Coursera Foundations of Teaching for Learning 6: Introduction to Student Assessment

Objections with Objective Test?

Role of Objective Tests in Assessment Practice

by Ionell Jay R. Terogo, University of San Jose Recoletos Cebu City, Philippines

I HAVE BEEN hearing students (not mine, thank God!) whose plights during tests sound like these:

The test is so out-of-this-world. I did not remember if I ever met or studied them.

I dont like the test. I should have memorized the book. The answers were just there.

If that was the test, then I shouldnt have listened to her discussing. I should just have read
the entire book!

And I may attribute these to a type of test which ensues convergent, specific, yet possibly low-level
thinking answers objective tests.

According to Masuda (2004), objective test is used because the answers for these types of test items
are either right or wrong and require no interpretation or judgment on the part of the scorer as is
the case with subjective tests like essays. Therefore, objective tests are helpful especially in
identifying faster results and checking knowledge thinking levels and factual information.

But what concerns teachers and students is that the test only measures lower level thinking skills
(Knowledge, Comprehesion, and sometimes Application) and therefore the purpose of testing did
not challenge students recent level. Besides, objective tests are also prone to teaching as they ask
for one non-interpretative answer so students might just get answers from their seatmates and
therefore defeating the purpose of attaining individual reliable results. Lastly, objective tests are
difficult to make that teachers would not cling to making objective tests and would rather make
simple open response questions (subject type).

To wit, according to Polytechnic University Hongkong (2007), some professionals are required to
recall facts and data. Yet, these types of tests such as True-False, Identification, and Multiple Choice
Questions cannot simulate this kind of recall situation adequately. Also, such tests might send a
message to students that learning is always about getting the right answers rather than raising the
right questions (PolyU HK, 2007). Therefore such tests might hold a culture of rote learning and not
deeper understanding of outcomes. Lastly, objective tests rely heavily on the students skill to read
with comprehension so students who might not be reading-writing intelligent would not identify
with such tests.
Despite these concerns, teachers and students must find refuge in objective tests. Such tests are
useful in detailed assignments, as guides to relative importance of different elements of subject
matter, and as relatively inexpensive drill materials (Maloney and Ruch, 1929). Kashyap (2016)
added that these tests are free from teachers personal factors, bias, and moods, are educative for
students, encourage thinking, observation, and scrutiny, and are reliable and valid. Therefore there
should have been greater use of objective tests as they have the best opportunity to be
standardized. It may take time to make such tests but it will be worth it.

Working on these purposes of objective tests, our teachers here in the Philippines know how to
make use of such tests despite having lengthy time to make identification, matching type, true-false,
or multiple choice questions. Teachers never go away with objective types of tests as these tests are
helpful for students and at the same time easy to administer for educators and schools. Every
month, schools generally have written tests which are mostly made up of objective tests. And,
students are asked to study with coverage items given beforehand. Also most teachers conduct
review classes with objective tests as drills to work on during and after classes. Therefore, students
are taught to think critically in answering objective tests by converging whatever content they have
learned and placing all of those to one set of knowledge and comprehension. With this, students are
provided opportunity for thinking of basics first while teachers are granted easier ways to
administer tests noting how many students are in one class and how taxing teachers requirements
can be, too.

So despite the limitations, we still work on objective tests while not forgetting multiple types of
tests, varied thinking levels, and students needs-worthy. Lastly, the definitive characteristic of
objective tests hits the target of actual assessment purposes to give actual feedback to students
objectively and helpfully.

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