Fragebank

Fragebank is a German term for a repository or database of assessment items, used to organize, store, and reuse questions for teaching, learning, and testing. In educational contexts it functions as a centralized collection of test items that can be assembled into quizzes, exams, or formative assessments. A Fragebank typically includes metadata for each item, such as subject, grade level, learning objectives, cognitive level, format, author, creation date, and difficulty rating, which supports search, filtering, and alignment with standards.

Items in a Fragebank come in various formats, including multiple choice, true/false, short answer, essay, matching, fill-in-the-blank, and interactive item types in digital environments. Metadata enables targeted retrieval, quality control, and item analysis. Digital Fragebanken are often integrated with learning management systems (LMS) or assessment platforms, enabling teachers to generate tests quickly, monitor item performance (e.g., difficulty and discrimination indices), and use adaptive or individualized assessments.

Creation and maintenance involve authoring, peer review, piloting, and ongoing revision to ensure accuracy, relevance, and fairness. Licensing and copyright considerations apply when items are shared between institutions or made publicly available. Accessibility and inclusivity are important, with efforts to ensure items comply with accessibility standards and accommodate diverse learners.

Benefits of Fragebanken include increased efficiency in test preparation, consistency across courses, reusable content, and the ability to perform item analysis to improve assessment quality. Challenges encompass item exposure and security, quality control, potential biases, alignment with learning objectives, and ensuring up-to-date content.

Fragebanken are widely used in German-speaking educational systems and other contexts to support formative assessment, summative exams, and student practice, often leveraging standards for interoperability and data exchange.