Rationale for Test Items

 The classification test item  number one provides and opportunity for students to apply what they have learned about the parts of plants that we use as food.   Kuzbisyn and Borich(2010) make the statement, “Pictures, drawings, graphs, tables, and so on require the student to think at the application level of the taxonomy of  educational objectives and may involve even higher levels of cognitive processes.”  (p. 145).  I wanted to use pictures in this test item for multiple reasons.   First graders are still emerging readers and I don’t want to them to feel overwhelmed by all the text on the test but rather demonstrate what they have learned  about plants throughout the unit.   I’m not testing on their reading ability but rather on the objectives set forth at the beginning of the unit.  This test item involves higher cognitive processing skills as first graders sort and classify different food items.

Test item number two is fairly straightforward and coincides with the objective of observing, collecting and evaluating data from plant growth. Students will need to use the data they have collected during the assignment and deduce what things a plant needs in order to grow.  Taking into consideration the advice of  Kuzbisyn and Borich (2010) to make sure that my test items match the cognitive level of my learning objectives I added this test item.   It gives the student the opportunity to demonstrate their understanding and synthesis of plant needs and growth as a result of their hands-on experience.

Test items three and four  go right along with the learning objective; Students will describe the function of each of the four plant parts.  This is a basic knowledge question but is necessary to check for student understanding of the purpose of each plant part.   If there is a lack of understanding at this basic level then other interventions and re-teaching needs to take place.  Scoring if these items is highly objective and takes only a short time to grade.   Also, based on the time allotted to complete some of the other parts of the assessment these are quick test items that  allow more material to be tested in a short amount of time and gives the student an opportunity to shift gears.

The essay question for this assessment is a restricted response item because the response is limited to plant growth and is not applied to a novel situation.  Kubiszyn and Borich contend, “A well-constructed essay makes it easier for you to evaluate accurately the student’s response.” (Kubuszyn, Borich, 2010, p. 158).   The validity of this essay question will come from the scoring scheme or rubric that is designed to measure it.   This essay question gives students and opportunity to supply an answer based on their own exploration and investigation.   Organizing and thinking through their response in a minimum of four sentences is developmentally appropriate for second semester first graders. 

Reference
Kubiszyn, T., Boarich, G., (2010), Educational Testing and Measurement: Classroom Application     and Practice, 9th Edition. John Wiley & Sons.