CNE CNE Student Assessment & Feedback 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the primary purpose of a summative assessment in nursing education?
- Provide ongoing feedback during learning
- Diagnose early learning gaps
- Measure overall achievement of learning outcomes at course end (Correct answer)
- Motivate students to attend class
Correct answer: Measure overall achievement of learning outcomes at course end
Summative assessments measure the overall achievement of learning outcomes at the conclusion of an instructional period.
Question 2: When constructing multiple-choice questions for nursing students, which practice should be AVOIDED?
- Using realistic clinical scenarios
- Including plausible distractors
- Using 'all of the above' or 'none of the above' options (Correct answer)
- Aligning questions to learning objectives
Correct answer: Using 'all of the above' or 'none of the above' options
'All of the above' and 'none of the above' options are poor testing practices because they allow correct answers without full knowledge of the content.
Question 3: Which type of validity ensures an assessment measures what it is intended to measure?
- Content validity (Correct answer)
- Predictive validity
- Construct validity
- Face validity
Correct answer: Content validity
Content validity ensures the assessment adequately covers the relevant content domain it is intended to measure.
Question 4: A nursing educator uses a test blueprint primarily to:
- Determine passing score cutoffs
- Ensure proportional representation of content areas across exam questions (Correct answer)
- Create the official answer key
- Schedule exam administration times
Correct answer: Ensure proportional representation of content areas across exam questions
Test blueprints ensure exam questions are proportionally distributed across all content areas and cognitive levels.
Question 5: Which of the following BEST describes high-stakes testing in nursing education?
- Weekly formative quizzes
- Assessments with significant consequences such as progression or graduation decisions (Correct answer)
- Student self-assessments in clinical journals
- Peer review exercises in small groups
Correct answer: Assessments with significant consequences such as progression or graduation decisions
High-stakes tests carry significant consequences including course failure, program progression decisions, or certification eligibility.
Question 6: To improve the reliability of an assessment tool, a nursing educator should:
- Use only open-ended essay questions
- Increase the number of test items (Correct answer)
- Allow students to choose which questions to answer
- Significantly decrease total testing time
Correct answer: Increase the number of test items
Increasing the number of test items improves reliability by reducing the effect of chance and providing a more representative content sample.
CNE CNE Student Assessment & Feedback 2
What is the primary purpose of a summative assessment in nursing education?