B040 Assessment correlation

Correlation between test and examination for different types of tests−a Hong Kong study

Brief:

Assessment is an important part of the teaching and learning process. Assessment allows the instructor to assess the understanding of the students on subject matters taught. Essay type questions with calculation components are reckoned to be an accurate tool of assessment and have become the typical examination and test format in many universities worldwide. Multiple choice questions has the advantage that marking can be done very quickly and rapid feedback can be given to students. In the case of online multiple choice questions tests, the test result can be obtained immediately after the test. If it was found that the correlation between the multiple choice questions to that of examination is as good as the conventional essay type of questions, we can use it to assess the students with good confidence that it will accurately indicate the students’ performance. In a first year engineering subject at the department of Building Services Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, the author has attempted different types of tests at different years over a 4 year’s period. The test results are compared with the examination results for the respective years. The purpose of the comparison is to find out whether there is good correlation between the different types of tests to that of examinations.

Further information:

To D, Wong LT, Mui KW, 2006. Correlation between test and examination for different types of tests−a Hong Kong study, The Asia-Pacific Education Research Association Conference 2006-Educational Research, Policy, and Practice in an Era of Globalization: The Asia-Pacific Perspectives and Beyond, 28-30 November, The Hong Kong Institute of Education, Hong Kong Paper G53, pp. 1-7.