Free Secrets for Secondary School Teachers by Ellen Kottler, Jeffrey A. Kottler, Cary J. Kottler Page A

present. Some teachers also include an item or two from previous units of learning to encourage students to keep reviewing past topics.
    Students’ responses vary based on the type of assessment they are given. Some students do well on essay tests, but poorly on multiple choice. Since they vary in their ability to perform well on a given type of test item, you will want to provide multiple ways for them to show you what they have learned.
    Written Tests
    Written objective, “paper and pencil” tests include true/false, multiple choice, and matching items. Remember, while these types of tests are quick to administer and easy to score, they tend to cover basic information only and depend on students being able to read and comprehend English. They do not measure performance skills or show problem-solving skills.
    Tips for creating written test items include the following:
•   Using a 12-point font with a type face that is familiar to the students
•   Printing on a solid background
•   Including all relevant text and graphics on a single page
•   Providing clear space for responses
•   Listing multiple-choice items vertically
•   Avoiding negative words such as “not” or “never”
•   Emphasizing words that are significant, such as “never” or “always” by putting them in italics or boldface type
•   When using fill-in-the-blank questions, placing blanks at the end of the sentence (“The capital of the United States is ______________.”)
•   Selecting choice items that are the same length, shorter than the introductory stem, and include plausible answers
•   Having only one right answer
•   Using the same vocabulary as used during instruction
    Make sure as much of your content as possible is included in the items. Students expect to be tested on all the content presented. If you use publisher-created tests, check to see that the above guidelines have been followed. Many schools have scantron forms available to score such tests electronically. This type of testing will also give students practice for standardized testing.
    Fill-in-the-blank and open-ended, short-answer questions will take more time to grade, but will give you a fuller picture of what students know. They provide students with the opportunity to use their own words, identify examples, and give analogies. There may be a variety of correct responses to open-ended questions.
    Special-needs students and English-language learners will need modifications of the test and adaptations of procedures in order to be successful on these types of items. Depending on their abilities, you may choose to provide word banks, select fewer items, and/or include samples of correctly answered items.
    Essay questions are closely tied to students’ writing skills and ability to communicate. Therefore, they may be difficult for special-needs and English-language learners. Again, modifications and adaptation may be needed. Because it is more difficult to cover all the content with essay tests, many teachers use a combination of items. Grading essays takes a long time, but using rubrics (see page 68 ) will help you do so efficiently and reliably.
    Alternative Assessments
    By using alternative assessments (see Box 6.1 ), you allow students to give you a fuller picture of their achievement. Alternative assessments are also greatly appealing to students. They can involve a performance or demonstration, such as a dance; or a presentation, such as a PowerPoint slide show of a research project or a speech; or a product, such as a ceramic bowl, or a newspaper created by hand or by using Publisher software. Whatever the assignment, alternative assessments involve a lot of time and preparation to implement, and performances and presentations take time to evaluate.
BOX 6.1 LIST OF ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENTS
Advertisement, artifact replicas, animated stories
Brochure
Collage, children’s book
Dance, debate, demonstration, diorama,