Testing Teaching

Here are some example questions from the Gifted Education CST (Content Specialty Test), that is, from the study guide for it. They might illustrate some of the challenges of writing good questions to test teaching ability.

Question 3
When considering gifted and talented programming options, which of the following is NOT one of the four main components of a gifted education program?
A. School board and teacher support
B. Evaluation and modification
C. Definition and identification
D. Program philosophy and goals

Ok, this is an easy question if you've read the recommended textbook - the correct answer is A. The study guide justifies this answer, "School board and teacher support is the only option that was not listed as one of the requirements of gifted program development. The school board does not play a role in designing instructional programs and teachers are required to implement programming recommended by administrators." But in real life, you DO need the support of your school board and teachers in order to successfully implement a program. You might not need every teacher's support, and no, the school board doesn't design instructional programs, but it's still a good idea to have them in your corner. A good planner knows that philosophy and goals, definition and identification, and evaluation and modification are important in implementing ANY program; is it truly helpful to have memorized a list of four main components of a gifted ed. program?

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Question 4
Which of the following lists the steps used by Renzulli for Talent Pool Identification?
A. Test score nominations, teacher nominations, alternative pathways, action information nominations.
B. Test score nominations, teacher nominations, parent nominations, special nominations.
C. Test score nominations, creativity test score nominations, teacher nominations, parent nominations, peer nominations.
D. Test score nominations, teacher nominations, alternate pathways, special nominations, action information nominations.

Question 18
What is the first step in Renzulli's Talent Pool Identification plan?
A. Test score nomination
B. Product evaluation
C. Teacher nomination
D. Self nomination

If a school is going to implement Renzulli's Schoolwide Enrichment Model, they almost certainly have several books available to help them implement this fairly complex program. I think that it's important to know that Renzulli's model includes several levels of identification designed to include as many students as possible (15-20% of the school population); I don't think a teacher will implement the program better if he or she has memorized the order of identification levels. That's what books are for. Of course, in preparing to implement a program, the teachers involved will quickly memorize details like this because they will be working with them every day.

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Question 5
Mr. Doe is teaching a unit on the Civil War to his fifth grade class. He uses Bloom's Taxonomy to differentiate the level of questioning for the students in his class. He asks one group of students to "Outline the events that led to the start of the Civil War." Which level of Bloom's Taxonomy was used by Mr. Doe to design this question?
A. Application
B. Knowledge
C. Analysis
D. Synthesis

Bloom's Taxonomy is a really helpful way to think about creating more challenging and meaningful assignments and questions. One of the tricky things about it, in my opinion, is that the same assignment might be at different levels depending on the type of preparation done with the students. For example, if the students had just read an article or watched a film describing the events leading up to the Civil War, then I would argue that this question would be application level. If the students had to do independent research about the events leading up to the Civil War and develop arguments for which events led to the war, then the same question would be analysis. The correct answer, by the way, is C because, "At the Analysis level, students are asked to break down information into their component parts and identify causes leading up to an event."

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Question 10
Joey, Katie, Michael, and Sarah plan to complete a Type III group project. Their plan is to create a video documentary on the little known historical facts of their town. They are currently engaged in Type II activities. Which of the following skills would be considered a METHODOLOGICAL skill?
A. Library research skills
B. Personal interview skills
C. Video editing
D. How to develop an outline of their project

Does knowing which of these skills falls into which fairly arbitrary category say anything about the teacher's ability to teach that skill? The correct answer is C because, "Video editing is a skill that would be specific to their Type III project. The other skills are general skills that would be taught to all students."

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Question 20
Matthew is a highly gifted 15-year-old student whose multidisciplinary assessment indicates outstanding achievement in all academic areas. However, observations by several of his teachers as well as his scores on a personality test battery indicate that Matthew has difficulties in several affective areas. He tends to be shy, he is excessively concerned with perfection, and he strongly prefers working by himself to engaging in group projects. Program recommendations for Matthew would most likely include:
A. Encourage self-initiated learning.
B. Develop skills in making judgments using standards and criteria.
C. Encourage participation in academic group problem-solving competitions.
D. Develop the habit of reading for pure enjoyment.

Wouldn't you want to do both A and C? A would capitalize on Matthew's strengths and preferences, while C would help him develop in an area of weakness. Both would require support from the teacher. The correct answer is C because, "Although Matthew excels in academic achievement, his shyness and his strong preference for solitary work indicate some weaknesses in his social interaction skills. By encouraging him to participate in academic group problem-solving competitions, he has an opportunity to utilize his strengths (i.e., his knowledge and intelligence) to build up one of his weaker areas (i.e., his difficulty with peer interaction)."

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Question 22
Which of the following teaching approaches is most likely to enhance the creativity of gifted students?
A. Emphasize concrete, real-life applications of topics rather than abstract concepts.
B. Structure assignments in ways that encourage divergent thinking.
C. Accelerate coverage of required content to allow time for creative activities.
D. Encourage students to choose their own educational goals and to seek out their own resources.

Although it's relatively easy to figure out that the answer they are looking for is B, in real life a teacher might also do C and D. Multiple choice questions don't seem well-suited to testing teaching ability, because they look for the "best" answer when multiple answers might be reasonable or when more than one answer in combination might be even better than the single best strategy.

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What do you think?