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Tests and Assessments – How Are They Created?

Testing is a cornerstone of nearly every form of online education, whether formal classroom learning or training. Thus, attention must be paid to the type of testing that you use. This, of course, is closely tied to the decision between using a learning management system (LMS) or a homegrown system. If you decide to use an LMS, use the decisions about your ideal testing system to help you select an LMS.

Prior to shopping for a testing system, you should have a clear understanding of EXACTLY what kind of features that you will need. Among the most important:

Kind of questions. Do you want multiple choice? Fill-in-the-blank? True/False? Or do you want to have the ability to use subjective, essay-type questions?
Test banks. With some systems, it is possible to build up a library of questions, from which the testing system randomly pulls a set number. With other systems, this kind of random presentation isn't possible. Will this be an important feature for you to have?
Multiple presentation of the correct answer. This is more of a concern for math and the sciences, but what this alludes to is whether the testing system recognizes that a + b = c is the same thing as b + a = c. Most testing systems aren't "smart" systems. Answers are text, so the system sees a + b = c as a word, like "dog," while it sees b + a = c as a completely different word, like "god."
Ease of use. Does the test entry tool require a Master's degree from MIT to use? If it is a very intuitive system, are you sacrificing ease of use for options?
The second consideration is its integration into your grading and recordkeeping system. If you are using an LMS that all your clients must use, then this will not be an issue. However, recognize that some of your users might want to use your testing tool, but will want to use their own tracking or recordkeeping system.
Test presentation. Remember the students? The reason that you're doing all the hard work to create courses in the first place? Well, look at how the tests are presented to them. Is the test presentation both easy to follow and use? Or is it an intrusive interface that demands that they pay as much attention to entering answers as they do to figuring out what the correct answer is?
Flexibility of the test entry system. Before looking at any test entry system, decide what kind of options you would like. Much like you should decide what kind of options you want on a car before entering a car dealership, you should know what you need and what you want in a testing system. If you don't, then you might well end up with something that doesn't satisfy your needs.

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