Exam Writing Process Describe the PROCESS that you use to write an exam from scratch. For example, how do you get started? What steps do you go through? Do you have another instructor review your questions? How do you decide if the exam is reasonable timewise? Also, after you have given an exam, how do you decide for yourself if it was a good exam?

In creating a test, I think about the content that the exam is to cover, and decide what are some key concepts and competencies I want to assess. I think of things that students may misunderstand that I think are important, so that I may see if any one is misunderstanding the material. I try to have a balance of items that assess basic literacy as well as challenging items that require students to reason about data or concepts and explain their reasoning. I never try to include "everything" studied in a unit but try to sample from each general topic area covered on the exam. If there's time I ask my TA to review the exam and check it for clarity and any typos. I usually have a pretty good sense of time, and try to keep the exams brief, realizing for every minute it takes me to solve a problem it will take the students about 10! Therefore, I do "take" the exam myself, writing down the correct answers, before I give it. I have also discovered many errors this way! I know it's a good exam if the students do not misunderstand the questions (as evidenced by questions in class as well as responses on the questions) and if I get a negatively skewed distribution with most students doing well, and at least some students getting all answers correct. (My students are graduate students who study and try to succeed in this class.) My goal is for all students to master the material and I design the test to help me determine if this has happened.