slideshare.net/irshadirshad75457/subjective-test-46780726
▪ Subjective Test - https://www2.slideshare.net/irshadirshad75457/subjective-test

WEEK 9 DAY 17 LESSON NO. 14

LESSON TITLE Subjective Tests: Essay
DURATION/HOURS 1.5 hours
SPECIFIC At the end of the session, the students are expected to:
LEARNING a. describe essay type of subjective test;
OUTCOMES: b. define each types of essay type of subjective test;
c. draw/illustrate your feelings on the topic/lesson being discussed using emoji/emoticon;
d. identify test items as restricted-response essay test and extended-response essay test; and
e. construct 5-item test for restricted-response essay test and extended-response essay test.
TEACHING LEARNING ACTIVITIES
Task: Definition
Directions: Give what is/are asked in each item.
1. Describe an Essay Type of Subjective Test.
2. Give the two (2) classifications of Essay Type Test.

Processing:
Discussion of Concept No. 1: What are essay type of subjective test?
❖ Essay Type
Essay tests are assessment tools which consist ofspecific question or problem wherein the examinees respond in one or more
sentences. It is widley considered to measure students; ability to think and express their ideas critically within a certain period of time.
The type of test that usually allows greater freedom of response to questions and requires more writing. It is a free answer kind
of test. In this case the examinees or the students have the responsibility of thinking out the answers to the questions asked. They
have the freedom to express or state the answers in their own words. It is used by teachers to measure achievement, performance
etc from classroom instruction. The answers to such questions which the learners are confronted differ in quality and degree of
correctness.

Characteristic of Essay Test

1. Students answer small number of questions. Because of time limits, It is not always possible that all the topics be covered
by the tests.
2. The script are written in the students own style, words and usually in his own handwriting.
3. The students are considerably free to organize their own answers. This implies that answers with varying degrees of accuracy
and completeness.

Types of Essay Questions

C.C. Weidman (1933, 1941) identified ten types of essay question which he arranged in order from simple to complex. These
questions begin with:
1. what, who, when, which, and where 4. describe 7. discuss 10. evaluate
2. list 5. contrast 8. develop
3. outline 6. compare 9. summarize
References: Calmorin, Laurita P., Ph.D. (2011). Assessment of Student Learning 1. Manila, Philippines: Rex Bookstore, Inc. and
https://www.slideshare.net/irshadirshad75457/subjective-test-46780726

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Discussion of Concept No. 2: What are the types of essay type test?
❖ Extended-Response or Free-Response
These are responses to essay questions in which the examinee is only restricted by time as no bound is placed as regards
the in-depth, breadth and the organization of the response. In response to such a question the examinee demonstrates his ability
to select and recall the facts which he thinks are appropriate, organize and present his ideas in a logical and coherent form. This
freedom to decide which facts the thinks is most pertinent to select his own method of organization and to write as much as seems
necessary for a comprehensive answer tends to reveal the ability to evaluate ideas, relate them, coherently and to express them
briefly. In addition, they expose the individual differences in attitudes, values and creative ability.
Examples:
1. Describe the sampling technique used in research studies.
2. Why should the classroom teacher state his instructional objectives to cover
3. the three domains of educational objectives.

❖ Restricted-Response
In this type, the questions are so structured that the students are limited, the scope of the response is defined and restricted.
The answers given are to some extent controlled. In this type the examinee is limited to the nature, length or organization of
response to be made. The items are directional questions and are aimed at the desired responses. This limits the examinee
freedom to select, recall, and synthesize all that he knows and to present them logically as he may wish. This type of essay item is
most useful in measuring learning outcomes at the lower cognitive levels of educational objectives, that is knowledge,
comprehension and application levels. The restricted nature of the expected response in this type of items makes it more efficient
for measuring knowledge of factual material. It reduces to a reasonable extent the difficulty of scoring and encourages more
reliability in scoring. However, the restriction makes it less effective as a measure of ability to select, organize and integrate ideas
andpresent them in an original and coherent form which is one of the major advantages ofessay test.
Examples:
1. Give three advantages and two disadvantages of essay tests.
2. State four uses of tests in education.
References: https://www.slideshare.net/irshadirshad75457/subjective-test-46780726 and https://www2.slideshare.net/widyaamnezhia/essay-test-29420120

Discussion of Concept No. 3: What are the advantages of essay type test?
❖ Advantages of Essay Test
1. Easy to construct. It is easy to construct because only few items involved.
2. Economical. It is economical because the questions can be writtenon the board. It is also economical to schools which lack
the duplicating facilities like computers, mimeographing machines, scanners, printers, and many others.
3. Saves time and energy. It save time and energy of classroom teacher in constructing the test becausefew number of test
items are involved.
4. Trains the core of organizing ideas. Trains the students to organize their ideas.
5. Minimize guessing. It minimizes guessing because the answer is long wherein it involves a sentence or more.
6. Develops critical thinking. It develops the students critical thinking in logical analysis, comparison, discussion,and
reorganization of facts.
7. Minimize cheating. Cheating is minimized because the response is evaluated according to content and form and the answer
is long. It involves one or more sentences.
8. Minimize rote memorization. Rote memorization is minimized because the answer to the question needs logical discussion,
expression of ideas, analysis, and reasoning power.
9. Develops good study habits. Good study habits are developed in the part of the students because studying lessons with
comprehension and logical understanding is needed easily to answer essay questions.
10. Develops students’ ability of to express their own ideas. Develops the students’ ability to express their ideas, abilities,
and reasoning power.

❖ Disadvantages of Essay Test

1. Low validity. It has low validity because it has limited sample since there are only few items involved.
2. Low reliability. It has low reliability because of subjectivity in scoring. Teachers react favorably to test papers of bright students
and react unfavorably to weak students’ test papers
3. Low paracticability. It is time consuming on the part of the teacher in scoring the test and also time consuming on the part
os the students in answering the questions, hence,much time and energy is wasted.
4. Encourage bluffing. Encourages students to bluff their response especially if the answer involves a paragraph or two. In
return the teacher gets tired in reading the answers and his reaction is either to react favorably or unfavorably to the response.
5. Difficult to correct or score. It s difficult to correct or score because the answer is too long to read.
6. Disadvantage to students with poor penmanship. It is disadvantage to students with poor penmanship because the teacher
will have a hard time reading the contents of his answers.
References: Calmorin, Laurita P., Ph.D. (2011). Assessment of Student Learning 1. Manila, Philippines: Rex Bookstore, Inc. and
https://www.slideshare.net/irshadirshad75457/subjective-test-46780726

Discussion of Concept No. 4: How to construct essay type test?

❖ Rules and Suggestions for Construction of Essay Type Test
An essay test is a useful measurement instrument only to the extent that it is constructed, administered and scored to ensure a
high level of objectivity. For this reason, essay test items should consist of items that will ensure the same understanding and elicit

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 only the skill or ability one is interested in measuring from every examinee. The following points are suggested as guide for
construction of good essay test items:
1. Essay questions are to be used only when it’s desirable and very adequate for measuring the learning outcomes for full
realization of learner’s achievement. In other words, they are to be used for questions that call for complex learning outcomes
that be appropriate to the organization, integration and expression of ideas which would not have been possible without the
use of essay test items.
2. Essay questions should be designed to elicit only the skill which the item was intended to measure. This can be achieved by
expressing clearly and precisely the question in line with clearly defined instructional objective. In addition, an action verb like
compare, contrast, illustrates, differentiates, criticized and so on could be used to give the test items more focus.
3. Phrase each question to clearly indicate the examinees task. An essay question has to be precise . Ensure that the
examinee’s task is clearly indicated by delimiting the area covered by the item, using descriptive words to give specific
direction towards the desired response. Indicate the score allotted to the test. This suggestion easily lend itself to restricted
response type and care should be taken not to narrow the questions when constructing the extended response type in order
not to reduce its effectiveness as a measuring of the ability to select, organize and integrate ideas.
4. Adapt the length and complexity of the answer to the examinees’’ level of maturity.
5. Indication of approximate time limit for each question. It is necessary to indicate time allotted to each question to enable the
examinee to pace their writing on each question and to allay any anxiety that might arise.
6. Avoid the use of optional questions because, optional questions might influence the validity of test results.
7. It is also not easy to construct essay questions of the same difficulty level. Hence, making valid comparisons of performance
among them especially for norm reference setting will not be possible.
References: Calmorin, Laurita P., Ph.D. (2011). Assessment of Student Learning 1. Manila, Philippines: Rex Bookstore, Inc. and
https://www.slideshare.net/irshadirshad75457/subjective-test-46780726

Formative: Illustration
Directions: Draw an emoji/emoticon that shows your feeling/s on the topic/lesson being discussed. Explain.
Synthesis: Key Point Summary
Directions: Make a list of bulleted key points of learning from the lesson. Give at least five (5) key points.
ASSESSMENT Quiz
Directions: Identify the given test item whether it is a restricted-response essay test or extended-response
essay test. Encircle the item number if the question/statement is a restricted-response essay test and box the
item number if the question/statement is a extended-response essay test.
1. Explain the various ways of preventing accident in a school workshop or laboratory.
2. What are the implications of fuel price hike in our economy?
3. Describe four sources of energy.
ASSIGNMENT Directions: construct 2-item test for restricted-response essay test and extended-response essay test.
RESOURCES ▪ Essay Tests - Calmorin, Laurita P., Ph.D. (2011). Assessment of Student Learning 1. Manila, Philippines:
Rex Bookstore, Inc.
▪ Educational Measurement and Evaluation: Subjective Test -
https://www.slideshare.net/irshadirshad75457/subjective-test-46780726
▪ Subjective Test - https://www2.slideshare.net/irshadirshad75457/subjective-test

Developed by:

JEDAHLYN ROSE D. BALAD-ON, LPT

Instructress

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