Questions play a crucial role in confirming knowledge, checking learning has taken place, and they serve as a learning tool.

Creating effective assessment questions involves understanding various question types, using Bloom’s Taxonomy, and adhering to specific guidelines. In this article, we’ll explore how to develop effective assessment questions.

Slide show and webinar recording

This article comes from our recent webinar (slide deck available here)

Question Types

There are several question types, each with a specific utility, including multiple-choice, true or false, short-answer, essay, fill-in-the-blank (Cloze), matching, ranking, hotspot, drag/drop, case studies and scenarios, practical or performance-based tasks, and oral questions.

Each question type tests different aspects of a student’s knowledge, comprehension, and application of concepts. Understanding the purpose of each question type will help you create effective assessment questions that align with the learning objectives.

Examples of Good and Poor Questions

In the webinar recording (at around 13m 30seconds) you will see we explore some examples of good and poor questions.

A good question is concise, clear, focused, and uses appropriate terminology. It should address key concepts and be relevant to real-world situations. On the other hand, a poorly worded question can be vague, informal, and confusing. Poor questions may also be trivial, subjective, ambiguous, or have spelling and grammar errors.

When developing questions from units of competency, avoid simply adding “how would you…” or “what are the…” to the performance criteria and knowledge evidence. Instead, consider the application of knowledge and create questions that follow performance, using the provided examples as guidance.

Is there a Formula for writing Assessment Questions?

There are many ways to create a good assessment question, and the sentence structure can vary. Though having a formula can be useful to help consider they key parts of a good question.

Here’s a formula which may help you structuring questions:

[Question word/phrase] + [subject] + [action/context] + [specific detail/focus] + [clarifying information]

Here’s how it works:

1. Question word/phrase: E.g., What, Which, How, Describe, Explain, Compare. This Sets tone and clarifies the type of response expected.
2. Subject or topic the question relates to.
3. Action or context that students need to address, analyse, or apply in their response (e.g., identify, evaluate, discuss, demonstrate, solve).
4. Specific detail or focus. Narrows the scope of the question and defines what aspect of the subject students should concentrate on.
5. Clarifying information: E.g. examples, constraints, or other relevant details.

When applied in an example it might look like this:

“Explain how [question phrasing] the process of photosynthesis [subject] converts light energy into chemical energy [action or context] in plants, [specific detail or focus] focusing on the roles of chlorophyll and cellular organelles [clarifying information].”

5 tips for Developing Assessment Questions

1. Be mindful of the unit of competency wording, especially the verbs
2. Try creating shorter, themed quizzes, rather than one long ‘exam’
3. Develop questions that follow-up tasks, including reflective questions. Asking how and why a student did something, is more powerful than asking them how they might do something in theory, before they’ve actually done it.
4. Try interview and discussion questions
5. Create comprehensive scenarios, then attach a range of questions to that scenario, including alternatives and ‘what ifs’.

Free Assessment Question Review Checklist