Testing Constraints

Testing constraints are conditions that occur during the test. Kubiszyn and Borich list typical test constraints to include time, reference material available, people, equipment, prior knowledge, and scoring criteria (2010).

For both the multiple choice/short answer and essay assessments, there will be a time constraint placed on the exams. For the essay portion, students will be allotted forty minutes for completion, which should be ample time. For the multiple choice/short answer assessment, students will be allotted twenty minutes, since the test is being read to students. For students that require extended time, it will be granted according to their IEP. 

Students will not be allowed to utilize the textbook to search for answers because this would defer from testing their ability to describe characters when they would most likely copy exact words from the text. Pictures cues are available for the multiple choice series, which provides enough information for students to answer the questions.

 For the essay, students already have an understanding of what a paragraph entails, including the appropriate sentence structure, capitalization and punctuation, which is why organization of the paragraph is considered in scoring. However, this test is not measuring spelling accuracy; therefore spelling errors will not have an effect on scoring on either portion of the exam.

Students may ask questions during tests, but clues to correct answers cannot be provided to students. If a student needs further explanation of the task, this is acceptable.

Students are informed of the scoring criteria, and prior to the essay assessment a review of the story and the rules of writing are discussed. Prior to the multiple choice format, students will review the components that are being assessed.

 

References:

Kubiszyn, T., Borich, G. (2010). Educational testing & measurement (9^th ed). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.