ASSESSMENT OF LEARNING 1

TEST CONSTRUCTION PART 1

Part I
1. Principles in Test Construction
2. Steps in Preparing Test Questions – FLOWCHART
3. Different Objective Type Tests

Most of students who fail in “class are caused by faulty test questions”
WORLDWATCH
The Philadelphia Trumpet
August 2005

It is estimated that 90% of all test questions asked in the US are of “Low level” - knowledge and comprehension
(Wilen, W.W., 1992)

“Low level” doesn’t mean easy:

Write an essay explaining the decline and fall of the Roman Empire incorporating at least five of the seven causes
discussed in class from the writings of Gibbon and Toynbee

“High level” doesn’t mean hard:

Which movie did you like more, WALL-E or Cars? Why?

“The evaluation of pupils’ progress is a major aspect of the teacher’s job. “

Evaluating Educational Outcomes
(Oriondo & Antonio)
The Purpose of Testing
 To provide a record for assigning grades.
 To provide a learning experience for students.
 To motivate students to learn.
 To serve as a guide for further study.
 To assess how well students are achieving the stated goals of the lesson.
 To provide the instructor with an opportunity to reinforce the stated objectives and highlight what is
important for students to remember.

Characteristics of Good Tests

 Validity – the extent to which the test measures what it intends to measure
 Reliability – the consistency with which a test measures what it is supposed to measure
 Usability – the test can be administered with ease, clarity and uniformity
 Scorability – easy to score
 Interpretability – test results can be properly interpreted and is a major basis in making sound educational
decisions
 Economical – the test can be reused without compromising the validity and reliability
“To be able to prepare a good test, one has to have a mastery of the subject matter, knowledge of the pupils to be
tested, skill in verbal expression and the use of the different test format”
Evaluating Educational Outcomes
(Oriondo & Antonio)

5 Most Commonly Used Test Format

OBJECTIVE
Multiple Choice
True or False
Matching Type
Fill-in the blanks (Sentence Completion)

SUBJECTIVE
Essay
Source: Turn-out of Test Questions in SSI (2003-2007)

OUTLINE
 the unit learning objectives or
 the unit content or major concepts to be covered by the test

PRODUCE A TABLE OF SPECIFICATIONS (TOS)

 A two-way chart that relates the learning outcomes to the course content
 It enables the teacher to prepare a test containing a representative sample of student behavior in each of
the areas tested.

Tips in Preparing the Table of Specifications (TOS)

 Don’t make it overly detailed.
 It's best to identify major ideas and skills rather than specific details.
  Use a cognitive taxonomy that is most appropriate to your discipline, including non-specific skills like
communication skills or graphic skills or computational skills if such are important to your evaluation of the
answer.
 Weigh the appropriateness of the distribution of checks against the students' level, the importance of the
test, the amount of time available.
 MATCH the question level appropriate to the level of thinking skills.
 The following array shows the most common questions types used at various cognitive levels.
Factual Knowledge Application Analysis and Evaluation
(Low Level) (Mid-Level) (High Level)
Multiple Choice Multiple Choice Multiple Choice
True/False Short Answer Essay
Matching Type Problems
S. Completion Essay
Short Answer/RRT

DRAFT
 the questions covering the content in the outline

ORDER the selected questions logically.

 Place simpler items at the beginning to ease students into the exam.
 Group item types together under common instructions.
 If desirable, order the questions logically from a content standpoint (e.g. chronologically or by conceptual
groups, etc.)
TEST
 PUT the questions away for one or two days before rereading them or have someone else review them for
clarity.
 TEST the questions by actually taking the test.

ANALYZE
the items to give you an idea whether the questions were well-written or poorly written as well as if there were
problems in understanding instruction.

General Rules in Writing Test Questions

1. Number test questions continuously.
2. Keep your test question in each test group uniform.
3. Make your layout presentable.
4. Do not put too many test questions in one test group.
 T or F: 10 – 15 questions
 Multiple Choice: max. of 30 questions
 Matching type: 5 questions per test group
 Others: 5 – 10 questions
5. Avoid humorous items. Classroom testing is very important and humorous items may cause students to
either not take the exam seriously or become confused or anxious.
6. Items should measure only the construct of interest, not one’s knowledge of the item context.
7. Write items to measure what students know, not what they do not know. (Cohen & Wallack)
DIFFERENT TYPES OF OBJECTIVE TEST
 MULTIPLE CHOICE
 TRUE OR FALSE
 COMPLETION TEST
 MATCHING TYPE

MULTIPLE CHOICE
A type of test that offers the student with more than two options per item to choose from. Each item in a multiple-
choice test consists of 2 parts: the stem and the options. In the set of options, there is a “correct” or “best” options
while the others are considered “distracters”. It is this feature of multiple-choice type tests that allow the teacher
to test higher order thinking skills (HOTS) even if the options are clearly stated.

TRUE OR FALSE
Binomial choice tests are tests have only two (2) options such as true or false, right or wrong and so on. A student
who knows nothing of the content of the examination would have 50% chance of getting the correct answer by
sheer guess work.

COMPLETION TEST
The completion test item is free response type of item in which the student must supply missing information from
memory. You may make the completion item a listing test item in which the student must supply the required list
of part names, procedural steps, and so on from memory. An advantage of the completion item over the multiple-
choice or the true-false types is that it requires more than simple recognition of information. That eliminates the
possibility of guessing. Completion items are easy to construct.

4 Basic Formats of Completion Test:

1. Students supply the word or phrase that completes the statement. FILL IN THE BLANK
2. The student provides a definition, term, formula or similar response to a question. DEFINITION
3. The meaning is provided and the student will give the exact term identifying the statement.
IDENTIFICATION
4. The student supplies a list of procedures, steps, and so forth, from memory. ENUMERATION

MATCHING TYPE
Along with true-false and multiple choice, are selection items. They are specialized for use when measuring the
student’s ability to identify the relationship between a set of similar items, each of which has 2 components, such
as word and definition, symbols and their meanings, dates and events, people and their accomplishments, etc.
In developing matching items, there are 2 columns of material. The items in the column on the left (Column A) are
usually called PREMISES and assigned numbers (1,2,3...). Those in the column on the right (Column B) are called
RESPONSES and designated by capital letters.

2 Formats of Matching Type

Horizontal Vertical
Column A
Column A Column B

Column B