Teachers' views on assessing students' academic achievement through open-ended questions

The aim of this study is to determine teachers' views on evaluating students' academic achievement through open-ended questions. The study was conducted using the case study method, one of the qualitative research designs. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 18 middle school teachers working in the province of Zonguldak and analyzed using the content analysis method. The findings of the study indicate that open-ended questions provide multidimensional contributions to the assessment process according to teachers. Teachers stated that open-ended questions allow for a detailed and effective evaluation of students' academic performance, are effective in identifying conceptual misunderstandings, and are useful in measuring higher-order thinking skills. However, the time-consuming nature of preparing and scoring open-ended questions, the potential decrease in content validity, and the challenges in achieving objective scoring were considered by teachers as the negative aspects of open-ended questions. In terms of their use, teachers identified students' deficiencies in writing skills, problems with time management, and the absence of open-ended questions in the national examination system as challenges encountered in practice. Although teachers benefit from open-ended questions in formative assessment, they expressed that obstacles such as crowded classrooms and a comprehensive curriculum prevent them from measuring students' original thinking skills. As a result, it was determined that open-ended questions contribute to both the cognitive and socio-psychological aspects of students, and that teachers make efforts to carefully plan the process, prepare appropriate questions, and structure them according to different student levels.