Test Question Rational

Objective 1
The first 5 questions for objective one were set up as free-response to see if the students had truly understood the different characteristics of each type of poem.   By having the students write the characteristics and not do a multiple choice test it takes out the opportunity for guessing and getting a question correct.  For that reason all of my test questions are either highlighting, short response or identification types of questions.  The essay question for the first objective is simiar to the previous section.  For this question I wanted to leave it open so students could showcase their best work so they are allowed to choose the two types of poetry they will be describing.  As they create a scenario and have to support it the students are truly showing if they have comprehended the information.  It is a higher-level of thinking to create a scenario and defend it than to make a list.  Essay questions can be a more effective was of assessment for teachers because it is easier to set up questions that use high-level thinking.

Objective 2
The questions for objective 2 are similar to a matching question section and a complete the blank question section.  I do not provide the answers for the students.  This is intentional because in a regular poetry unit the types of poetry being taught will have been repeated every day. I would want to make sure students were well versed and could identify types of poetry without having the words.  To truly identify the type of poetry being used they need to recognize it off the top of their head. This section contains 8 examples of poetry.  If 5 types of poetry are being taught in the unit this means that 3 types of poetry will be used twice and 2 will only be tested once.  By doing this it helps to make sure students can't use process of elimination.  The essay question is simple and requires students to identify the same poetry and explain the characteristics that led them to choosing that type of poetry. The benefit to that question is the student must do two things: identify the type of poetry and and the characteristics that identify each type.  For a teacher that could mean two objectives being graded within the same test questions. 

Objective 3
The first 4 questions for objective 3 require students to highlight and identify the types of figurative language being used.  This is an application of the poetry not used in other questions such as multiple choice questions.  Students are asked to read actual poetry and find the figurative language within the context of the poem.  If taught or assessed alone types of figurative language can be seen differently than how they are meant to be used.  It requires more thinking and understanding of how figurative language is used within poetry when students are asked to identify it within poems.  The essay question is not ideal for this objective because students are not finding the figurative language within the poetry.  Instead they would need to write each type. I would also ask for students to create an example of each type.  The grading would be more complicated with the essay section because coming up with an example is not 'identifying' but 'creating'. That would be a different objective and can not be the basis for mastery of identifying types of figurative language.