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Essay Type Test
1)The essay tests are still widely used assessment tools, despite the increasingly broad applicability of the short-answer and objective questions.
2)There are certain learning outcomes (e.g. organizing, summarizing, integrating ideas, and expressing one’s way) that cannot be satisfactorily measured by objective-type tests.
3)The importance of essay tests lies in the measurement of such instructional outcomes.
4)An essay-type test requires a candidate to plan their answer and explain it in their own words thus enabling the students to write with considerable freedom to select, organize and present their ideas.
5) Essay-type tests gives a better indication of the student’s actual learning performance.
6) Essay-type tests enable the students to respond thoroughly to a question by developing systematization and writing an original composition. The purpose of an essay test is to assess students’ ability to construct a logical, solid, and persuasive piece of writing.
7)In simple words, the answer of the pupil reveals the structure, dynamics and functioning of pupil’s mental life.
Types of Essay tests
Selective recall, Evaluation recall, Comparison between two things, Discussion, Explanation of a phrase or a sentence, Summary of some text, Analysis, Illustrations or examples of principles in Language or science, Classification, Application of some rules, Criticism and new methods of procedure are some of the types of Essay tests.
Essay type test advantages and disadvantages
Advantages of Essay type test.
1. Essay type tests improve study habits in the students.
2. Reduces the guesswork to a large extent
3. Easy To Construct. Such tests are easier to construct and administer.
4. This test is helpful in measuring all degrees of comprehensiveness and accuracy.
5. Essay type tests help in enhancing logical thinking, and critical reasoning systematic presentation in students.
6. Essay type tests provide an opportunity for a candidates to show their creativity, originality of thought, fertility of their imagination etc.
7. Enhance Thinking Ability.
8.It’s helpful to measure complex learning outcomes.
9. Essay type tests are helpful in determining the individual’s differences.
Disadvantages of Essay type tests
1.The essay type tests are less objective and so they lack validity.
2. Essay type of test increase the candidates filling habit capacity.
3. A student is bound to study a selective script of his course and often guesses the questions which may probably have an element of chance from an exam point of view.
4. The subjectivity of scoring is the most drawback of an essay-type test, which implies that individual likes and dislikes play a critical part in the checking.
5. It puts a lot of burden on the students. It keeps the student busy and fall to nervous tension.
6. Partiality is another imperfection of these essay-type tests since the educator gives more marks to their top-choice students.
7. It is time-consuming on part of students and the speed of writing and good writing style consume enough time of students.
