Test and Essay Items
Test and Essay Items
One of the first ways to test if students have learned the
names of the states is to give the students a test with filling in the states
name next to the states two letter abbreviation. For example:
_____________________
AL
_____________________ AK
_____________________ AZ
This form of testing is a completion test and with this
particular test for this particular, it leaves little room for misunderstanding
that can occur in completion tests.
The teaching of the shapes of the states is a little more
complicated and should actually be broken up by state or by groups of states. I would start by breaking United
States into 5 section such as
NorthEast, SouthEast, Central, Midwest, and Pacific and going over the
states located in the sections, identifying the shapes of each state and giving
brief facts about the states.
Finally, the students should be able to be given a blank map
of the United States and be able to write the name of the state in its
designated area. Again this would be a
form of completion test.
The advantages of using completion tests are that they are
relatively easy to make and guessing is eliminated since the question actually
requires the student to recall the information. Additionally, they often take less time to
complete, so more information can be covered.
(Kubiszyn & Borich, 2010)
Reference:
Kubiszyn, T. & Borich, G. (2010). Educational testing & measurement:
Classroom application and practice (9th ed.). John Wiley &
Sons, Inc., Hoboken, NJ.
