Evaluation and Testing in Nursing Education THIRD EDITION Marilyn H. Oermann, PhD, RN, FAAN, ANEF, is a Professor and Chair of Adult and Geriatric Health in the School of Nursing, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina. She is author/co-author of 11 nursing education books and many articles onclinicalevaluation,teachinginnursing,andwritingforpublication asa nurseeducator. Sheisthe Editorofthe Journalof NursingCare Quality and past editor of the Annual Review of Nursing Education. Dr. Oermann lectures widely on teaching and evaluation in nursing. KathleenB.Gaberson,PhD,RN,CNOR,CNE,ANEF,isanursingeducation consultant and former Professor and Chair of the Department of Nursing Education and Director of Nursing at Shepherd University, Shepherdstown, West Virginia. She has over 35 years of teaching experience in graduate and undergraduate nursing programs and has presented, written, and consulted extensively on evaluation and teachinginnursingeducation.SheisResearchSectionEditorofthe AORN Journal. Evaluation and Testing in Nursing Education THIRD EDITION MARILYN H. OERMANN, PhD, RN, FAAN, ANEF KATHLEEN B. GABERSON, PhD, RN, CNOR, CNE, ANEF New York Copyright©2009SpringerPublishingCompany,LLC Allrightsreserved. Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced,storedinaretrievalsystem,ortransmit- tedinanyformorbyanymeans,electronic,mechanical,photocopying,recording,or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher or authorization through paymentoftheappropriatefeestotheCopyrightClearanceCenter,Inc.,222Rosewood Drive,Danvers, MA01923,978-750-8400,fax 978-646-8600,[email protected] onthewebatwww.copyright.com. SpringerPublishingCompany,LLC 11West42ndStreet NewYork,NY10036 www.springerpub.com AcquisitionsEditor:MargaretZuccarini ProductionEditor:PamelaLankas Coverdesign:StevePisano Composition:InternationalGraphicServices EbookISBN:978-0-8261-1062-6 09101112/54321 The author and the publisher of this Work have made every effort to use sources believedtobereliabletoprovideinformationthatisaccurateandcompatiblewiththe standards generally accepted at the time of publication. Because medical science is continually advancing, our knowledge base continues to expand. Therefore, as new information becomes available, changes in procedures become necessary. We recom- mendthatthereaderalwaysconsultcurrentresearchandspecificinstitutionalpolicies beforeperforminganyclinicalprocedure.Theauthorandpublishershallnotbeliable for any special, consequential, or exemplary damages resulting, in whole or in part, from the readers’ use of, or reliance on, the information contained in this book. The publisherhasnoresponsibilityforthepersistenceoraccuracyofURLsforexternalor third-party Internet Web sites referred to in this publication and does not guarantee thatanycontentonsuchWebsitesis,orwillremain,accurateorappropriate. LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData Oermann,MarilynH. Evaluationandtestinginnursingeducation/MarilynH.Oermann,KathleenB. Gaberson.--3rded. p.;cm. Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex. ISBN978-0-8261-1061-9(alk.paper) 1.Nursing—Examinations.2.Nursing—Abilitytesting.3.Nursing—Studyand teaching—Evaluation.I.Gaberson,KathleenB.II.Title. [DNLM:1.Education,Nursing—standards—UnitedStates.2.Educational Measurement—methods—UnitedStates.3.EvaluationStudiesasTopic—United States.WY18O29e2009] RT73.7.O472009 610.73071’1—dc22 2009012073 PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmericabyHamiltonPrinting. In loving memory of Matthew Quay Ammon This page intentionally left blank Contents Preface ix PART I: BASIC CONCEPTS 1 1 Assessment and the Educational Process 3 2 Qualities of Effective Assessment Procedures 29 PART II: CLASSROOM TESTING 55 3 Planning for Classroom Testing 57 4 Selected-Response Test Items: True–False and Matching 83 5 Selected-Response Test Items: Multiple-Choice and Multiple-Response 95 6 Constructed-Response Test Items: Short Answer (Fill-in-the-Blank) and Essay 117 7 Assessment of Higher Level Learning: Context-Dependent Item Sets and Other Assessment Methods 139 8 Test Construction and Preparation of Students for Licensure and Certification Examinations 167 vii viii Contents PART III: ELEMENTS OF TEST CONSTRUCTION, ADMINISTRATION, AND ANALYSIS 187 9 Assembling and Administering Tests 189 10 Scoring and Analyzing Tests 209 PART IV: WRITTEN ASSIGNMENTS AND CLINICAL EVALUATION 227 11 Assessment of Written Assignments 229 12 Clinical Evaluation 245 13 Clinical Evaluation Methods 263 PART V: ISSUES RELATED TO TESTING, GRADING, AND OTHER EVALUATION CONCEPTS 325 14 Social, Ethical, and Legal Issues 327 15 Interpreting Test Scores 343 16 Grading 359 17 Program Assessment 387 APPENDICES 407 Appendix A: Code of Fair Testing Practices in Education 409 Appendix B: Code of Professional Responsibilities in Educational Measurement 417 Appendix C: Standards for Teacher Competence in Educational Assessment of Students 427 Index 429 Preface Allteachersatsometimeoranotherneedtoassesslearning.Theteacher may write test items; prepare tests and analyze their results; develop rating scales andclinical evaluation methods; andplan other strategies for assessing learning in the classroom, clinical practice, online and distance education courses, and other settings. Often teachers are not preparedtocarryoutthesetasksaspartoftheirinstructionalrole.This thirdeditionofEvaluationandTestinginNursingEducationisaresource for teachers in nursing education programs and health care agencies, a textbook for graduate students preparing for their roles as nurse educators, a guide for nurses in clinical practice who teach others and are responsible for evaluating their learning and performance, and a resourceforotherhealthprofessionalsinvolvedinassessment,measure- ment, testing,and evaluation. Although theexamples of testitems and other types of assessment methods provided in this book are nursing- oriented, they are easily adapted to assessment in other health fields. The purposes of this book are to describe concepts of assessment, measurement,testing,andevaluationinnursingeducationandprepare teachersforcarryingtheseoutaspartoftheirroles.Thebookpresents qualities of effective measurement instruments; how to plan for class- room testing, assemble and administer tests, and analyze test results; how to write all types of test items and develop assessment methods; and how to assess higher level cognitive skills and learning. The book describeshowtoevaluatewrittenassignmentsinnursing;theprocesses to follow for clinical evaluation and how to evaluate clinical perfor- mance; the social, ethical, and legal issues associated with assessment andtesting;thefundamentalsofgrading;andprogramassessment.The contentisusefulforteachersinanysettingwhoareinvolvedinevaluat- ing others, whether they are students, nurses, or other types of health care personnel. For this third edition, we have prepared an Instructor’s ix