Developing and scoring essay tests.

The need to prepare nursing students for the licensing examination has resulted in a predominance of multiple-choice testing in nursing courses. But what about evaluating students' ability to present ideas in their own words and develop creative responses to questions posed by the teacher? Essay items provide an effective means of assessing higher levels of learning and ability to organize and present ideas in writing. The author describes how to develop essay items and score responses.

Duke Scholars

Author Marilyn Haag Oermann School of Nursing