TIPS ON FAIR BUT STANDARD
WAYS OF SETTING TESTS AND
EXAMINATION QUESTIONS
Akinyemi M. L. (PhD)
Department of Physics,
Covenant University, Ota
PRESENTED AT
EXECUTIVE ADVANCE 2015
Effective Teaching and Learning Cycle
Assessment is one of the four stages in
•Teaching and Learning Cycle
• which is 30% of Ranking Parameter
Effective teaching and learning cycle
The cycle has no start
or end point, with each
step informing the next
Data and reflection determine where in the
cycle one needs to be operating in per time.
Assessment for relax & lighter mood:
Case Study_PHY 111
What did Archimedes
discover when he ran
out of bathtub naked
shouting “EUREKA”,
I have found it?
(PBL _ riddles & jokes: Effective TLC
move from experiential / everyday to
abstract / technical
Teaching and learning cycle:
PHY 111 - PLAN
PHY111 - COURSE OUTLINE
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
UNITS AND DIMENSION ANALYSIS
SCALAR AND VECTOR QUANTITIES
PARTICLE KINEMATICS
MOTION IN TWO AND THREE
DIMENSIONS
DYNAMICS
MECHANICAL WORK AND ENERGY
IMPULSE AND MOMENTUM
FLUID AT REST
FLUID DYNAMICS
Teaching and learning cycle:
PHY 111 - PLAN
GRADE AND ASSESMENT PLAN
•TEST/CONTINUOS ASSESMENT
= 30%
•ALPHA SEMESTER EXAMINATION = 70%
•TOTAL
= 100%
Teaching and learning cycle: Inspiration
Teaching and learning cycle: Inspiration
You require longer time and patient to chew the chicken
than you need to gulp down your custard.
Is the chicken more DIFFICULT because it requires extra
time? Likewise Physics requires more time!
Introduction
Another word for examination is assessment
What is assessment?
Assessment is the process of identifying, gathering
and interpreting information about students' learning
Purpose
To provide information on student achievement and
progress.
To assess how much each student has learned
compared to fellow students in the same course or
learning situation
5 Forms of Assessment include:
1. Formal and informal observation
(Good attendance and active
participation in class)
2. Formal assessment tasks
(assignments, term paper, tests etc)
3. Summative assessment at key points
(End of Semester Examination)
5 Forms of Assessment include:
4. Comparing evidence of achievement
with other students
(General performance of students in
the course)
5. Comparing evidence of achievement
against standards
(Marking Guide)***
Summative assessment (End
of semester examination)
1. Selected response items
a)Multiple choice
b)True/false
c) Matching
2. Short answer
a)Fill in the blank/ German Objective
Questions
b)One or two sentence response
3. Extended written response
4. Performance assessment (Laboratory
Practical)
Cumulative versus Summative
assessment
End of Semester and Continuous Assessment
CA includes attendance, participation,
assignments, term paper, tests …
Comparing evidence of achievement
with other students
An ideal situation and students
willingness 85 – 95% pass
Comparing evidence of achievement
with other students
High Failure Rate =
High Attrition Rate
Anti world-class
university practice
Less than 65% pass generates issue at
the board of examiners’
Fairness and Rigour in Setting Examination
•Lectures should be packaged into modules
•There should be clear indication of beginning
and end of each module
Units Suggested
Number of
Modules
1
2
3
3
5
3 or 6
Expected
Number of
Questions to
be set
3 or 4
5
6
Expected
Number to be
answered by
students
2
3
4
Module coverage: Example 2 unit course
At least three out of the five modules must
have been thoroughly revised in the class,
with sufficient tutorial questions solved
before mid- semester.
Just as Olympians need great coaching
and time to reach their highest potential,
our students need the same.
Module coverage: Question distribution
Questions should be well distributed
across the modules
It will not be fair on the students if
three out of five questions are based
on the most difficult module, which
majority of the class hardly grasped.
Module coverage: Time consciousness
By mid-semester enough is done in lecture
delivery, PBL, Tutorials, worked examples
etc. for average students to score a “C” grade
and brilliant ones a good “B” in the final
examination
WHY?
An average student cannot cope with
volume, and needs more time to revise the
much he has learnt up to that point.
Fairness and rigour in setting examination
Shuffle and arrange the questions
as you please
 As long as each module carries the
required number of questions
Question 1 based on module 3,
question 2 on module 1,
question 3 on module 5 …
There are only two ways to
live your life. One is as though
nothing is a miracle. The other
is as though everything is a
miracle. -- Albert Einstein