VOL. XIX, NO. 11
MAY 5, 1978
Educational Testing System
Students, Teachers Help
Design College Entrance Tests
Students, Teachers Help
Design College Entrance Tests
College‑bound Maine West students will be taking the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and achievement tests offered by the College Board tomorrow. There are nearly 2,500 colleges, schools, school systems, and education associations that make up the College Board.
These tests are designed and administered by the Educational Testing Service (ETS). The process of creating exams can begin up to 18 months before that test is taken.
When a new test must be made, over 1,500 teachers are selected by the group sponsoring the test. These instructors are chosen so that they are similar to the people who teach the students who will take the test. Their job is to decide what material to test on, to set specifications, and to write and review test questions. The ETS trains these educators in test question preparation and general procedural matters.
These members consult other teachers all over the country by questionnaires, to find out what is going on in their classrooms. It is complicated to produce a standardized test. For a single exam, often thousands of initial questions are submitted. Of these, some are either tossed out or kept in their original form, however, most are modified or revised.
These tests are designed and administered by the Educational Testing Service (ETS). The process of creating exams can begin up to 18 months before that test is taken.
When a new test must be made, over 1,500 teachers are selected by the group sponsoring the test. These instructors are chosen so that they are similar to the people who teach the students who will take the test. Their job is to decide what material to test on, to set specifications, and to write and review test questions. The ETS trains these educators in test question preparation and general procedural matters.
These members consult other teachers all over the country by questionnaires, to find out what is going on in their classrooms. It is complicated to produce a standardized test. For a single exam, often thousands of initial questions are submitted. Of these, some are either tossed out or kept in their original form, however, most are modified or revised.
When a test has been put together, it is sometimes administered to groups of students similar to those who will be taking the test, as a pretest. This can sometimes eliminate give‑a‑way questions or questions that are too difficult to answer. Some questions may be taken out because they are found to be confusing to the students.
All the questions that pass these tests are pooled together, and it is from these that questions are selected and put into final test form.
Another factor in reviewing test questions is time. What was relevant classroom material two years ago may not be now. Tests must be updated because high school curriculums are constantly changing.
Students are able to help the ETS in this way by writing letters to the service after they have taken the test. An inquiry as to the meaning or answer of a certain question can lead to a review and sometimes revision of that question. Each letter is personally answered by a member of the test development staff.
Each year, hundreds of thousands of students across the nation take these standardized achievement tests, but there are just as many people working behind the scenes to create them.
All the questions that pass these tests are pooled together, and it is from these that questions are selected and put into final test form.
Another factor in reviewing test questions is time. What was relevant classroom material two years ago may not be now. Tests must be updated because high school curriculums are constantly changing.
Students are able to help the ETS in this way by writing letters to the service after they have taken the test. An inquiry as to the meaning or answer of a certain question can lead to a review and sometimes revision of that question. Each letter is personally answered by a member of the test development staff.
Each year, hundreds of thousands of students across the nation take these standardized achievement tests, but there are just as many people working behind the scenes to create them.
