Workshop on How to Write a Good Test

Workshop Summary:

The specific topics in, and approach to, such a workshop depend on the audience and goals, but I always begin by exploring, with the participants, the question: what is a good test? Once we have some agreement about the criteria for a good test, we consider the major errors we usually make in writing tests that meet those criteria (using information in the research literature and, if appropriate, the excellent materials from the National Board of Medical Examiners on test-writing traps) and typically spend some time determining how we can find out whether a given test question is a good one. The result is, ideally, an increased understanding of a process by which we can iteratively improve our exams, as well as an increased ability to simply think about exam preparation more clearly.

Workshop Length:

This workshop can be done in a 1-hour slot, but there is increased time for interactivity if 90 minutes are available. This topic also combines naturally with discussing outcomes-based course design to make a session of approximately 2 hours.

Workshop Link:

The content of this workshop depends in part on the academic fields of the participants; here is an example of a workshop given to medical-school faculty in Pilsen, Czech Republic in November 2016.