“Like everything, what compels one to put pen to paper is a great question.”- Todd Solondz
And a combination of great questions will automatically make a great Question paper.

Why do we assess?

An important reason to assess student learning is to find out how well students are learning what we say we are teaching—to what degree are they accomplishing the learning outcomes we hold for them. Information from assessments can tell instructors, programs, and institutions if they need to make changes in what they teach or how they teach it. Let’s understand as teachers that question papers are yardsticks to measure the effectiveness of our teaching strategies and not for categorizing children into different classes.

How do we assess?

Academic assessment takes place at multiple levels from the individual student, to the program, to the institution. Ideally, assessment is done at the level of the individual student through a classroom assignment, project, or tests like our quarterly tests or half-yearly and annual examinations.

Some key points to consider while designing question papers for students:

• Let’s not be judgemental about our students by looking through these so-called mirrors ‘The Question Papers’
• The outlay of the question paper should motivate the learner
• Frame question papers to put to ease and not instill fear in the learners
• It should develop his self-confidence and give him a sense of achievement
• The question paper should always start from easy and end in difficult ones
• Try to set a fine balance between challenging and simple questions
• 60% of the paper should cater to the requirements of the academically weaker children
• 30% of the paper should be framed keeping in mind the mediocre children
• 10% of the paper can have challenging questions which give the brilliant children a chance to prove themselves
• A teacher should always keep the level of the students in mind and not project his/her subject proficiency through the paper set
• A good question paper identifies the varied competencies in the learners
• Knowledge, understanding, and application-level questions should be included
• Phrase questions so that it is clear to the learner. Use the simplest possible words to convey the desired meaning. Avoid the use of negative phrases.
• The question paper should be consistent with time and contents.
• A good question paper teaches the child to be selective, judgemental and manage his time effectively

Thus, the art of questioning should be such that it brings to life the curious side of a child, gives a new lease of life to the creative and fine-tunes the examinee to face real-life challenges.

About the author

Shobha Gurmukh Das Methwani is an educator in India. Any views expressed are personal.