Testing educational achievements: from knowledge test to test of understanding

The article presents the results of author’s research in the field of assessing the formation of competencies of students in educational institutions of higher education using test technologies. The analysis carried out in the context of pedagogical qualimetry allows us to draw conclusions about the high didactic potential of individual test tasks with the ordering of answers. The study of the features of the application of test technologies in the formation of funds for assessment tools for ongoing educational programs of higher education revealed the advantage of this tool, expressed in the form of the ability to differentiate grades de-pending on the didactic goals of the test and the depth of control of educational achievements. In the article, it is scientifically grounded that the use of single test tasks with ordering of answers, unlike other types of tests (for example, with a single choice, multiple choice, establishing compliance, establishing a sequence), provides the developer with significantly more possibilities in forming grading scale and at the same time provides it with more interesting for analysis results of monitoring student performance. The authors of the article obtained initial analytical data, with the help of which quantitative characteristics can be calculated, which, together with the relevant criteria, can evaluate the success of the test solution. The method of questioning students who were trained according to the advanced training program of the faculty “Innovative Educational Technologies” received estimates of various types of test items, it was confirmed that the development of tests based on single test items with ordering of answers requires not only deep knowledge in his subject, but also creative abilities and general outlook. Recommendations on the introduction of test technologies in the educational environment are given.