Objective Evaluations Vs. Subjective Evaluations
Which one do you think is better for assessing students knowledge of the course material?
Juliet,
What is your answer regarding this?
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
To understand how pieces fit together, Subjective seems to almost always be the better option (at least in my courses). But it is not always time feasible to have multiple subjective evaluations, especially those that would show a spectrum of items learned. (Discussions tend to help fill the void in terms of Assessing comprehension, but I have found that in a design class like mine, an essay that accompanies and explains a project really covers the bases in terms of Evaluation.)
Christopher,
So, do you do something like the "Muddiest Point" Papers?
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
I believe that the subjective is better for testing of a thorough understanding of the material. The best combination, though, in my mind, is to mix the two so that the subjective responses require objective information, as well.
I find the subjective evaluation easier to acquire an understanding of just how much a student knows because there is no guesswork involved. In objective, the student who doesn't know the answer to a question can always guess and sometimes (if not often) guess correctly. That gives an inflated result. This student would not fare well on a subjective exam, particularly if specific data is also required within the essay.
The problem in grading the subjective in my area of expertise is the student who might come up with a valid interpretation of the material that is different from mine or other sources. That makes it extremely important that I remain open-minded and don't start forming an opinion of the answer until the answer is complete. Even then, I have to be careful about the validity of his/her answer. With essay exams of that nature, I re-read the essay one or two times later to check on my own biases.
I started to add something to my response, but the clock timed out on me, so here is another approach that I use.
For weekly quizzes, I use a 10-20 objective questions in my Developmental English class, which covers a lot of ground in grammar and punctuation. Once they are graded, part of the homework requirement for the next week is to review and explain all the wrong answers from the quiz. The students must list the question, their original answer, the correct answer, why theirs was wrong, what the rule is that governs the answer, and where they found that answer: lecture, textbook, or the supplementary aids I provide in Doc Sharing.
If students do this, I go back to the original quiz of the week before and restore some points. However, their reviews must be correct and where they say they found the right answer must also be correct. This gives them the learning experience of reviewing the work of the week before, and they gain more insight as to where these rules of grammar can be found.
Michael,
You seem very conscientious! Do you remove their names when you grade. I know my learning management system will allow me to do that now.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Michael,
Thanks for your great discussion. I like how your view assessment for your students. It takes hard work for students to realize that returned papers are meaningful!
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Nicely stated Michael, and I totally agree.
If it was totally up to me, all assessments provided would be in essay format. There are so many advantages to this method, but primarily the students tend to take more away from the table. For example, true and false questions do not really allow the student to grasp a new concept in the manner needed to completely utlize the information. The essay, on the other hand allows the students to communicate understanding of the concept and possibly apply it to real-world senarios.
Any thoughts Michae?
Elton,
I agree with you but it does make workload challenging. It is interesting, I was talking to a publisher and they are experimenting with software that will grade essays by looking for key words and looking at patterns. Should be interesting. . . .
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
I like essay questions also. I also do not use true/false questions, primarily because I can usually find a basic LOGIC 101 problem with most all offered by textbook companies. Nevertheless, my favorite testing style is a mix between objective (MC, matching) and subjective (short answer/ essay). However, it really does depend upon the subject matter at hand, and primarily the objectives of the course itself.
I agree taht subjective is better for testing. Having taught online, this is what I am used to and do find that there are many students who do struggle with providing their "own voice", but are attempting to formaulatae an understanding of the material, and for that, I do provide credit and try and guide the context of their work for future assignments. Having worked "on-campus" as well, the objective assessments worked well. Not only for me, but for the student's...it was their expectation of what college was all about which was taking tests. For me it was easier to grade and move on to more content information of the course without having to provide much feedback unless the student wanted one-on-one feedback. Did anyone else experience this?
Jennifer ,
I agree with you. I don't use t/f because there is a 50/50 chance of getting it right or wrong by guessing. Good answer.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Tina,
You have to be careful with relying on students reacting to feedback. I have actually recorded me grading a paper so when I hand back a paper, there is my voice. It works!
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
I agree subjective evaluations are a better predictor of the knowledge base, but the time constraint makes the objective evaluations a better assessment tool. In my class the students become anxious when they look up and there are only a few test takers remaining. I try to discourage this thought process as I find it does negatively affect their scores. They begin randomly answering questions without reading the questions. I also find that when students around them finish ahead of them they do the same thing, randomly start answering quesions without reading the questions. Can anyone suggest how to stop this type of behavior?
First of all, I think we are talking about assessments of student learning here not evaluation of the program.
Second, we need to go back to Bloom's Taxonomy.
If we are talking about assessing knowledge acquisition (only), objective items like multiple choice, true/false, matching do a fine job of measuring knowledge.
If we are talking about higher level thinking skills such as application, synthesis, evaluation then most people prefer more subjective approaches. While Bloom provided examples of how to measure these higher order skills objectively, these items are very difficult to write and take a lot of thought on the part of the individual authoring the items. They may incorporate multiple items using hypothetical scenarios and choices moving the learner through "what would you do next" type decision points.
Most people prefer to test for higher order thinking skills using open ended questions where there are no right and wrong answers and students have to create new combinations of responses.
Authentic assessment follows this type of thinking applying whatever is being studied to a real life experience in the student's environment.
Joni,
I agree. Students don't read they just answer. It is frustrating. Many think there will be "do overs". Particularly my freshmen.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Trude,
Great answer. You make a great point. Is is our "instructors" fault when we don't take the time to make the questions more involved contextually such as simulations and case studies? They are harder to write and harder to grade; but live is more this way.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
If it is only between the two choices, I will always lean towards subjective. Objective is too easy. Recall can be mastered and thrown away. After it is thrown away, what was actually learned besides the ability to pass a test. What was harder for you while you were in school. I definately preferred objective testing, but I learned more from subjective.
I like the subjective.
Rather than just rote memory, I find essay type questions can be designed to encourage the student to push past merely facts to application of the facts.
