Teaching methods are subdivided into teaching methods, teaching methods and control methods.

Pedagogical control performs a number of functions in the pedagogical process: evaluative, stimulating, developing, teaching, diagnostic, educational, etc.

The control process is one of the most laborious and responsible operations in teaching, associated with acute psychological situations for both students and teachers.

To diagnose the success of learning, special methods are being developed, which are called by different authors tests of educational achievement, success tests, didactic tests and even teacher tests.

Testing has long become a common event in the lives of students, teachers and parents. All participants in the education process have to deal with tests. In recent years, a number of works on testology have been published, but, in my opinion, there is a shortage of practical guidelines that can help the teacher (mathematics in particular) introduce the student into the "art of testing", namely, practically prepare for testing

in the format of the Unified State Exam.

Tests are rather short, standardized or non-standardized tests, tests that allow for relatively short periods of time to assess the effectiveness of cognitive activity, i.e. assess the degree and quality of achievement by each student of learning objectives (learning objectives).

Along with achievement tests designed to assess the assimilation of knowledge in specific disciplines or their cycles, more broadly oriented tests are being developed. These are, for example, tests to assess individual skills. Even more broadly focused are tests for learning skills that can be useful in mastering a number of disciplines, for example, skills in working with a textbook, mathematical tables, encyclopedias and dictionaries.

There are also tests aimed at assessing the impact of learning on the formation of logical thinking, the ability to reason, draw conclusions based on the analysis of a certain range of data, etc. These tests are the closest in their content to intelligence tests.

Since achievement tests are designed to assess the effectiveness of teaching in specific subjects, the teacher should become a mandatory participant in the formulation of individual assignments.

According to the form of the tests, they can be individual and group, oral and written, blank, computerized, verbal and non-verbal. Moreover, each test has several components: a manual for working with the test, a test book with tasks or a form with tasks, equipment (calculator, computer), an answer sheet (for blank methods), templates for data processing.

Any test must necessarily pass an imperial test and have definite and stable values ​​of the parameters characterizing its quality. In addition to the established estimates of the parameter of difficulty and the parameter of differentiating ability, studies of the system-forming properties of the task should be carried out using the methods of correlation factorial task. In other words, any test must be standardized. Therefore, when developing and compiling personal tests, it is more correct and more competent for a teacher to call them “test assignments”.

A test task is one of the diagnostic elements.

Requirements for the TEACHER in the preparation of test assignments

When compiling test items, a number of rules should be observed that are necessary to create a reliable, balanced instrument for assessing the success of mastering certain academic disciplines or their sections:

  • each task should have its own serial number, established according to an objective assessment of the difficulty of the task, the chosen testing strategy.
  • it is necessary to analyze the content of tasks from the standpoint of equal representation in the test of different educational topics, concepts, actions, etc.
  • the test should not be loaded with secondary terms, insignificant details with an emphasis on mechanical memory, which can be involved if the test includes the exact formulations from the textbook or fragments from it.
  • Test items should be formulated clearly, concisely and unambiguously so that all students understand the meaning of what is being asked of them. It is important to ensure that no test item can serve as a clue for answering another.
  • answer options for each task should be selected in such a way as to exclude the possibility of a simple guess or rejection of a knowingly inappropriate answer.
  • it is important to choose the most appropriate form of answers to tasks. Considering that the question asked should be formulated briefly, it is desirable to also formulate the answers briefly and unambiguously. For example, an alternative form of answers is convenient, when the student must emphasize one of the listed solutions “yes-no”, “true-false”.
  • tasks for tests should be informative, work out one or several concepts of a formula, definition, etc. At the same time, test problems cannot be too cumbersome or too simple. These are not verbal counting tasks.
  • there should be at least five answers to the problem, if possible. It is advisable to use the most common mistakes as incorrect answers.
    • it should take no more than 1-2 minutes to complete one test task.

Test items should only test knowledge, not intelligence!

TEST PROBLEM FORMS

There are various forms of test items:

1. TASKS OF THE CLOSED FORM [ZZF]

Find the domain of the function.

a) (6; ) ; b) (;6 ); in 2; ) ; d) (- 6; 6) ; e) ( ;); f) there is no answer. (a)

2. TASKS OF THE OPEN FORM [ZOF]

How many diagonals does an octagonal truncated pyramid have?

Answer:________

3. TASKS FOR COMPLIANCE [ZNS]

Establish correspondence.

Function Derivative
1.y = cos 3x A. y` = 3cos 3x
2.y = cos 2 x B. y` = - 3 sin 3x
3.y = 3 cos x B. y` = -3sin x
D. y `= -1.5cos x sin 3x
D. y `= -3cos 2 x sin x

Answers: 1 ______, 2_____, 3_____.

4. TASKS FOR RANKING [ZNR]

For example: (a fragment of a test task on algebra and the beginnings of analysis, grade 11)

Have Show the sequence of steps to plot the function (using the derivative).

1. Find a derivative;

2. Find the intervals of increasing and decreasing;

3. Find the area of ​​definition;

4. Based on the results of the study, draw up a table;

5. Find stationary points;

6. Build a schedule;

7. Find extremum points;

8. Find the values ​​of the function at the extremum points.

Answer:__________________

DEGREE OF DIFFICULTY OF TEST PROBLEMS

Test items can be of varying degrees of difficulty. The pedagogical literature describes five levels of knowledge assimilation.

Accordingly, five groups of test items can be distinguished according to the level of difficulty:

I and II levels - initial; they correspond to the first (“actual”) level of knowledge, which consists in the accumulation of a “knowledge fund” consisting mainly of facts. When solving, students limit themselves to bringing single facts, give memorized characteristics of terms and phenomena

For example: (a fragment of a test task on algebra and the beginnings of analysis, grade 10)

Which of these features is indicative?

A) y = sin B) y = C) y = D) y =

III level -operating; it consists in the ability to carry out the simplest logical operations according to a ready-made model and is characterized by the formation of private-system associations and the presence of a connection between the knowledge acquired within one chapter or one section.

For example: (a fragment of a test task on algebra and the beginnings of analysis, grade 10)

Solve the equation .

A) 5 B) 2 C) 25 D) another answer

IV level - analytical and synthetic; having achieved it, students show the ability to generalize, differentiate stable knowledge, link previously studied with new knowledge, highlight the main ideas, the main provisions of the topic, section, reveal various connections and draw analogies.

For example: (a fragment of a test task on algebra and the beginnings of analysis, grade 10)

Find the sum of the roots of the equation.

A) -4.5 B) 5 C) 4.5 D) another answer

V level-creative; it requires the transfer of knowledge to new situations, the creation of non-standard algorithms for cognitive and practical actions.

For example: (a fragment of a test task on algebra and the beginnings of analysis, grade 11)

Which of the graphs in the figure can be the graph of the equation

Answer:__________________

The choice of the form and degree of complexity of the test tasks depends on the time of the

RESPONSE PRINCIPLES.

There are also certain principles for composing answers to test items.

alternativeness(the answers are opposed to each other).

For example: (fragment of the test assignment on algebra and principles analysis; 10 cells)

Solve the equation

a) ; b) ; c) there are no solutions;

G) ; e);

cumulation(summation of various answers);

For example: (a fragment of the test on algebra and beginnings, analysis of grade 11)

How to find the largest and smallest value of a function on a segment?

A) find the values ​​of the function at the extremum points;

B) find the values ​​of the function at the extremum points and at the ends of the segment;

C) find the values ​​of the function at the extremum points and at the ends of the segment, choose the largest and the smallest of them.

combination(reverse word order used in questions)

For example: (a fragment of a test task on geometry 10 cells)

The lateral surface area of ​​a regular pyramid ...

A) the product of the half-sum of the perimeters of the bases by the apothem is ...

B) the product of the base perimeter by the apothem is ...

C) the product of the sum of the perimeters of the bases by the apothem is ...

D) the sum of the perimeter of the base and the apothem is ...

classification

For example: (a fragment of a test task on geometry 11 cells)

Prism, pyramid, cone -...

A) geometric shapes;

B) geometric bodies.

if more than 5% of students choose the wrong answer, then it should be replaced!

METHODOLOGY OF COMPOSITION OF VARIOUS TEST PROBLEMS.

The test can include test items of various types. Consider the methodological features of their compilation:

CLOSED FORM TASKS [ZZF] (with a choice of answers) - in them, students choose the correct answer from a given set of answers to the test task.

  • any ambiguity or ambiguity in the wording should be eliminated in the text of the assignment otherwise delete the test task;
  • the main part of the assignment is formulated very briefly. No more than 1 sentence;
  • the task must have an extremely simple syntactic structure;
  • the main part of the assignment should include as many words of the statement as possible, leaving no more than 2-3 keywords for the answer ( the most important);
  • it is desirable that all answers to one task be approximately the same length;
  • from the text of the assignment, it is necessary to exclude all verbal associations that contribute to the choice of the correct answer using guessing;
  • the frequency of choosing the same seat number for the correct answer in any test task should be approximately the same ( or the seat number is randomly selected);
  • the main part of the assignment should be freed from all secondary material for this problem;
  • all repetitive words are necessarily excluded from the answers by entering them into the main text of the assignment;
  • it is not recommended to use the words “ all ”,“ none ”,“ never ”,“ always ” etc.;
  • those answers that follow from one another should be excluded from the number of answers;
  • those tasks that clarify the student's views on any issue should be excluded from the test;
  • tasks are printed in capital letters or highlighted in a bright (bold), attractive color (font), and the text of answers in capital letters in a neutral color;

When registering the ZZF, at the beginning of the test task must be placed instruction.

For example:

Circle the number of the correct answer.

Choose one of the four correct answers and circle it.

TASKS OF THE OPEN FORM [ZOF] (tasks with gaps) - they require students to formulate their own answers.

  • formulate a question containing no more than 7-8 words and write down the answer to it, representing some statement of the same length of 7-8 words.
  • exclude key words or a word (no more than 2) from the received statement and put a dash in their place.
  • the task should be composed in such a way that it required a clear and unambiguous answer and did not allow for ambiguous interpretation;
  • a dash is placed in place of the key term, knowledge of which is essential for the controlled material ( if possible at the end of the statement);
  • all dashes in tasks for one test are recommended to be of the same length;
  • during the development process, it is recommended to simplify syntactic constructions, as well as to exclude repetitions and double negations;

When registering a ZOF, at the beginning of the test task must be placed instruction.

For example:

Fill in the blanks to get the correct statement or the correct wording of the definition.

Solve the problem and write down the answer (Answer ______).

TASKS FOR CONFORMITY [ZNS] (associative links) - allow you to assess the knowledge of facts, terminology, concepts in their relationship. A correspondence is established between the elements of the two sets.

  • the original set is located on the left, and a set of elements to be selected on the right;
  • the number of elements of the right set must exceed the number of the left set;
  • the main difficulty in compiling is the correct selection of the right set.
  • assessment of assignments - at the discretion of the teacher.

When registering a ZiS, at the beginning of the test task must be placed instruction.

For example:

Set the correspondence between the columns on the left and right side.

RANKING TASKS [RNR (to establish the correct sequence) - the student must indicate the order of the actions or processes listed in the task.

  • as a condition, tasks are selected that have a clear algorithm of action or a strict sequence;
  • the wording of statements should be clear and extremely concise;

When registering the ZiR, it is mandatory at the beginning of the test task that the instruction.

For example:

Indicate the sequence of actions.

List of sources used

1.Azevich A.I. final attestation works on algebra in the 9th grade // Mathematics at school. No. 2, 1999. S. 9-10.

2.Miroshnikova M.M., Ozhegov V.B., Cherkas L.S. Control of knowledge in mathematics using a computer. M. 1990.S. 5-9.

3.Smirnov S.D. Pedagogy and psychology of higher education: From activity to personality: Uch. allowance. M. 1995. P. 271

4. Shchapoval V.V., Mitrofanov K.G., Saplina E.V. Techniques and rules for passing exams. AST Astrel. M. 2004.

In addition to the above basic properties of tests, there are rules for the development of test items and tests (violation of some of which is often observed in testing, but, nevertheless, is undesirable).

Test must be formulated clearly and clearly, always focused on obtaining an unambiguous conclusion.

One should try to formulate the task in the form of one sentence, and it should be easily perceived by each subject.

The test item should test the specific knowledge, skill, or specific skills of the subjects.

Test items should be informative throughout the entire range of difficulty level variation.

It is necessary to use a simple, grammatically correct affirmative form of the assignment in the form of one sentence of 5–20 words, without phrases, using simple subordinate clauses, without transferring a fragment of the test assignment to a new page.

Do not use in tasks "lax" words like "sometimes", "often", "always", "all", "never", "big", "small", "small", "many", "less", " more "and phrases like" Why can't it not ... "," Is it true that ... "," Is it possible ... ", etc.

Answers should contain no more than 2-3 keywords according to the condition of the question.

It is advisable to build answers of the same form, and if possible, then the length.

Quantitative answers should be sorted, and the first should not be indicated correct answer.

It is necessary to exclude the possibility of choosing an answer intuitively, by guesswork.

The answers should be independent and equally attractive to choose from.

Abbreviations cannot be used in test tasks if the task is not calculated on their knowledge.

In each task of the closed form, the number of distractors (answer options) should be from 4 to 6, and in tasks for establishing correspondence - about 2 times more.

The setting condition should never (for any distractor) take on an undefined value.

All distractors must be skillfully selected.

No distractor becomes the correct answer when the allowable task conditions change.

Duplicate words and phrases in the answers should be excluded and transferred to the main part of the condition.

From the answer to one test task, you cannot get the answer to another task in any way.

There should not be a question about specifying the condition, the distractor (or, more precisely, the trained subject does not need to ask the teacher a question on the condition of the assignment, and the teacher may not answer such questions).

The task should not imply knowledge that goes beyond the educational material, program, educational standard (very rarely used Olympiad testing stands apart).

No test-taker should be given an advantage over another throughout the testing period.

The number of test items in the test (test length) should be 30–40 for the natural sciences and about twice as many for the humanities. However, this value depends on what the purpose of testing is. The test, consisting of fewer tasks, can be fully used as a teaching, motivational one. The author often uses express testing on such tests when defending laboratory work.

The specification (description of test attributes - subject, development time, author, etc.) for the test must contain all the information necessary for testing.

It is impossible to envisage in the test tasks the need for detailed calculations.

The test should be developed by a teacher-methodologist. It is advisable that the test is made by an expert group of subject testologists, which conducts a preliminary assessment of the test.

The number of items in the database of test items should be approximately 10 times the average test length (i.e., from 200-300 items).

Most of the items in the test are closed form. The closed form is more quickly perceived and is close to the problem of choice that a person solves every day.

It is necessary to avoid unnecessary duplication of verifiable knowledge, skills and abilities, as well as to provide for all necessary.

When forming tests, it is useful to conduct preliminary testing in order to determine the level of knowledge.

  • right;
  • representativeness;
  • compliance with the current state of science and methodology;
  • balance of the content of the test;
  • thematic focus;
  • variability of content;
  • availability;
  • compliance of the difficulty level with the content of the test objective.

    • When evaluating a candidate, employers are increasingly not limited to interviewing and viewing a resume, but also ask to complete a test task. Is it worth it to meet the company halfway and do the work, albeit a test one, for free?

    Show your skills
    "Why do a test task if there is a probationary period ahead?" - the candidates are perplexed. “If a specialist is really interested in working in a particular company, he will not refuse to carry out a trial assignment,” recruiters retort. Both are right in their own way. Jobseekers are sorry to waste their time and energy on unpaid work, which does not guarantee employment, and employers want to be as confident as possible in the qualifications of the candidate they are hiring. Who is right in this controversy in absentia?

    First of all, it should be said that the probationary period and the test task are fundamentally different things. The test task shows some of the candidate's practical skills, but does not provide an opportunity for a comprehensive assessment (ability to work in a team, adherence to deadlines, etc.). The probationary period allows you to see the candidate from all sides. However, in this way, only one specialist can be assessed, while a test task can be assigned to several applicants. In addition, this will take at least a month (this is how long the minimum probationary period lasts according to the law).

    So the employer who uses test items in the selection of candidates is understandable. The applicant also has reasons not to refuse such a test. First, the test is a great way to prove yourself. If at the interview you only talk about your experience and skills, then using the test task you clearly show your skills. And, as they say, it is better to see once than hear a hundred times.

    Secondly, the test will allow you to adequately assess your capabilities. Are you up to the job you are applying for? After all, work similar to the test task will have to be done daily. Thirdly, after completing the test task, you will learn the opinion of specialists about your work, and this is very valuable, because you learn from mistakes. Just ask the recruiter or line manager to comment on the test results at least in general terms.

    Success rules
    When starting a test assignment, clearly agree on a deadline for the work with your HR manager. After agreeing on the deadlines, strictly adhere to them. A copywriter who promised to write an article by Thursday and turned it in only on Monday is likely to be considered irresponsible, even if he has talent.

    The test assignment is a unique chance to convince the employer that you are the best candidate. Therefore, when performing work, try to show the product with your face: use logical solutions, clear formulations, competent terminology, and, if possible, show your creativity. It should be borne in mind that the employer hardly expects from you a detailed business plan or a text thought out to the smallest detail. Chances are, the future leader wants to see your thoughts and your potential, so don't go into too much detail.

    Before handing over the work, take care of its registration. The font in the text should be easy to read, of course, there should be no mistakes in the work. Sketches or drawings, if not in electronic form, are best placed in a neat folder. If you are emailing a completed assignment, write a short cover letter.

    Copyright protection
    A common and most often unreasonable fear of job seekers is that their work will be taken advantage of, but a job offer will not follow. Sometimes candidates who wrote business plans or articles, but did not get a place in the company, share their indignation, but unscrupulous employers used the results of their work in their own interests. There are a lot of tips on the Internet on how to protect your test task, for example, issue copyright, provide text or code in a format that is inconvenient for copying, take a receipt from your employer, etc.

    There are certainly dishonest employers who can steal your idea. However, before abandoning a test task for this reason, consider: will the company you are interested in advertise vacancies and conduct interviews (all this costs money) just for the sake of trial work of candidates? To dispel doubts, find as much information about the company as possible on the Internet. Reputable organizations will not risk their reputation in order to reap the benefits of other people's labor.

    If you still really want to protect yourself, agree with the employer that if your test task turns out to be useful to the company, then it should be paid regardless of whether you will be hired or not.

    There is such an article: 1295 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation:

    The content of the article

    1. The copyright for a work of science, literature or art created within the limits of the labor duties established for the employee (author) (work work) belongs to the author.
    "" 2. The exclusive right to a work of service belongs to the employer, unless otherwise provided by the labor or civil law contract between the employer and the author.


    "" If the employer, within three years from the day when the work was placed at his disposal, does not begin to use this work, does not transfer the exclusive right to it to another person, or does not inform the author about keeping the work secret, the exclusive right to the work is returned auto RU.
    (as amended by Federal Law of 12.03.2014 N 35-FZ)
    (see the text in the previous "edition")
    "" If the employer, within the time period stipulated in paragraph two of this clause, begins to use the work of an employee or transfers the exclusive right to another person, the author has the right to remuneration. The author acquires the specified right to remuneration in the case when the employer has decided to keep the work of the employee in secret and for this reason has not started using this work within the specified period. The amount of remuneration, conditions and procedure for its payment by the employer are determined by the agreement between him and the employee, and in the event of a dispute - by the court.
    The right to remuneration for an employee's work is inalienable and does not pass by inheritance, however, the author's rights under an agreement concluded by him with the employer and income not received by the author are transferred to the heirs.
    (the paragraph was introduced by the Federal Law of 12.03.2014 N 35-FZ)
    3. If, in accordance with paragraph 2 of this article, the exclusive right to an employee's work belongs to the author, the employer has the right to use the corresponding service work under the terms of a simple (non-exclusive) license with payment of remuneration to the rightholder. The limits of the use of an employee's work, the amount, conditions and procedure for payment of remuneration are determined by an agreement between the employer and the author, and in the event of a dispute, by the court.
    (Clause 3 as amended by Federal Law dated 12.03.2014 N 35-FZ)
    (see the text in the previous "edition")
    4. An employer may disclose a work of service, unless otherwise provided by an agreement between him and the author, as well as indicate his name or title when using the work of a service, or demand such an indication.
    (Clause 4 was introduced by the Federal Law of 12.03.2014 N 35-FZ)

    In short:
    Copyright - allows the author to indicate his name on the product (all remember the menu "About").
    If this is a job assignment, then the exclusive rights belong to the employer for 3 years after the transfer. Further, after three years, if the employer has not informed that he is extending and transferring the service assignment to other persons (that is, he has not fed the developer with money), then "the exclusive right to the service work is returned to the author."

    Therefore, if you want to somehow show and use the code after the passage of years, take the work under the signature, and upon completion - the act.
    It:
    firstly, it will show that you are the author.
    secondly, if you want money for the code, you can remind the employer of his responsibilities
    thirdly, it will legally clear your karma after three years, when you use your code in other projects.

    Why am I saying this, tk. you can get to work with your libs, frameworks, etc. developments, for the sake of which, in fact, the employer could invite you, so that you would use your developments in his solutions. This is what deductions are due.

    And so, like I’m the author, I’ll go to the competitors, I’ll hand over the code - it’s not good at all. And if you have developed an algorithm, as you are the author, the same algorithm can be implemented in different ways. Implement differently, classes may have different names))

    Well, on the topic:
    1) the thing is needed for security guards, so that they do not put their computers into their computers, the date is not leaked. Commercial development 146%.
    In principle, you can sell and sell to those in need. There is definitely a demand.
    2) the thing is essentially a shell, it seems to me, but it also looks like commerce or a blank for commerce. I don't know where it can be applied, but this is not a 147% test.

    I apologize for such a "footcloth", restrictions on comments.

    Vc.ru was told that the tests that must be passed to get into the coveted company are very sophisticated. Someone offers to run through seven stages of interviews, someone - a check by the security service, someone's candidates are inspected by a psychologist with blots and a very penetrating look. In the gaming industry, things are a little better, but there are not without exceptions. In most cases, the scheme is simple: an interview, a test task, an interview - the sum does not change from the change of places of the terms. But one of them often raises doubts among those who give it and those who do it.

    "They will see me and immediately understand everything."

    Most of the candidates can be conditionally divided into two types: those who first of all ask about the salary, and those who ask about the project on which they have to work. But almost no one wants to do a test task for anyone else. Therefore, after the exciting first question, the second always follows: "Is it possible to somehow do without the test task?"

    The test task is a tool, not an end in itself. Of course, there are situations when it is not needed. For example, if the employer has no doubts about the professional skills of the candidate, which is possible if the candidate has previously publicly demonstrated these skills or has very strong references. Well-known and respected people also get here, the test task for whom will be something like an insult. In other cases, there is no way without a test task. Its implementation does not guarantee that the candidate will fit for the position, but at least weeds out those who are unable to cope with even simple tasks.

    Often, a detailed interview and a good resume replace a test item, especially if it is important to assess the way a person thinks. In this case, the candidate will have to spend 10-15 hours talking with the HR department and the lead, and eight hours for interviewing the team.

    We are not asking game designers to complete a test task - there are a couple of questions, the answers to which show a lack of stereotyped thinking and general potential. First of all, we are interested in a burning look, an analytical mindset, structuredness and criticality of thinking, and the depth of fundamental knowledge is secondary.

    "Only after the third date"

    Many candidates are embarrassed if a test task is asked to complete before the first meeting: he has not yet met the company, does not know what they have to offer and is afraid that it will be a waste of time. On the other hand, when you have already met, talked and liked each other so much, additional checks are just offensive. One way or another, you will still be offered a test task. Another question is when is it worth doing?

    At the stage that precedes the interview. Before the test is completed, only money-hungry external recruiters and HR specialists from offices with a high level of bureaucracy conduct interviews. The normal chain looks like this: familiarization with the applicant's resume, checking previous jobs, a test task and a personal interview with the future manager.

    If the candidate is satisfied with everyone after reading his resume and personal conversation, then it's time to check his practical skills. In some cases, even if you still have questions after the interview, the test task will help confirm or refute concerns about his knowledge and skills.

    Evgeniya Nikitina Director of Human Resources at Pixonic Studio

    It is also important in the job description to warn applicants about the need to complete the test task. After that, it is no longer so important at what stage it will be. Of greater importance is the timeliness of providing the candidate with full information about the prospects and the content of the work that is offered to him, as well as specifics on the criteria for evaluating the results. After all, the negative is precisely the awareness of the inevitability of spending personal time and the lack of understanding of the assessment of the work done. In the opposite situation, only sports interest is born.

    "Give me five minutes and I'll do everything tomorrow."

    For companies, a large assignment is the easiest way to weed out under-motivated candidates. But in addition to the ten-page test, you have a basic job and a limited number of hours per day, a couple of which you would like to spend on sleep and personal affairs. How long should it take to complete a test assignment to keep the company from missing out on suitable candidates?

    Pavel MikhailovChief Game Designer, Crytek

    It should be borne in mind that the candidate may continue to work on his current project or be interviewed in other companies (in which he was also given test tasks). It is somewhat rash to expect that an employee who has not yet been hired will be able to spend the next 8-16 hours of his life only on your task. If two or three days are allocated for the performance of the technical task, the task will be performed poorly or not at all. The optimal time is a week. In a week, you can find time to complete an assignment, or to prepare and search for the necessary information, even with a very tight schedule. After all, in this scenario, the candidate has a whole weekend left.

    Sergey Maslennikov game designer Zeptolab

    We do not have any restrictions on this, but we will most likely ask the candidate about how long the assignment took. We take our word for it, since we do not track the fact of downloading a test task from the site, and the number of options to bypass this limitation tends to infinity. The optimal execution time is highly dependent on the individual, but on average, five to seven hours of working time comes out.

    Yaroslav KravtsovProducer of the Smash Bash game in the indie team

    No more than three days - that's for sure. If a candidate spends a week on a test task and gets rejected, then the company will have one more enemy. In addition, the ability to meet deadlines is one of the key skills of a professional employee, so it is logical to test this skill in advance. But if you don't limit the time too much, otherwise the candidate will not have time to show the full scale of his skills. Of course, it is worth warning him in advance about such restrictions so that personal circumstances do not interfere with the test.

    "I am not free labor"

    The first point of a standard assignment for game designers is: “Download our game. Write what you like, what problems you see, and what is worth fixing. " It is he who periodically becomes a stumbling block. In 99 cases out of 100, you will not be given money for completing a test task. But few people want to do for free what it is customary to pay for. How professional and appropriate is it to ask to analyze your project?

    If the goal of searching for candidates and conducting interviews were for us to collect "free ideas" - I think that this would be an extremely expensive and ineffective path. If a person does not want to voice any thoughts or suggestions, this is completely his right. If the candidate has not voiced any new ideas for us, this does not in any way affect the decisions. Why shouldn't you be afraid to analyze our projects? Because a good analysis of our projects is one of the good reasons to hire a candidate. Analysis of already launched, proven projects, on which we have a lot of analytics and opinions, allows us to guess with a high degree of accuracy how viable the candidate's ideas and proposals are. It's like a simple checklist where the candidate either confirms the existing data or supplements it (which will undoubtedly be a significant plus).

    Sergey Galenkin Head of Publishing at Epic Games in Eastern Europe

    If the candidate does not analyze the project, how will he understand if he is ready to deal with it for the next few years from morning to evening? If there are significant problems in the game that this candidate can fix in a week, the company will tear him off with his hands.

    In our case, "our project" is usually under a strict NDA, and we cannot give it to candidates. Some people use Ubisoft's games as examples, and doing homework to study the company's games is a plus. But we do not have any special requirements in this regard. First of all, it is important for us that the answers to the test questions are of high quality, a bad test with examples from Ubisoft games is still a bad test.

    Pavel Mikhailov Chief Game Designer Crytek

    To see and understand what the problem is is only part of the matter, to find and form the best solutions requires other skills and a good knowledge of the project architecture. And to implement the solution into the project is already the third task. I would assume that a person who does not understand this does not have the necessary experience to work. Here we can draw a parallel with the opinion existing in game development that the price of even a very good idea is one cent. The value of a person who can offer it and realize it independently is incomparably higher.

    "And the Shvets, and the reaper, and the player on the pipe"

    There are several types of tasks with a bias in certain aspects of a game designer's work. In large companies, there is a division into "game designer-mathematician" and "game designer-scriptwriter". But game design is still a complex task, where you need to come up with functions, write a technical task for programmers, and understand artists. What skills do you need to check in the test item?

    Andrey Dotsenko Game Designer at Ubisoft

    English is one of the basic requirements for working at Ubisoft. In our case, the designer will have to communicate a lot in English with colleagues from other offices. Therefore, the general level of English proficiency in the test is very important (we also check the speaking skills in interviews). A strong candidate with poor English skills is unfortunately not suitable. Our test consists of ten questions (at the moment, this format seems optimal to us). The questions are quite general, there are no 100% correct answers, the main task of the test is to check how the designer thinks and how he approaches the solution of various problems. Conventionally, each test question can be rated at 0 / 0.5 / 1 point. From experience over the past two years: the "passing score" for an invitation to interview starts somewhere from 6.5-7 and higher. The first of the areas that the test examines is general design knowledge and skills: knowledge of game culture, the ability to understand and analyze how other games work, knowledge of design theory and expertise in different areas (in the Kiev office, traditionally, a large focus on 3C / UI / UX). The second is technical and organizational skills: planning, the ability to analyze information, understanding the technical limitations of the platform. And the third area is communication and presentation skills: the level of language proficiency, the ability to formulate thoughts, the structure and appearance of the test are also very important.

    Sergey Maslennikov game designer at Zeptolab

    Initially, we look at the logic of thinking, then - at the originality and freshness of ideas. The ability to perceive the introductory and clearly convey ideas as something logical, reasoned, whole - speaks positively about the skills of the candidate. We sometimes invite candidates to introduce a third player into the Pong game. How will the shape of the field change? Depending on what the candidate draws, we discuss potential bottlenecks in the gameplay, introduce additional conditions (for example, a fourth player who controls the ball). This case allows you to evaluate the ability to put yourself in the shoes of the player, to "emulate" the gameplay in your head. We often ask you to name your favorite mobile game and tell us what you dislike about it and how to change it for the better. From what the candidate offers, a lot can be said about the focus of his professional interests and the depth of understanding of mechanics.

    Yaroslav Kravtsov producer of the Smash Bash game in the indie team

    You need to check the skills that will be required in the work. For this, the test task should be based on the tasks that the candidate will have to solve in case of successful employment. Otherwise, there is a risk that he will show a mastery of the analysis of the Hi-End gameplay of World of Warcraft, but at the same time it will turn out that he is not able to write design documentation.

    Leonid Sirotin independent developer and partner of DTF

    The skill of writing, the skill of expressing one's thoughts clearly, the skill of organizing incoming and outgoing information, the skill of concentration and the skill of a stone backside. This list is a basic and almost exhaustive list of skills required by a game designer. It should also be borne in mind that there is no such profession as a game designer. There are balancer game designers, creative game designers, management game designers. For each of these categories of game designers, as part of a test task, you can put forward certain additional requirements, for example, the balancer can be required to calculate the balance, from the creative to propose functions, from the manager to shout at the monitor, or draw up a development plan with budgeting. But usually, in the vast majority of companies, the assessment of TK boils down to assessing the set of skills outlined at the very beginning of this paragraph.

    conclusions

    First, there is no need to respond to everything, waste your own and other people's time, in order to eventually get a refusal "because of a weak test task." This will close the path to the company for at least a year and a half, because few employers believe that a candidate can learn something in a year. Decide exactly where you really want to work and make every effort and time to get there. Secondly, suppose you have already decided on the projects that you want to work on over the next several years from dusk to dawn and vice versa. In this case, you will have to pass all the tests that the company will offer: communicate with psychologists, have a polygraph test, do a huge test task. Third and foremost, do not work in companies for which you are too lazy to do test tasks. The gaming industry is still for those who love their job.