Tutorials for Using Quizzing Software
Using
CyberExam
Using
QuizPlease
Using
WebQuiz Writer 2.2
Some Issues to Consider
Why
Use Quizzing and Testing?
 A primary
reason is to assess students' progress. Note that this reason
is different from the need to assign a grade at the end of the term.
Quizzing
and testing also encourage progress. Students who know that the
final grade will depend in part on the quiz may become motivated to
learn.
The results
of quizzing and testing provide feedback to the instructor about
his or her success in helping students to identify the key issues.
The
Purpose of Quizzing and Testing Before Instruction Begins
It is useful
to identify what students know. Prerequisites don't always provide
an indication that students are ready for your course.
Introduction
of topics through early testing may help students focus on important
topics that will be introduced in the course.
An exam
before instruction begins establishes a base line performance
against which performance at the end can be compared.
The
Purpose of Quizzing and Testing During Instruction
Provides
a good way to correct misconceptions and incompletely developed
ideas.
Identifies
for the student and the instructor where additional work is needed.
Refocuses
attention on the desired outcomes.
The
Purpose of Quizzing and Testing After Instruction
Quizzing
and Testing after instruction may measure student learning. Creating
quizzes and tests that measure learning and not some other outcome is,
of course, not easy.
In
some cases the results can be used to determine whether or not a student
qualifies to take a more advanced course.
Demonstration
that a body of material has been learned may show that the student is
ready to apply that knowledge.
Advantages
of Online Quizzing
Students
receive immediate feedback if the software that is used automatically
grades the quiz.
Students
can take online quizzes and tests from anywhere they have an
Internet connection.
All
students need not take the quiz at the same time, allowing flexible
schedules.
For
quizzing programs that automatically grade quizzes, the scores are
automatically recorded.
For
paragraph or essay questions, the responses are legible since
they are typed and not hand written.
Disadvantages
of Online Quizzing
The
potential exists for cheating.
Students'
scores may suffer if the technology doesn't work.
Preparing
online quizzes and tests can be time consuming.
Controlling
Cheating
The
first line of defense is to use a quizzing program that requires user
IDs and passwords.
Control
the pressure to cheat by making each assessment worth only a few
points.
Offer
the quiz in a proctored lab where IDs can be checked.
Use
alternative assessment methods that don't rely on multiple choice,
TF and fill in the blank questions.
True-False
Questions
TF
questions are relatively easy to construct.
Guessing
produces a score, on average, of 50%. By most assessment standards,
this is not a passing score.
It
is difficult to write TF questions that test "gray" areas.
The
software is easy to write since there are few choices to make.
If the question is properly written, the answer a student has selected
is either correct or incorrect.
Matching
Questions
Matching
questions are well suited to associational knowledge.
Matching
questions minimize guessing.
Matching
questions test recognition rather than recall.
Software
to create and grade them must be flexible.
Must
allow variable numbers of list items in both columns.
Must
allow more than one correct match per item.
Multiple
Choice
Good
distractors are hard to write. Non-trivial MC questions are extremely
hard to write, and are prone to misinterpretation.
MC
questions reduce guessing.
MC
questions can provide diagnostic information about the state
of student's knowledge.
Some
people believe MC questions are less effective at testing higher
order thinking.
Software
is easy to write.
Quality
software can allow for more than one correct answer per question, and
can assign point values to each choice in the question.
Short
Answer Questions
SA
questions are very easy to write.
Eliminates
guessing.
Emphasizes
recall over recognition.
Overemphasizes
memorization?
Software
to grade is difficult to write.
Short
Answer Grading
Software
should allow instructor to specify more than one correct answer.
There are very few short answers for which there is only one possibly
correct answer.
In
some instances you want the answer a student types to be judged without
regard to case. The answer judging engine should ignore the case
of the students' answers. For example, "CLINTON" and "Clinton"
should be judged as correct.
In
some instances you want the answer a student types to be judged on
the case of the letters. The answer judging engine should compare
the case of the students' answers to the case of the correct answer.
For example, "NaCl" is correct while "NACL" is not.
The
software should trim away extra spaces and nonprinting characters
such as Tabs that students have accidentally inserted in their answers.
For example, "Clinton" and "Clinton " should both
be marked correct.
Essay
Questions
Essays
can provide in-depth assessment of knowledge and understanding.
Guessing
is reduced.
Good
for assessing higher level thinking.
Software
to grade is very difficult to write.
Some
programs generate a score based on counting key words.
Some
newer programs are using artificial intelligence to attempt to judge
writing.
At
a minimum, software should collect student essays online and
present them to the instructor for grading.
What
Resources Are Needed for Online Quizzing and Testing?
Most quizzing
and testing packages do not reside on the instructor's computer. They
require a College Web Server.
Quizzing
and testing software package.
Faculty
and student connections to the Internet.
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