Sample of Gap Filling Exercises

FILL-IN THE GAPS

For questions 1-10, complete the following article. Use only one word for each space. The exercise begins with an example (0).

A DNA fingerprint __of___ (0) every active criminal in Britain will be taken __AS________ (1) part of government plans ____FOR________ (2) a wide-ranging overhaul of the criminal justice system, the Prime Minister said yesterday.

In his first public announcement ___SINCE_________ (3) returning from holiday, Tony Blair promised to deliver a courts system fit for the 21st century. Addressing police officers in Kent, in southern England, he accused the courts of being run for ___THEIR_______ (4) own convenience and promised to ensure that victims, witnesses and police giving evidence would receive more respect.

Mr Blair declared the justice system archaic, saying it hindered police efforts to keep up ___WITH_________ (5) organised crime, and announced a 107 million package to expand the DNA database. According to a government spokesman, the database should hold more than three million samples­ equivalent __TO_______ (6) almost the whole criminal class of the UK.

'I think we __HAVE_____(7) effectively got a 19th century justice system in a 21st century world,' the Prime Minister said.

'We have totally failed to keep __UP__________ (8) to date with the fact that we have got major organised crime operating in a completely different way to 50 or 60 years ago,' he said.

Mr Blair stressed that he was ___IN_____ (9) favour of so-called zero tolerance and wanted a law-abiding society based on courtesy _TOWARDS/TO________ (10) others.

Choose a word from the table below to fill each space. Some words may be used more than once.

1. How  children do you and Tony have?
2. I don't have  patience and I find jigsaw puzzles boring.
3. We only have  carrots. We should go and buy some more.
4. "Do we need any mushrooms?" "No, we have . Look, three bags!"
5. There was an explosion at the factory and  people were injured. We don't know how many yet.
6. When you make the pie, put  wine in too. But not too much! It makes it really tasty.
7. When you go out, buy me  apple and a bottle of Coke.
8. I don't need  advice from you. You don't understand the problem!
9. "Do you like this programme?" "Not . You can change the channel if you want."
10. Lots of people in Spain like to take  siesta during the hottest part of the day.
11. I have been to America  times. Twice in 1996 and again last year.
12. Can you give me  information about the buses in the city centre please?
13.  people think he is stupid, but he's actually quite intelligent.

How to Construct Gap Filling Questions

Gap-filling items are a good way to improve your knowledge of grammar (tenses, prepositions). Their biggest disadvantage is that they are difficult to create correctly, especially when you are a beginner. You can add a sentence from a dictionary or a book (e.g. He’s an expert in pollution), but it is always possible that there are other correct answers (e.g. expert on).

Usually, we use gap-filling items to learn grammar. The question field contains an English sentence with a gap (which looks like this: ____). The answer field contains the full sentence. There is no gap — it is filled with the missing word or phrase.

You can also use gap-filling items to learn words: The sentence in the question field can have a gap in place of the word which you want to memorize. The answer field can contain the full sentence, a definition of the missing word, and its pronunciation.

Examples
Q- His card preceded him ______ a few seconds and then he entered himself.
A- His card preceded him by a few seconds and then he entered himself.
Q- Don't try to shift the blame ____ me!
A- Don't try to shift the blame onto me!
Q- We are indebted ___ you for your help.
A- We are indebted to you for your help.

How to repeat

1. Read the sentence in the question field.
2. Say or think the word which fits in the gap.
3. Read the full sentence in the answer field carefully.
4. Choose a grade.

The other testing technique is known as “banked gap-filling”, because you have to choose the appropriate word from a bank of alternatives. In a banked gap-filling task, similarly to the open gap-filling tasks we explained in the previous chapter, you are asked to read a text from which some words are missing. However, while in an open gap task you are not given any words to choose from, in this type of test, the words that were taken out from the text are printed after the text, and you ‘only’ need to decide which word in the list of words after the text is suitable for which gap in the text.

It may be helpful for you to note that the possible answers are listed in alphabetical order. You should also remember that this list of choices always includes at least one, but more typically, two extra words that will not be suitable for any of the gaps, and which you will not need to use in your answers. Since you may only use each word once, it is a good idea to put a line through a word in the bank, once you have decided where it fits in the text, so that you do not use it again. This will also make it easier to search through the remaining words in the bank for other items. Also, at the end, you can check to see whether one or two words have not been crossed out since, depending on what the instructions say, there will always be one or two words you do not need.

The tasks in this chapter were designed to test your ability to use vocabulary rather more than grammatical structure, which, however, does not mean that none of them contain any items requiring grammar words. As with other gap-filling tasks which are based on texts, in order to do this type of test successfully, it is a good idea to read through the whole text before even attempting to fill in any gaps in the text. You can then go back to the beginning and try to select the correct option to fit in the first space. Remember that you need not only to pay attention to the meaning, but you also need to be aware of the part of speech that appears to be missing from the text, and then identify an appropriate part of speech from the bank.

The example (0) in the Sample Task (“Far from shore”) (with which you are advised to start practising this task type) is a good instance of this: an adjective is required to fill the gap between a possessive noun(“ocean’s”) and the head noun (“layer”), and the meaning of the adjective must relate to the meaning of the text: the sunlight layer must be higher than the other two, darker, layers, and so “top” is the best choice. As with open gap-filling, it is essential to read the text after the gap as well as before it, to be sure that the word you choose fits completely into the context. A very common mistake is to find a word that fits the text before the gap but not after the gap. Always look beyond the gap.

Now you should attempt to do the Sample Task for this task type (“Far from shore”).
INTO EUROPE Reading and Use of English
You are going to read a text about the ocean. Some words are missing from it.
Choose the most appropriate word from the list (A-P) for each gap (1-13) in the text. There are two extra words that you do not need to use. Write your answers in the boxes after the text. There is one example at the beginning (0).

Far from Shore
Scientists divide the open ocean far from land into three layers according to how much sunlight the water gets: the sunlight zone, the twilight zone, and the midnight zone.

Sunlight Zone
The sunlight zone is the ocean’s (0) _____ layer. It goes down about 300 feet, and the temperature is a pleasant 70°F. Even (1) _____ it is the smallest zone, it has about 90 (2) _____ of ocean life. Sunlight brightens the water near the surface (3) _____ plankton float. Bigger  creatures also live in the sunny water. Some swimming animals cruise (4) _____ below the surface. Some dive deep. Others break the water’s surface (5) _____ reach the air above.

Twilight Zone
The twilight zone (6) _____ from the bottom of the sunlight zone down about 3,000 feet. The water (7) _____ darker and colder – about 50°F. The fish that live here can’t see very well, and there isn’t enough light for plant plankton or seaweed to stay (8) _____. Most food comes from dead plankton and animals that drift down from the surface waters.

Midnight Zone
The midnight zone goes from the bottom of the twilight zone to the floor of the ocean. This zone is dark and (9) _____. The temperature is really cold – about 43°F. The weight of the water from above presses very hard on the small, (10) _____ blind animals that live here. Many deep-ocean fish have parts that glow from chemicals in (11) _____ bodies. Their lights confuse enemies, lure prey, and (12) _____ mates. At some places on the ocean floor, water (13) _____ hot as 750°F shoots out of openings, or vents. Minerals collect around the vents to form underwater chimneys. The hot water rising from the chimneys looks like black smoke.

Item 1: A conjunction is needed in the gap to connect the meaning of the two clauses of the sentence. The word “even” in the sentence is the first part of a two-word conjunction which could do this, but the second part of this conjunction is missing. The word “though” given among the choices is suitable.
Item 2: The author is contrasting a small area with a large quantity of ocean life. “percent” would complete the meaning.
Item 3: Since the two words after the gap are a noun (“plankton”) and a verb (“float”), what is needed here is a subordinating conjunction of location: “where” is ideal.
Item 4: Since, at first sight, the sentence containing this item seems complete both in terms of meaning and syntax, there are not many types of words one can think of when trying to fill the gap. However, the short sentence right after the gap, “Some [animals] dive deep [in the water.]”, suggests that other animals must cruise “very near” the surface (not simply “below the surface”). So the missing word must be an intensifier/ qualifier of some sort. The word “just”fits the meaning.
Item 5: The words surrounding the gap suggest that the meaning of the sentence requires an infinitive of purpose. The missing word can only be the infinitive particle “to”.
Item 6: There is a main verb missing in this sentence, and the meaning has to do with a range, hence “extends”.
Item 7: A verb is needed, and the adjectives after the gap are comparatives, so something that indicates a change of state would make sense, hence “gets” or “becomes” – but “becomes” is not in the bank.
Item 8: The meaning of the sentence is that the plankton and seaweed will die because of the lack of light, hence stay “alive” is appropriate.
Item 9: What is needed here is another adjective that indicates what deep water will be like. “still” is the only suitable choice given in the bank.
Item 10: Again, what is missing is either an adjective or an adverb qualifying the adjective “blind”. As there are no other adjectives left in the bank, the adverb “nearly” is the best choice.
Item 11: Either an adjective or a determiner is needed, but the possessive adjective “their”, referring back to the “fish”, is the best.
Item 12: The three clauses of the gapped sentence are parallel: a verb followed by a noun, so the missing word must be a verb. What one often does with “mates” is to “attract” them.
Item 13: If you read beyond the gap you will see that there is a comparison (“hot as 750 F”), so the first part of the comparison is what is missing: “as”.

Disadvantages of MCQ

Disadvantages

• Often difficult to write questions that have only one correct answer
• Sometimes the word(s) omitted make it difficult to understand the meaning of the sentence

Hints

• Omit only a relevant key wordUse straight forward sentences
• Check that learners can infer the meaning even without the deleted word
• Do not use a or an to provide a clue
• Give credit for all potential answers that make sense

Advantages of Gap Filling

Little scope for the learner to guess the correct answer 

•     Useful for assessing recall
•     Scoring can be perfectly reliable, rapid and economical
•     Guessing will (or should) contribute less to test scores
•     The technique is not restricted by the need for distractors
•     Cheating is likely to be more difficult

General Guidelines in Gap Filling

1. Read through the sentence carefully to make sure you understand it.
2. Carefully read the sentence with the first gap and think about what form will fit i.e. should it be an adjective, noun, infinitive, present participle etc? And what type of word is needed i.e. is it an amount, a change, an action?
3. You should have worked out that for questions that you are looking for a noun because 'an' comes before it.
4. Then look at the other words in the sentence - which ones have the right form to fit and the right type?
5. Use this information to help you choose the correct word for the reading gap filling.

Definition of Gap Filling

Gap-fill test is an exercise in which words are removed from a text and replaced with spaces. The learner has to fill each space with the missing word or a suitable word. Usually, we use gap-filling items to learn grammar. The question field contains an English sentence with a gap (which looks like this: ____). The answer field contains the full sentence. There is no gap — it is filled with the missing word or phrase. You can also use gap-filling items to learn words: The sentence in the question field can have a gap in place of the word which you want to memorize. The answer field can contain the full sentence, a definition of the missing word, and its pronunciation.

 Gap-filling items are a good way to improve your knowledge of grammar (tenses, prepositions). Their biggest disadvantage is that they are difficult to create correctly, especially when you are a beginner. You can add a sentence from a dictionary or a book (e.g. He’s an expert in pollution), but it is always possible that there are other correct answers (e.g. expert on).

Example of Short Answer Questions

There are six basic types of short-answer question:

• Definition questions.  

For these questions, you simply need to define a concept. 

• Example:  “What is a demand curve?”  
• Answer:  “It is a curve that shows the quantity demanded of a particular good or service at many different prices.”

• Explanation questions.

For these questions, you need to explain why something is true or how something works. 

• Example:  “Why is the demand curve downward-sloping for most goods?”  
• Answer:  “Because as the price of a good falls, people tend to buy more of it. When the price is lower, buying the good involves a smaller sacrifice in terms of other goods.”

• Example questions.  

For these questions, you need to state one or more specific, real-world instances of some concept.

• Example:  “Give two examples of pairs of goods that are complements.”  
• Answer:  “Cameras and camera film.  Peanut butter and jelly.”

• Relationship questions.  

For these questions, you need to state how two or more things relate to each other.  Are they opposites?  Are they the same thing?  Is one an example of the other?  How do they differ?  Etc.  These are usually the most difficult questions.

• Example:  “In a competitive market economy, what is the relationship between prices and scarcity?” 
• Answer:  “Prices usually reflect scarcity directly.  More scarce commodities have higher prices, while less scarce commodities have lower prices.”

• Example:  “What is the difference between demand and quantity demanded?”
• Answer:  “Quantity demanded is the amount of a good consumers will buy at a specific price, whereas demand shows the quantities demanded for many different prices.”

• Calculation questions.  

For these questions, you need to calculate a numerical answer or answers. 

• Example:  “If the demand for boxes of cereal is given by P = 100 – 0.1Q_d, and the supply is given by P = 20 + 0.1Q_s, what is the market equilibrium price and quantity?”  
• Answer:  “Q* = 400, P* = 60.”

• Graphing questions.  

For these questions, you need to respond with a simple graph.  Make sure you clearly label your axes and curves.  Unless the question specifically asks for an explanation, no explanation is necessary! 

• Example:  “Draw a diagram of a market with an effective price ceiling below the market price.  Mark the resulting shortage.”

Make sure you know what kind of question you’re answering!  Many students lose points by giving the wrong kind of answer.

• If it’s a definition question, don’t give an example instead. 
• Example:  “What is meant by economies of scale?”  
• Bad answer:  “Economies of scale is like when Ford Motors came up with the idea of assembly-line production of automobiles.”  
• Good answer:  “Economies of scale is when the long-run average cost of production falls as output rises.”
• If it’s an example question, don’t give a definition instead.
• Example:  “Give an example of substitute goods.”  
• Bad answer:  “A substitute good is one that you’ll buy more of when the price of a similar good goes up.”  
• Good answer:  “Butter and margarine.”
• If it’s an explanation question, don’t give a definition or an example.
• Example:  “Why do economies of scale occur?”  
• Bad answer:  “Economies of scale occur when the average cost of production goes down as output goes up.”  [This is a correct description of economies of scale, but it doesn’t say why the average cost goes down as output goes up.]  Another bad answer:  “Economies of scale happens because you can make more cars for cheaper by having an assembly line.”  [This answer is too specific, because economies of scale are a concept that applies to more than just cars.]  
• Good answer:  “Economies of scale usually occur because firms can make use of mass production techniques that involve greater specialization of both labor and capital.”
• If it’s relationship question, don’t just give two definitions (unless the wording of the definitions makes the relationship obvious).
• Example:  “For most goods, what is the relationship between price and quantity demanded?”  
• Bad answer:  “Price is the amount of money you have to pay for the good.  Quantity demanded is how much you buy.”  
• Good answer:  “As the price of a good rises, quantity demanded tends to fall.”

The point is, it’s not enough to say something correct.  You also have to say something that directly answers the question asked.

How to design a good Short Answer Questions?

1. Design short answer items which are appropriate assessment of the learning objective.
2. Make sure the content of the short answer question measure knowledge appropriate to the desired learning goal
3. Express the questions with clear wordings and language which are appropriate to the students population
4. Ensure there is only one clearly correct answer in each question
5. Ensure that the item clearly specifies how the question should be answered
6. Consider whether the positioning of the item blank promote efficient scoring
7. Write the instructions clearly so as to specify the desired knowledge and specificity of response
8. Set the questions explicitly and precisely
9. Direct questions are better than those which require completing the sentences
10. For numerical answers, let the students know if they will receive marks for showing partial work (process based) or only the results (product based), also indicated the importance of the units
11. Let the students know what your marking style is like, is bullet point format acceptable, or does it have to be an essay format?
12. Prepare a structured marking sheet; allocate marks or part-marks for acceptable answer
13. Be prepared to accept other equally acceptable answers, some of which you     may not have predicted.

Marking Rubrics

Short answer questions tend to be short, and have more precise answers, thus, it is possible for each question to list out all the possible answers/points.

For example, if there are 6 possible arguments to a question, and the student scores all 6 arguments, he will get full mark in that question. If he scores only 4 arguments, he will get a relative mark. You may also decide to be lenient, if there are 6 arguments in a question, and the student scores any 4 out of 6, he will get full mark, this would be an assessor decision, however, this decision must be clear and consistent.

Constructing Short Answer Questions

Short Answer content

1. Design for recall of specific names, facts, and basic knowledge
2. Focus the question so there are limited number of possible correct responses (or one only) in order to discriminate achievement
3. Make sure that question provides enough information so that students know what constitutes a correct response.

Short answer protocol

1. Make sure that the answer will require only a few words
2. If a list is expected, limit the number of items to be listed to 6 or so
3. Write the stem in your own words; that is, don’t use wording directly from a text or reading assignments
4. Make the stem complete enough so that the meaning is clear
5. When the stem is an incomplete statement, place the “blank” for the correct choice at the end of the statement
6. When a negative item is used, emphasize the negative word or phrase, that is, underline, capitalize or italicize, for example, “DOES NOT”
7. Avoid clues to the correct answer such as “a” or “an” as the last word of the stem   or plural verbs that match plural choices.

Short-answer exam questions generally require you to remember and reproduce knowledge, e.g. "Define the term fuzzy logic". You may also be required to demonstrate your understanding of knowledge in questions such as "discuss the role of...".

Understanding what type of response the examiner wants requires that you read and analyse the question carefully. To analyse and interpret the question accurately requires a good knowledge of the meaning of direction words.

Direction words	Response required
List...	You are asked to briefly note or state specific information in a list format. For example: "List the three major components of the CPU."
Explain...	You are asked to clarify, interpret, and elaborate on the material presented, to give reasons for differences of opinion or results, and to try to analyse causes. For example: "Explain the basic operation of the CPU as it processes instructions in memory."
Compare...	You are asked to identify characteristics or qualities that resemble each other; to emphasise similiarities and also mention differences where appropriate. For example: "Compare optic fibre and coaxial cable as data transmission media."
Describe...	You are asked to state the most noticeable qualitites or features. For example: "Describe the operation of the CSMA/CD medium access protocol."
Name...	You are asked to give the appropriate (discipline-specific) term by which something is known. For example: "Name the three types of modulation which can be used to encode digital data on an analog wave."
Discuss...	You are asked to point out the important features and express some form of critical judgement. For example: "Discuss the role of cache memory within the memory hierarchy."

Disadvantages of Short Answer Questions

1. Short Answer Questions are only suitable for questions that can be answered with short responses. It is very important that the assessor is very clear on the type of answers expected when setting the questions, because short answer questions in an open-ended question, students are free to answer any way they choose, short-answer questions can lead to difficulties in grading if the question is not worded carefully.
2. Short answer questions are typically used for assessing knowledge only; students may often memorize short answer questions with rote learning. If assessors wish to use short answer questions to assess deeper learning, careful attention (and many practice) on appropriate questions are required.
3. Accuracy of assessment may be influenced by handwriting/spelling skills.There can be time management issues when answering short answer questions

Advantages of Short Answer Questions

1. Short answer questions are relatively fast to mark and can be marked by different assessors, as long as the questions are set in such a way that all alternative answers can be considered by the assessors.
2. Short answer questions are also relatively easy to set compared to many assessment methods
3. Short answer questions can be used as part of a formative and summative assessment, as the structure of short answer questions are very similar to examination questions, students are more familiar with the practice and feel less anxious
4. Unlike MCQs, there is no guessing on answers, students must supply an answer.

SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS

Short answer questions are open-ended questions that require students to create an answer. They are commonly used in examinations to assess the basic knowledge and understanding (low cognitive levels) of a topic before more in-depth assessment questions are asked on the topic.

Short Answer Questions do not have a generic structure. Questions may require answers such as complete the sentence, supply the missing word, short descriptive or qualitative answers, diagrams with explanations etc. The answer is usually short, from one word to a few lines. Often students may answer in bullet form. 

MULTIPLE-CHOICE QUESTIONS BASED ON BLOOM’S TAXONOMY

Knowledge Questions

Outcome: Identifies the meaning of a term.

Reliability is the same as:
a.       consistency.
b.      relevancy.
c.       representativeness.
d.      usefulness.

In the area of physical science, which one of the following definitions describes the term “polarization”?
a.       The separation of electric charges by friction.
b.      The ionization of atoms by high temperatures.
c.       The interference of sound waves in a closed chamber.
d.      The excitation of electrons by high frequency light.
e.       The vibration of transverse waves in a single plane.

Outcome: Identifies the order of events.

What is the first step in constructing an achievement test?
a.       Decide on test length.
b.      Identify the intended learning outcomes.
c.       Prepare a table of specifications.
d.      Select the tem types to use.

Comprehension Questions

Outcome: Identifies an example of a term.

Which one of the following statements contains a specific determiner?
a.       America is a continent.
b.      America was discovered in 1492.
c.       America has some big industries.
d.      America’s population is increasing.

Outcome: Interprets the meaning of an idea.

The statement that “test reliability is a necessary but not sufficient condition of test validity” means that:
a.       a reliable test will have a certain degree of validity.
b.      a valid test will have a certain degree of reliability.
c.       a reliable test may be completely invalid and a valid test completely unreliable.

Outcome: Identifies an example of a concept or principle .

Which of the following is an example of a criterion-referenced interpretation?
a.       Derik earned the highest score in science.
b.      Erik completed his experiment faster than his classmates.
c.       Edna’s test score was higher than 50 percent of the class.
d.      Tricia set up her laboratory equipment in five minutes.

Which one of the following describes what takes place in the so-called PREPARATION stage of the creative process, as applied to the solution of a particular problem?
a.      The problem is identified and defined.
b.      All available information about the problem is collected.
c.      An attempt is made to see if the proposed solution to the problem is acceptable.
d.      The person goes through some experience leading to a general idea of how the problem can be solved.

Application Questions

Outcome: Distinguishes between properly and improperly stated outcomes

Which one of the following learning outcomes is properly stated in terms of student performance?
a.       Develops an appreciation of the importance of testing.
b.      Learns how to write good test questions.
c.       Realizes the importance of validity.

Outcome: Tests for the application of previously acquired knowledge (the various memory systems).

Which one of the following memory systems does a piano-tuner mainly use in his occupation?
a.       Echoic memory
b.      Short-term memory
c.       Long-term memory
d.      Mono-auditory memory
e.       None of the above

Outcome: Improves defective test questions.

Directions: read the following test question and then indicate the best change to make to improve the question.

Which one of the following types of learning outcomes is most difficult to evaluate objectively?
a.       A concept.
b.      An application.
c.       An appreciation.
d.      None of the above.

The best change to make in the previous question would be to:
a.       change the stem to incomplete-statement form.
b.      use letters instead of numbers for each alternative.
c.       remove the indefinite articles “a” and “an” from the alternatives.
d.      replace “none of the above” with “an interpretation.”

Analysis Questions

Directions: Read the following comments a teacher made about testing. Then answer the questions that follow by circling the letter of the best answer.

“Students go to school to learn, not to take tests. In addition, tests cannot be used to indicate a student’s absolute level of learning. All tests can do is rank students in order of achievement, and this relative ranking is influenced by guessing, bluffing, and the subjective opinions of the teacher doing the scoring. The teacher-learning process would benefit if we did away with tests and depended on student self-evaluation.”

Outcome: Recognizes unstated assumptions.

Which one of the following unstated assumptions is this teacher making?
a.       Students go to school to learn.
b.      Teachers use essay tests primarily.
c.       Tests make no contribution to learning.
d.      Tests do not indicate a student’s absolute level of learning.

Outcome: Identifies the meaning of a term.

Which one of the following types of test is this teacher primarily talking about?
a.       Diagnostic test.
b.      Formative test.
c.       Pretest.
d.      Summative test.

Directions: Read carefully through the paragraph below, and decide which of the options A-D is correct.

“The basic premise of pragmatism is that questions posed by speculative metaphysical propositions can often be answered by determining what the practical consequences of the acceptance of a particular metaphysical proposition are in this life. Practical consequences are taken as the criterion for assessing the relevance of all statements or ideas about truth, norm and hope.”

Outcome: Analyze whether a word fits with the accepted definition of pragmatism.
a.       The word “acceptance” should be replaced by “rejection.”
b.      The word “often” should be replaced by “only.”
c.       The word “speculative” should be replaced by hypothetical.”
d.      The word “criterion” should be replaced by “measure.”

Synthesis Question:

Directions: Read the following comments a teacher made about testing. Then answer the questions that follow by circling the letter of the best answer.

“Students go to school to learn, not to take tests. In addition, tests cannot be used to indicate a student’s absolute level of learning. All tests can do is rank students in order of achievement, and this relative ranking is influenced by guessing, bluffing, and the subjective opinions of the teacher doing the scoring. The teacher-learning process would benefit if we did away with tests and depended on student self-evaluation.”

Outcome: Identifies relationships. Which one of the following propositions is most essential to the final conclusion?
a.       Effective self-evaluation does not require the use of tests.
b.      Tests place students in rank order only.
c.       Test scores are influenced by factors other than achievement.
d.      Students do not go to school to take tests.