EXPERIENCE OF CREATING A TEST DATABASE FOR ASSESSING THE KNOWLEDGE OF STUDENTS IN THE EDUCATIONAL COMPONENTS OF PROFESSIONAL TRAINING

Abstract

The author states the fact of widespread use of the testing method in assessing the training of applicants in higher education institutions with the necessity to follow a number of rules when developing relevant test tasks. The importance of creating a high-quality database of tests for assessing the knowledge of future specialists with regard to the introduction from 2023 of a single professional entrance examination for applicants of a Master's degree in many specialties is emphasised. Some shortcomings of this test programme and the possibility of eliminating the negative consequences by correctly formulating test tasks are shown. Based on authors' own experience and the results of a survey of experts who participated in the development of these test tasks, it is attempted to summarize the experience of creating tests on the example of marketing tests and to give recommendations for further work in this area. General requirements for the development of test tasks are considered. It is pointed out that the majority of existing tests do not meet at least some of these requirements, though this does not eliminate the possibility of their effective use in the current and even in the semester control of knowledge of higher education students. It is emphasized that in the actual practice of higher education institutions, it is advisable to strive for greater compliance of test tasks with these requirements, especially when testing applicants and graduates during the final certification. The limited possibilities of applying Benjamin Bloom's taxonomy theory when testing are shown. The role of the test development procedure for clarifying certain provisions in the educational material is highlighted. The article presents the results of the survey of experts selected to create test tasks for admission to the Master's degree program, as to their impressions regarding interaction with other experts and the examination procedure itself. The peculiarities of the team composition and approaches of experts are analysed, certain shortcomings in their work are identified, and ways to eliminate these shortcomings through special methods of organising group activities are outlined.