FAA Fundamentals of Instructing (FOI)Assessment and CritiqueHard
A flight school's chief instructor rejects a proposed 3-hour written stage exam for a single 1-hour ground lesson because it would take too much class time and grading effort for every student. This decision reflects a concern for which characteristic of a good test?
- ADiscrimination
- BUsability
- CReliability
- DObjectivity
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: B. Usability
Usability refers to the practicality of a test, including the time, cost, and resources required to administer, take, and score it. A test that is excessively long or costly relative to the material covered lacks usability.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. Discrimination refers to a test's ability to differentiate between strong and weak students, unrelated to length concerns here.
- C. Reliability concerns consistency of results across administrations, not practicality of giving the test.
- D. Objectivity concerns consistent, unbiased scoring, not the practicality of administration time.
Usability (Test Characteristic)
The practicality of a test in terms of time, cost, ease of administration, and ease of scoring relative to the content being assessed.
- A good test should be efficient to administer and grade
- Excessively long or resource-intensive tests lack usability
- One of several key characteristics of a good test alongside reliability and validity
Memory trick: Usability = keeping the test practical, not a marathon 🏃