Essay tests are a form of constructed response tests. According to the textbook, "what is perhaps unique about the essay format is that it offers students the opportunity to display their abilities tow rite about, to organize, to express, and to explain interrelationships among ideas." Essays can be restricted response or extended response.
I personally do not like essays, I don't think that an essay really proves how much someone knows about a certain topic. I think it is important for students to know how to organize ideas into an essay format, but that in my opinion is the only reason for an essay. In my experiences, essays are just recited information, especially on tests. Many teachers will tell students the essay that is going to be on a test, so the student goes home, prepares an essay and has to remember it during test time and rewrite it.
In other cases, the students read a passage and are told to write an essay on ideas presented in the passage. I think this is unfair because the student doesn't really have time to organize ideas properly.
Multiple Choice Tests I find to be more fair than essay tests, with multiple choice there is an equal chance for every student. All students might not be on the same writing level when writing essays. Also, with multiple choice even with guessing, there is a chance of getting the question correct. It is harder to guess on an essay and still be correct.
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