HPGD2303 Educational Assessment Assignment : MCQ Test Development, Analysis & Online Class Participation

PURPOSE

The assignment allows you to demonstrate your knowledge and competency in planning, designing, preparing, administering, and appraising the effectiveness of a test paper consisting of 20 MCQ questions.

PART I: DEVELOPMENT OF TEST PAPER (50 MARKS)

There are THREE (3) questions for the Part I assignment. The details of the questions are presented below:

QUESTION 1: TABLE OF SPECIFICATIONS AND DESCRIPTION

1. This question requires you to present your plan for a test paper consisting of 20 multiple-choice questions (MCQs). These MCQs must have 4 options (including the correct answer).
2. The MCQs should cover any FOUR topics of this course HPGD2303 Educational Assessment.
3. Present your plan in the form of a Table of Specifications. Your table of specifications should have the following details:
4. Four topics to be assessed
5. Hours of interaction for each topic
6. Number and percentage of items/questions for each topic based on any 3 levels of cognitive complexity of Bloom’s taxonomy (e.g., Knowledge, comprehension and application, or comprehension, application, and analysis, etc.)
7. Use the following table in presenting your Table of Specifications.

Table of Specifications (Table 1)

In your description for the TOS, it is important that you:

1. Describe the Table of Specification
2. Justify the selection of the topics to be assessed
3. Indicate the hours of interaction allocated for each topic
4. Justify the choice of the cognitive complexity levels – Blooms
5. Justify the distribution of items across the three levels

QUESTION 2: TEST PAPER AND COMMENTARY

This question requires you to prepare the actual test paper based on the Table of Specifications you presented in Question 1. Attach the camera-ready test paper in the appendix.

There are two sections in the commentary of the test paper. In the first section, provide an essay-format commentary covering the following aspects:

1. Explain why you use MCQs to assess the topics.
2. Indicate the objective(s) for this test paper
3. Explain the measures taken to ensure the development of effective MCQs.
4. Describe the background/ profile of the test-takers (e.g., your school teachers, HPGD2303 course participants, or other participants with course knowledge of educational assessment).
5. Explain how the 20 MCQs can effectively measure understanding of educational assessment.
6. Explain the Bloom’s complexity level of each item.
7. Provide the instructions for the test-takers.

In the second section, provide the required information using the following Table 2:

1. For the distractors, ensure they are of almost the same length as the correct answer, and avoid providing obviously wrong answers. This is important as it will later affect the calculation outcomes of the Difficulty Index and Discrimination Index.
2. Include scenario-based questions, case study-type questions, etc. to allow for a variety of MCQs.

QUESTION 3: ITEM ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

This question requires you to perform an item analysis based on the test paper results. Students are not expected to calculate measures of central tendency (e.g., mean, standard deviation) or frequency distribution. In this section, you must do the following:

1. Administer the test to a relevant group of test-takers, ensuring a minimum of 20 participants. The group should represent the target population for which the test is intended.
2. After administering the test, carefully score and mark each test paper.

• Perform item analysis for each question on the test. The two primary metrics for the item analysis are:
• Difficulty Index: This measures how challenging each item was for the test-takers. It is typically calculated by determining the proportion of students who answered the item correctly. A higher difficulty index indicates that the item was easier, while a lower index suggests greater difficulty.
• Discrimination Index: This assesses how well each item distinguishes between high and low performers. A high discrimination index indicates that the item effectively differentiates between students who understand the material and those who do not.
• Distractor analysis is not required for this task.

1. Interpret the item analysis results for each test item based on the Difficulty and Discrimination Indices. In your interpretation, include the following points:

• Reflect on how these results may inform the quality of each test item
• Reflect on the test as a whole.
• Whether the test is appropriately challenging and effective in assessing the intended learning objectives.
• The clarity and fairness of the questions.
• Possible areas for improvement, such as revising poorly performing items or adjusting the balance of item difficulty.

Submission Guidelines

1. Your assignment should be typed on A4 paper using 12-point Times New Roman and single spacing.

[Total: 50 marks]

Checklist for your reference 

1. I have used the Table of Specifications (Table 1) template provided in the question to guide the development of the test.
2. I have administered the test to at least 20 participants from the target population.
3. The 27% rule should NOT be applied for participant numbers below 80.
4. I have used Table 2 to justify the development and purpose of the items.
5. I have calculated the Difficulty Index for each test item using step-by-step calculations.
6. I have calculated the Discrimination Index for each test item using step-by-step calculations.
7. I have interpreted the Difficulty Index results for each test item.
8. I have interpreted the Discrimination Index results for each test item.

PART II: ONLINE CLASS PARTICIPATION (10 MARKS)

Discuss the following posts in the forum and submit proof of your participation in the online discussions:

Post 1:

Reflect on how this course has helped you better understand teaching, and how you can apply what you have learned in a school setting.

Post 2:

What are the advantages and disadvantages of standardised testing as a method of educational assessment, and how do these assessments impact teaching practices and student outcomes?

Post 3:

How can teachers design authentic assessment tasks that align with learning objectives and promote deeper understanding and application of knowledge? Provide examples of authentic assessment tasks across various subject areas and grade levels.

Posts 4-5:

Provide your response to other posts by your peers.

[Total: 10 marks]

INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO SUBMIT PROOF OF ONLINE CLASS PARTICIPATION (10%)
Do the following:

1. Select the best FIVE (5) of your postings from the forum discussion set up by your tutor.
2. Take screenshots of the postings and include them as images in your assignment.
3. The screenshots should be an image file (either in JPG or PNG format). Refer to the sample of Screen Grab below
4. The screenshots should contain the Name, Title of the discussion, Day, Date, and Time.