2.3 Qualitative review of test items by peers and students

The video no. 6 of the 10 videos in the SPOC "Writing test items for measuring student progress” produced by the VetRepos project.

The video discusses the importance of conducting a qualitative review of test items by peers and students before using items for testing. The speaker gives an example of an item quality checklist and suggests a basic item review procedure.
The speaker explains that after composing the first versions of test items, it is essential to ensure their quality by applying the checklist on the items. However, many quality requirements for test items are subjective. Therefore, a second step of critical qualitative review by peers and students can significantly improve item quality. Ideally, the item review should be performed by colleagues from the same field of expertise followed by colleagues from other fields of expertise and, if possible, by students. The latter two groups can approach the test items from a different perspective, leading to a more overarching view of how specific contents and test items fit into the given context of the course or even the entire degree program.
The speaker highlights that the most common reasons for rejecting or revising test items are related to incorrect language, spelling, vocabulary, distractors, and unnecessary information in vignettes, questions, or distractors.

The next and last video in this module 2 concerns students perspectives on good test items.

2.3 Qualitative review of test items by peers and students

Further reading