Instructors use assessments to determine how well students have learned what we want them to learn in our courses (Nilson & Goodson, 2021). Exams are considered traditional assessments that are convenient to administer and grade but designing a good exam can be a challenge! On this page, we will provide some guidance on how you can design exams that support student learning.
First steps: Why, How, and What?
The following questions are designed to help you think through some of the big questions as you start preparing an exam.
What are the learning goals? It is always helpful to ask yourself why an exam, as opposed to another type of assessment (e.g., projects, portfolios, papers, presentations), is appropriate for the type of learning you want students to demonstrate. Are you preparing your students for high stakes professional exams? For their future, do they need to be able to recall facts quickly? Is expedient use of available resources in service of critical thinking important? Do students need to be able to communicate orally, in writing, or both? Determine the reasons and goals of your exam and share that with students.
What format? When deciding between face-to-face, online exams, or even oral exams, consider the affordances and constraints of each: Online exams offer the ability to automate grading and feedback, randomize questions or exam versions, and create question banks. In-person exams allow you to standardize the student experience and potentially capitalize on collaborative exam taking options, such as two-stage exams. Oral exams emphasize communication skills and offer dialogic opportunities to assess learning (Hazen, 2020). Note that successful strategies to reduce cheating are largely based on the communication, structure, culture, and conditions you set up before the exam, no matter the modality.
How will I give feedback? Timely feedback on areas of strength and weakness is key to learning (Hattie & Timperley, 2007). Consider how and in what format you will provide feedback to students and how it fits into the broader flow of your course; for example, how will feedback on this exam help them with future assignments? Feedback can be individualized, but it can also involve peer feedback, automated feedback, and reflection. For more information, see our Flash 15 on Providing Feedback.
Is it cumulative? How critical is it that students remember tested material in the long term? Repeated testing is one key to remembering information over time, i.e., “the testing effect” (Roediger & Karpicke, 2006). Some faculty have found a balance of cumulative and non-cumulative testing by only including a few questions from previous units on exams. Other faculty have decided on lower stakes and non-cumulative exams through the semester with the final exam being optional and cumulative; students can opt-in to take the final if they want to try to replace a low exam score.
STRATEGIES & EXAMPLES
Writing Good Questions
Use minimal, clear, inclusive, and accessible language. A professor once said that a good question is one that students understand. That’s certainly a good first step! Write succinctly. Imagine a younger audience of a different background than you as you choose your words and scenarios. Have others, including students, read and interpret your questions. Check for assumed knowledge and whether that is a fair assumption. A wrong answer should give you confidence that students lack that skill or knowledge being tested rather than, for example, students lacking cultural or linguistic knowledge.
Target one key idea or skill per question. Good exam questions are often diagnostic in nature, providing immediate feedback to you and students on specific areas of strength and weakness. To do that, separate key ideas, skills, or stages of problem-solving into discrete questions. For example, instead of asking a multiple-choice question with four answer options, the fourth one being “All of the Above,” or “None of the above”, turn the question into three True/False statements. See the example below:
Include higher order thinking questions (if that aligns with your learning goals). It is possible to craft higher-order questions (items that move beyond recall and comprehension of facts) on exams. By incorporating application questions—vignettes, problems, or situations that require students to apply what they know to a novel setting—we are able to test for higher-level thinking (for examples of application questions see Brame, 2013; Haladyna, 2018).
Watch for language and grammar clues. Some students have learned to read subtle cues in how we write exam questions that help them guess the correct response; for example, the answer choice that is longest in length in a multiple-choice question is usually the right answer. For a fun and experiential way to become aware of these syntax clues, take The Test of Franzipanics (Arter et al., 2001) & then check out the Answer Key with explanations. Also available as Google Slides.
Include plausible distractors. Think of common misconceptions students might have and include those as “distractors” in multiple-choice options and as “false” True/False questions. Use these types of questions in practice exams and in-class activities and include time for discussion of why these answers are wrong.
Have students write exam questions and answers. As a study strategy, have students create their own exam questions and provide the answers, based on what they perceive to be the critical content in the course. This activity provides you with valuable feedback on whether students are studying the material you want them to know and gives them practice in identifying the most critical content. Keep in mind that you will want to model how to write a good exam question for this activity. Read a blog post on how a professor of environmental science structured this activity and its impact.
Consider the exam as a whole
Make sure that all key ideas needed are assessed. An exam blueprint is a great way to determine what to assess, at what level, and through how many questions.
Interweave more difficult, higher-order questions with lower-level questions. This helps students sustain focus and confidence.
Consider including past questions that assess knowledge of critical, need-to-know material. Repeated testing (not just exposure to ideas) is key to remembering information over time, i.e., “the testing effect” (Roediger & Karpicke, 2006).
Design to Minimize Cheating
Many instructors have concerns about academic integrity when it comes to exams. Students admit they are more likely to engage in academic dishonesty behaviors when they are stressed or short of time, or expectations are not clear (Tobin, 2020, UMass Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Artificial Intelligence Team, 2023). There is a lot we can do as instructors to help students demonstrate what they have learned without adding additional pressure and uncertainty that can lead to academic dishonesty. See How Do I Support Students in Maintaining Academic Integrity During Exams? for more detail.
In addition, if generative AI use is not allowed on the exam, share with students what you look for when deciding if student work was produced with generative AI. For a list of possible indicators, see our page How Do I Address Suspected Student Misuse of GenAI Tools?
Next steps
This page focuses on the design phase of the assessment cycle. For more information on implementing, evaluating, and giving feedback on multiple-choice exams, see our resources on our Multiple Choice Matters! page.
REFERENCES
- Arter, J. A., Busick, K. U., & Stiggins, R. J. (2001). Practice with student-involved classroom assessment: A workbook and learning team guide. Assessment Training Institute.
- Brame, C. (2013). Writing good multiple-choice test questions. Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching.
- Haladyna, T.M. (2018). Developing test items for course examinations. IDEA Paper 70.
- Hattie, J. & Timperley, H. (2007). The Power of Feedback. Review of Educational Research.
- Hazen, H. (2020). Use of oral examinations to assess student learning in the social sciences. Journal of Geography in Higher Education, 44(4), 592–607. https://doi.org/10.1080/03098265.2020.1773418
- Nilson, L.B., & Goodson, L.A. (2021). Online teaching at its best. Jossey-Bass.
- Roediger, H. L., & Karpicke, J. D. (2006). Test-enhanced learning: Taking memory tests improves long-term retention. Psychological Science, 17(3), 249–255. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2006.01693.x
- Tobin, T. (2020, March 25). Student agency in uncertain times. Inside Higher Ed.
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