This post continues my discussion of technology-enhanced (TE) items. Click over to my previous post for a definition of a TE item.
Technology-enhanced (TE) items increase the number of options available to test developers. When using a paper test to assess students, generally there are only two item types available; constructed-response (CR) and multiple-choice (MC). A CR item allows test developers to ask students to produce a response. A MC item allows test developers to ask students to select an answer from the available responses. Technology-enhanced items are, in essence, a collection of student response interactions that allow students to either select or produce a response. The Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium has created a list approximately 25 of these interactions. Some of these interactions are given in the list below.
- Select and Order
- Classification
- Tiling (Drag and Drop)
- Select Defined Partitions
- Draw a Polygon
- Place Points (on number line or coordinate plane)
- Partition Line Then Place Points
- Draw a Line (on coordinate plane)
TE items provide test developers with at least one more option when determining the most effective method to assess a construct. As an example, provided below are three different ways to assess a student’s understanding of equivalent fractions. Which item would you choose? Why? Leave a comment with your recommendation.
Figure 1: Multiple-choice item
Figure 2: Constructed-response item
Figure 3: Technology-enhanced items (tiling)
Reference
Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium, (2012). Technology-enhanced item guidelines. [Link broken.]
