Ethics and Moral Principles in Testing - Essay Example

Ethics in testing English exams should give a precise picture skills and knowledge in the domain or subject are being tested. Accurate achievement data are essential for program evaluation and planning instructions and curriculum. Additionally, English tests are for promoting learning by assessing important skills such as reading, listening, writing, and speaking that all students should have. Tests use representative samples from a content area to approximation student achievement (Maxcy 56). However, in order to get reliable and valid results, it is important that the scores from the selected test items truthfully reflect the larger domain of knowledge. Some efforts to help students perform well in tests can result in artificially high test scores. In other situations, when students have not sufficiently prepared to take the tests or do not take the tests seriously, the resultant effect is low test scores. Reliable and valid results from uniform tests provide information used by students to determine how they have learned the curriculum and skills they are expected to know. The results are also used by parents to know if their student is gaining the competencies and skills required to be successful and competitive. Therefore, educators have the obligation to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate their reading, listening, writing, and speaking skills and knowledge fairly and accurately. In order to do so, ethics in testing have to be followed when setting the exams especially if is a multiple choice exam. English multiple choice exams that are testing reading, listening, writing, and speaking skills affect educational standards and opportunities for nearly all levels. Elementary students may be required to take English multiple choice exam to evaluate their skills before moving to the next grade (Schellenberg 48). High school students take these exams when they are about to join college. Therefore, for English multiple choice exams to provide more information on reading, listening, writing, and speaking skills, students and educators have to behave ethically. English multiple choice exams questions are developed using textbooks, certification standards, curriculum guides, and learning standards. A student’s performance on English multiple choice exams is evaluated against the established standards. In most schools, students that do not pass tests are allowed to retake it at any of the afterward scheduled test administration. English multiple choice exams are designed to measure areas of knowledge referred to as subareas. Within each subarea, statements of important skills such as reading, listening, writing, and speaking and knowledge, called objectives, determine the content of the test (Barry 32). These subareas define the main content of the multiple choice exams. However, the subareas consist of several objectives. These objectives provide specific information concerning skills and knowledge that are assessed by the test. According to Leasha Barry, each objective is expounded on by focus statements (34). These focus statements provide examples of the type, level, and range of content that is to appear on the multiple choice exams. Notably, the number of objectives in a given subarea determine the number of questions that will cover of the subarea on the English multiple choice exams. Put differently, the subareas that contain more objectives will have more emphasis on the English test and contribute more to a student’s exam score more that the subareas that contain fewer objectives. Even though specific English multiple choice exam items must not be taught, educators are ethically obliged to familiarize students with the relevant format of the exams. This ensures that students feel at ease when taking the tests. So as to foster interest rather than nervousness, educators are ethically compelled to use the activities below so as prepare students for testing (Schellenberg 52). Be acquainted with the curriculum to ensure that students are taught mandated content that will be tested in the English multiple choice exam. Be accustomed to the most common skills students use to pass English multiple choice exams, Urge the students to study dairy, Notify the students as early as possible of the English multiple choice exam time and date, Incorporate timed and ‘prudent use of time’ activities to the students, Teach the students test-taking strategies, for instance, the process of elimination that is important on English multiple choice exams, and Enlist the passionate support of each parent for peak test performance by guaranteeing that their child gets plenty of rest, gets to school on time, and feels their backing. Qualified educators demonstrate appropriate experience, education, and training in using multiple choice tests for the purpose of testing reading, listening, writing, and speaking skills. They have to follow the highest degree of laws, standards, and most important ethical codes that govern professional practice (Maxcy 71). Lack of necessary qualifications or legal and ethical compliance leads to errors in testing and subsequent harm to the students. Notably, each educator is responsible for making judgments in each multiple choice testing situation, and they cannot leave this responsibility either to the students or other authorities. The individual educator has to obtain suitable education and training or arrange for professional assistance and supervision when engaging in testing so as to provide effective, valuable and ethical assessment service to the students. It is an ethical requirement that all educators fulfill their obligation to provide and use English multiple choice exams that are fair-minded to all English students taking the exam regardless of gender, race, age, disability, national origin, sexual orientation, ethnicity, or linguistic background (Hester 63). Fairness is a principal consideration of all aspects of English testing. Fairness infers that every English multiple choice exam taker has the chance to prepare for the exam and is informed about the content and general nature of the test, as appropriate to the main purpose of the multiple choice exam. Fairness extends to the accurate reporting of group and individual exam results. Fairness in English multiple choice exams is not an isolated concept, but must be taken into consideration by the educators in all facets of the testing process. As educators strive to provide a fair-minded English multiple choice exams, ethics have to be followed during the processes of developing and selecting appropriate English multiple choice exams, administering and scoring the English multiple choice exams, and reporting, interpreting the English multiple choice multiple choice exams results, and informing the students taking the English multiple choice exam. Developing and Selecting Appropriate English Multiple Choice Exams During multiple choice exam development, educators are ethically required to provide evidence of what the test measures which for this case is reading, listening, writing, and speaking (Vlaardingerbroek and Neil 50). Additionally, the educators have to define the recommended uses, the strengths and limitations, the intended test takers, the recommended uses of the test. This has to include the level of accuracy of the test scores. Before giving students the English test, educators are expected to select and review the test based on the skills being tested, content covered in the test, and the appropriateness of the test. However, it is essential to communicate information about the test characteristics at a certain level of details that does not reveal the test questions to the test takers (Maxcy 81). Educators are expected to provide prove that the technical quality, including validity and reliability of the English test meets the intended purpose that is to test reading, listening, writing, and speaking (Vlaardingerbroek and Neil 56). The tests are expected to be free of offensive language and content. This means that an English test should have an appropriately modified form for the students that have disabilities. Moreover, it is ethically required that the educators obtain and provide evidence on the performance of the students of diverse subgroups. This means that educators have to have an analysis of the students’ group taking the test. This ensures that the differences in performance are associated with reading, listening, writing, and speaking skills being assessed. Administering and Scoring the English Multiple Choice Exams It is expected of the educators to administer and score English texts fairly and correctly. They are expected to provide and follow procedures for administering English tests in a standardized manner (Ebert and Richard 79). In the case of students with diverse linguistic backgrounds and disabilities and need special accommodations, educators are expected to provide appropriate procedures on how they will be tested to ensure that reading, listening, writing, and speaking skills are tested as same as the normal students. Taylor Neil and Barend Vlaardingerbroek assert that educators are ethically obliged to provide information to the students taking the English test on the test question formats and the procedures necessary for answering the questions (61). In the case of multiple answer questions, the educators are to clarify if there are any equipment and material needed. The security of the multiple choice exam materials is very important (Schellenberg 69). All educators are expected to respect copyrights and eliminate any opportunity for students obtaining the English test scores through fraudulent means. Test scoring is the duty of the educators. Therefore, educators are expected to provide adequate training to the students and monitor and ensure the accuracy of the scoring process. Ethically, any errors that affect the interpretation of the English test by the students should be corrected. Reporting and Interpreting the English Multiple Choice Exams Results. Ethically, educators are expected to interpret and report the English multiple choice exams results clearly and accurately. They should interpret the meaning of the exam results, considering the nature of the content, comparison groups, norms, other technical evidence, and limitations and benefits of the test results which are to test reading, listening, writing, and speaking skills (Ebert and Richard 84). Taking ethics into considerations, guidelines should be provided to the students concerning the interpretations of the results for the English test administered. This means that educators should explain to the student any problems faced during the interpretation of the multiple choice exams results. Educators are expected to avoid using tests for the purpose other than the recommended one. For instance, an English multiple choice exam evaluating reading, listening, writing, and speaking skills should solely focus on the skills beings tested and nothing else. In setting the performance standards for an English multiple choice exam, educators set standards (Moos and Olof 85). However, educators should provide and review the procedures, evidence, and rationale for setting passing scores or performance standards. It is important for the educators to avoid using denouncing labels. Reading, listening, writing, and speaking skills cannot be tested using only a single test score (Ebert and Richard 93). Therefore, educators are ethically expected to avoid the use of a single test score as the only determinant of the skills and knowledge the students have. It is important for educators to state the intended use interpretation of the multiple choice exam test results to the students involved. Educators should avoid grouping the test results for the intention not specifically recommended by the aim of the test. Informing the Students Taking the English Multiple Choice Exam Educators have direct communication with the students taking the English multiple choice exam (Schellenberg 78). They also control the tests, control the testing process, and the results. This means that educators are obliged to inform the students about their rights and responsibilities, the nature of the test, procedures for tackling the questions, and the appropriate use of the scores. Ethically, students should be informed in advance of the English multiple choice exam administration about the coverage of the test, the format of the questions the direction of the question, and the suitable multiple choice exam taking strategies. In any situation that the English multiple choice exam is optional, educators are obliged to provide the students or their parents with relevant information to assist them judge whether the exam should be taken or not. However, any aftermath that may result from not taking the exam should be indicated. For instance, if a student does not take the English multiple choice exam that evaluates their reading, listening, writing, and speaking skills, they will not be eligible to participate in any inter-university exchange programs. Ethically, it is imperative for educators to provide students with information on the rights they have to obtain copies of the English multiple choice exam and complete answer sheets, to have tests re-scored, to retake tests, or to have the scores of the test declared as invalid (Hester 74). It is also ethical to provide the students with information on responsibilities they have, for instance being aware of the intended use and purpose of the exam, performing at capability, following the directions, and not revealing the English multiple choice exam items or interacting with other students during the test. Moreover, educators are obliged to inform the students how long the scores for the English multiple choice exam will be kept on the file and specify to whom, under what circumstances, and in what manner the exam scores (Rallis, Ellen and Ellen 102) This means that the educators are to protect the scores of the test from any unauthorized access and release. Lastly, educators are expected to describe the procedures that the students and any other interested parties may apply to acquire more information about the English multiple choice exam, register complaints and have their problems resolved. English Multiple Choice Exams ethics violations Cheating in English multiple choice exams undermines the usefulness and validity of the exams. Some educators have been noted to alter students’ tests answers which undermines results for testing reading, listening, writing, and speaking skills. Policies that avert cheating are the key to ensuring ethics in exams. Ethically, educators are not allowed to give out English multiple choice exams answers in advance. Educators have to follow the confidentiality policies of their school or the testing body with which they work (Davis, Patrick, and Tricia 78). Educators are obliged to administer updated exams, not the older versions of the exam. Correspondingly, after an English multiple choice exams is administered, educators are not expected to use the exam to assist students prepare for any future exams without consent from the testing body. Educators who coach students on a test or teach the test in any manner prior to the test is a violation of ethics in testing (Davis, Patrick, and Tricia 82). This violation includes coaching or teaching during a school day and through homework assignments, making list of the most items used in the English test, imparting a memorized test item, and copying mechanically or manually the authentic test items. Additionally, using and giving to students an English multiple choice test item from any part of the test in which only a distracter, a word or a phrase has been changed is unethical. Using and constructing any practice piece that is comparable to the actual exam items to reflect the situations, conditions or opinions of the original question destroys the exams validity and security (Dewey 66). Standardized English multiple choice exams mandated by the examination body or the school are secure. However, educators and students who fail to follow the test security rules for distribution and return of protected exam materials before, during and after testing violate the ethics of testing. Any act of copying the test items by photocopying or by hand violates exam security and render the English multiple choice exams results useless. Conclusion Ethics in testing have a lot to do with widely shared principles that are commonly accepted by the education profession. Therefore, the teaching profession necessitates that its members follow to an ethical code of professional behavior. Responsible use of English multiple choice tests to test reading, listening, writing, and speaking skills requires technical knowledge gained through education, continuous professional development, and training. Generally, educators are ethically obliged to specify the purpose of any test. This means that any test that the selected test should align with the purpose while taking into consideration the characteristics of the test itself and the students taking the test. The process of test administration involves following the standard procedures so as to make sure that the test is used in the manner identified. Ethically, educators should ensure that students work within conditions that maximize the chance for optimum performance. As suitable, students, school and parents should be involved in the different aspects of the testing process. They should be informed of the purpose of the test, the tasks involved, the test procedures, and the scoring. It is also vital for educators to clearly state the rights and responsibilities of the students in the test. Even if specific English multiple choice exam items must not be taught, educators are ethically compelled to acquaint students with the applicable format of the exams to warrants that students feel at ease when taking the tests. Ethically, all educators should provide English multiple choice exams that are fair-minded to all English students taking the exam regardless of gender, national origin, race, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity, age, or linguistic background. Fairness infers every exam taker with a chance to prepare for the exam and be informed about the content and general nature of the test. In instilling fairness in testing, developing and selecting appropriate English multiple choice exams, administering and scoring the English multiple choice exams, and reporting, interpreting the English multiple choice multiple choice exams results and informing the students taking the English multiple choice exam processes are observed. The act of cheating in English multiple choice exams challenges the usefulness and legitimacy of the exams. Policies that avert cheating are the key for warranting ethics in exams. Ethically, educators are not permitted to give out English multiple choice exams answers in advance. Educators are obliged to administer updated exams and are not expected to use the already done exam to assist students prepare for any future exams. Lastly, it is violation of ethics in testing if educators coach students prior to the test, give students an English multiple choice test item from any part of the test, and fail to follow the test security rules for distribution and return of protected exam materials. Work Cited Barry, Leasha M. The Best Teachers Test Preparation for the Ftce: Florida Teacher Certification Examination-Professional Education Test. Piscataway, N.J: Research & Education Association, 2005. Print. Davis, Stephen F, Patrick F. Drinan, and Tricia B. Gallant. Cheating in School: What We Know and What We Can Do. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, 2011. Dewey, John. Moral Principles in Education. S.l.: Wildside Pr, 2008. Print. Ebert, Edward S, and Richard C. Culyer. School: An Introduction to Education. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2011. Print. Hester, Joseph P. Ethical Leadership for School Administrators and Teachers. Jefferson, N.C: McFarland & Co, 2003. Print. Maxcy, Spencer J. Ethical School Leadership. Lanham, Md: Scarecrow Press, 2002. Print. Moos, Lejf, and Olof Johansson. How School Principals Sustain Success Over Time: International Perspectives. Dordrecht [etc.: Springer, 2011. Print. Rallis, Sharon F, Ellen B. Goldring, and Ellen B. Goldring. Principals of Dynamic Schools: Taking Charge of Change. Thousand Oaks, Calif: Corwin Press, 2000. Print. Schellenberg, Rita C. The School Counselors Study Guide for Credentialing Exams. London: Routledge, 2012. Print. Vlaardingerbroek, Barend, and Neil Taylor. Secondary School External Examination Systems: Reliability, Robustness and Resilience. Amherst, NY: Cambria Press, 2009. Print. Read More