A question paper is a basic tool used in a test or examination. It is usual for a teacher to prepare a test by assembling questions on the spur of the moment without taking into consideration the characteristics of a good test. But to serve any useful, purpose a test must possess certain attributes without which it will be a poor measuring instrument.Certain attributes which a good question paper should possess are:Validity: Validity is the most important characteristic of a good test. The validity of a test is the extent to which it measures what it attempts to measure. That is to say that a test should conform to the objectives of testing.There are three types of validity of a test:Face Validity: Face validity means that a test, even on a simple inspection, should look valid. For example, in a language test, the following item is totally invalid, as it does not test language but the computation skill of the students. Content Validity: ?Content validity is very important in an achievement test as an achievement test tries to measure some specific skills or abilities through some specific content.To obtain content validity it is necessary that all the important areas of the course content are represented in the test and also that the test covers the syllabus and instructional objectives.In other words, the test should contain questions on every important area of the content in appropriate proportion and the questions should be framed in such a way that all the objectives of that course, are tested properly.Content validity can also be ensured by analyzing the course content and the instructional objectives to be achieved through it and by taking the test items to both these things. Empirical Validity: Empirical validity is also known as statistical validity or criterion-related validity to ensure this a criterion is taken (which may be a standardized test and their teacher's ratings on a class test, student's scores on a previous test, or the students' grades on subsequent oral examination, etc.) and the scores of students are correlated with their scores on the criterion test.Hence, it is clear that Mr. Ravi's paper lacks content validity.Additional InformationReliability: It refers to the consistency with which a question paper measures the achievement of students. In other words, if the test is to be reliable the chance of errors must be zero. Unreliability occurs at two stages:Firstly, at the level of the examinee, when she is not able to understand and interpret the question properly. This may be due to vagueness in the language of question or due to some other reason. This can be removed if the questions are pointed and free from ambiguity.Secondly, at the level of examiners. In the absence of a standard 1narking scheme, examiners are free to interpret and mark the questions in their own way. This contributes greatly to unreliability. Usability: Usability or practicability is the third characteristic of a good test. There are a number of practical factors that are to be considered while preparing or selecting a test for use.The first thing to be kept in mind is that the test should be of such a length that it can be administered within a stipulated time.Secondly, it is to be seen that the test is easy to administer and that clear-cut directions are provided in the test so that the testes as well. as the test administrators can perform their tasks with efficiency. Thirdly, scorability is also to be considered while using a test. When a large number of students are involved, a test that can be scored quickly (preferably by machine) is to be selected but when only one - class is to be tested, perhaps a test consisting of subjective questions may also be used.