From concept to critical thinking: crafting test items in multiple formats across the curriculum

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The nature of student and graduate evaluation has evolved as evidenced by changes in NCLEX-RN test item formats, the use and format of external exams, and the increased use of healthcare agency performance-based standards. These changes demand that nursing program-based internal evaluation measures keep pace by emphasizing critical thinking skills. Just as faculty have moved beyond the understanding of didactic teaching as the “sage on the stage” to one of “the guide by the side,” so, too, we must move beyond the understanding of writing questions that test conceptual knowledge to an understanding of crafting test items that evaluate critical thinking.

This interactive session is designed to facilitate faculty in writing critical thinking test items. The model developed by Morrison et al. (1996) is used to practice tweaking test items from the knowledge/comprehension cognitive level to an application or higher cognitive level. Faculty will be guided in the process of selecting a concept and then crafting a test item that progresses through various cognitive levels and promotes a high level of discrimination. Examples will include alternate format items and will begin at the Fundamentals level.