Measuring Complex
Achievement: Essay
Questions
Chapter 10
Jessica Rigsby
Objectives for Chapter 10
 Discuss the use of essay questions
 Compare two types of essay questions
 Hypothesize the advantages and
disadvantages of using essay questions
 Compare two types of scoring rubrics
 Evaluate sample essays using a scoring
rubric
 Create examples of two types of essay
questions
What’s So Great About Essay
Questions?
They allow assessment of students’
abilities to:
 Formulate problems
 Organize, integrate, and evaluate ideas
and information
 Apply knowledge and skills
Forms and Uses of Essay
Questions
 May be used to measure knowledge of
factual information
 Full potential realized with more higherorder thinking problems
 Useful in meeting learning outcomes
concerned with the abilities to
conceptualize, construct, organize,
integrate, relate, and evaluate ideas in
content areas such as: history, civics,
literature, science, math, etc.
 Most widely used when the main focus is
on student writing in any subject

Examples: distinguishing between
narrative essays, expository essays, and
persuasive essays or focusing on writing
process
Confucius Say…
The freedom of response provided by essay
questions is not an all-or-nothing affair but,
rather, a matter of degrees.
Restricted
Response
ExtendedResponse
Restricted Response Essay
Questions
 Usually limits both the content and the
response by restricting the scope of the
topic to be discussed, generally
indicated in the question
 Useful for measuring learning outcomes
requiring interpretation and application of
data in a specific area
 Any outcomes measured by an objective
interpretive exercise can be measured
by a restricted response essay question
Examples of Restricted
Response Essay Questions
 Describe two situations that demonstrate
the application of the law of supply and
demand. Do not use those examples
discussed in class.
 State the main differences between the
Vietnam War and previous wars in which
the United States has participated.
 Why is the barometer one of the most
useful instruments for forecasting
weather? Answer in a brief paragraph.
The Restricted Response essay question
provides for more ease of assessment,
but it restricts the scope of the topic to
be discussed and indicates the nature of
the desired response to the student
which limits his or her opportunity to
demonstrate these behaviors on their
own.
Is there a better method for evaluating
complex achievement…
Extended-Response Essay
Questions
 Freedom of response allows student to
select information that they think is
pertinent, to organize the answer in
accordance with their best judgment,
and to integrate and evaluate ideas as
they deem appropriate
 Places value on higher-order thinking
skills
Examples of ExtendedResponse Essay Questions
 Imagine that you and a friend found a
magic wand. Write a story about an
adventure that you and your friend had
with the magic wand.
 Compare developments in international
relations in the administrations of
President William Clinton and President
George W. Bush. Cite examples when
possible.
To Keep Things Simple…
 Objective Interpretive- select
 Restricted Response Essay- supply
 Extended-Response Essay- write
Pros & Cons of Essay
Questions
 Apply your knowledge
 Time consuming
 They give student the
 Grading: grammar usage
options to chose what
they want to write about
 reasoning
 The teacher can tell if the
student studies or not
 Can often prepare in
advance what to write
vs. content
 Legibility
 Hard to formulate ideas
in time
 Takes longer to grade
How Can We Change Those
Cons to Pros?
 Unreliability- clearly defining learning
outcomes to be measured, properly
framing questions, carefully following
scoring rules, and obtaining practice in
scoring
 Amount of time- reserve use of
extended-response questions for
learning outcomes that cannot be
measured well objectively
 Limited Sampling- try to obtain as
representative a sample of learning
outcomes as possible (accumulate a
series of essays throughout the school
year to be included in a writing portfolio)
Suggestions for Constructing
Essay Questions
 Restrict use of essays to learning
outcomes that cannot be measured well
objectively
 Construct questions that call forth skills
specified in learning standards
Example box on page 235
 Phrase the question so that the students’
task is clearly indicated
Example:
Poor: Compare the Democratic and
Republican parties.
 Better: Compare the current policies of
the Democratic and Republican parties
with regard to the role of government in
private business. Support your
statements with examples when
possible. (Your answer should be
confined to two pages. It will be
evaluated in terms of the
appropriateness of the facts and
examples presented and the skill with
which it is organized.)
 Indicate an approximate time limit for
each question
 Avoid the use of optional questions

Example Box page 239
Now that we have essay questions how do
we score them?
Scoring Essay Questions
Tips to remember…
 Use clear specifications of scoring
criteria
 Inform students of scoring criteria
 Use an initial review to find “anchor”
responses for comparison
 Use descriptive rather than judgmental
scores or levels (“writing is clear and
thoughts are complete” vs. “excellent”)
Scoring for Restricted
Response Essay Questions
 In most instances, the teacher should
write an example of an expected
response

For example, if the student is asked to
describe three factors that contributed to
the start of the Civil War, the teacher would
construct a list of acceptable reasons and
give the student 1 point for each of up to
three reasons given from the list
Scoring for ExtendedResponse Essay Questions
Analytic Scoring Rubrics
 Consist of a rubric broken down into key
dimensions that will be evaluated
 Enables teacher to focus on one
characteristic of a response at a time
 Provides maximum feedback for
students
Holistic Scoring Rubrics
 Yield a single overall score taking into
account the entire response
 Can be used to grade essays more
quickly
 Does not provide as much specific
feedback as analytic rubric
 Should not consist of scores alone, but
rather contain scores accompanied by
statements of the characteristics of the
response

Example Table 10.3 and 10.4
Suggestions for Scoring Essay
Questions
 Prepare an outline of the expected
answer in advance and use a clear
scoring rubric
 Use the scoring rubric that is most
appropriate
 Decide how to handle factors that are
irrelevant to the learning outcomes being
measured
 Evaluate all responses to one question
before going on to the next one
 When possible, evaluate answers
without looking at the student’s name
 If especially important decisions are to
be based on the results, obtain two or
more independent ratings
 Look out for bluffing! Page 247