A cool tool for assessing student work

Many a teacher says that the preparation of tests is probably the most demanding jobs of all. Some teachers even say they would trade one test for many classes of teaching. This attitude is understandable as it seems that the main problem can be attributed to the fact that for every assessment / exam period, new tests have to be created in order to avoid the possibility of students cheating. 

Depending on the type of skill or performance to be tested, there are many online tools to be used for the purpose of assessment. The most basic form of testing would be a quiz with multiple choice answers. However (or better 'unfortunately/ sadly/ tragically), students have become very resourceful when it comes to finding diverse solutions for an easy way out, which includes a genius for cheat-sheets, partner-cheating and secret signals.   

Anyway, teachers wouldn't be teachers if they didn't find means to prevent such behaviour.

A tool that will probably make every teacher happy, regardless of the context they teach in, would be EasyTestMaker. True, it is one of those annoying tools where the user has to register first. But apart from that, there is not much hustle involved. The beauty of the tool is that the basic account is free. More elaborate tests and various usage options have to be paid for. Yet, the basic tools are more than enough as they include both different testing options and the possibility of download. 

Once the account has been created, the panel that opens guides the user trough the process. Basically, the procedure is more than simple. No extra formatting is needed. All there is to it is the following:

All the necessary links are there. The is used to add questions, the is used to edit and the is used to delete existing questions. The arrows move any question up or down when it's selected. The test option link is used to enable the configuration of the font, page setup, alternate version rules and more. When the test is complete, the free edition allows the print and download whereas a plus or premium account are needed to publish the test and make it available online.

The toolbar on the left of the main panel provides the various question options for the test. Once a certain type of question has been chosen, a new window opens with a writing panel. The text of the question can either be typed or pasted into the panel. The different tabs in the upper part of the panel enable various additional operations. 

The great thing about online test makers, this one included is that answers can be shuffled, the questions can be rearranged or simply presented in a new format. In that way, the teacher not only saves time since no actual new test is being created, but they also make sure that students cannot remember the answers and pass them on to other students who would be doing the same test. 

Here is an example test prepared for students of Legal English Test on rental agreements and here is the accompanying Answer Sheet that was generated as the test was being made.