Tarlac State University

College of Education
Bachelor of Elementary Education
Lucinda Campus
Tarlac City, Tarlac

AN OUTPUT PREPARED BY:

CASTILLO, CLAUDINE
DE JESUS, CHERRY LOU
FRONDA, DIETHER
MAGLANOC, EDNA
PORTACIO, JOY
TOLENTINO, KAREN JOY
YUSI, CHRISTINE JOY
BEED 2A

EDUC 202
 UNIT 3
DESIGNING AND DEVELOPING
ASSESSMENT

C. LEARNING TARGET AND

ASSESSMENT METHOD MATCH
- Table of Specification

D. ASSESSMENT TOOLS
DEVELOPMENT
- Assessment Development Cycle
- Test Item Formulation
- Item Analysis
 What is a Table of
Specifications?
A Table of Specifications is a two-way chart which
describes the topics to be covered by a test and the
number of items or points which will be associated
with each topic. Sometimes the types of items are
described, as well.

The purpose of a Table of Specifications is to

identify the achievement domains being measured
and to ensure that a fair and representative sample of
questions appear on the test. Teachers cannot
measure every topic or objective and cannot ask
every question they might wish to ask. A Table of
Specifications allows the teacher to construct a test
which focuses on the key areas and weights those
different areas based on their importance. A Table of
Specifications provides the teacher with evidence that
a test has content validity, that it covers what should
be covered.

A Table of Specifications benefits students in

two ways. First, it improves the validity of teacher-
made tests. Second, it can improve student learning
as well.
 A Table of Specifications helps to ensure that
there is a match between what is taught and what is
tested. Classroom assessment should be driven by
classroom teaching which itself is driven by course
goals and objectives. In the chain below, Tables of
Specifications provide the link between teaching and
testing.

STEPS ON HOW TO CONSTRUCT TOS

1. Determine the Topics to be included in the Test.
2. Determine the number of hours/ minutes allotted to
each topic.
3. Determine the total number of Test items
4. Determine the number of items per topic or content
area.
Formula:
No. Of Items= No. Of Hours/Days
________________ X Total no. of Items
Total No. Of Hours/Days

5. Determine the Learning Targets for each of your

topic.
6. Determine the Item Placement you are going to
give in your test.
 The Development Assessment
Cycle
Assessment - is the systematic collection, review, and
use of information about educational programs undertaken
for improving student learning and development.
Assessment is a constant cycle of improvement. Data
gathering is ongoing.

The goal of assessment is to provide:

a clear conceptualization of intended student learning
outcomes,
a description of how these outcomes are assessed and
measured,
a description of the results obtained from these
measures, and
a description of how these results validate current
practices or point to changes needed to improve
student learning.

The Assessment Cycle

It relies on four simple but dynamic words to represent
this process: Plan-Do-Check-Act. This means that results at
one stage guide activity at the following stage. Clearly
articulated outcome statements guide course design,
course activities yield data that measure student learning,
and evaluation of this data informs course and program
revision
1. PLAN: What do I want students to learn?
a. Good assessment planning begins by identifying learning
outcomes for students. Planning then involves building
programs and courses that provide students opportunities
to achieve these learning outcomes.

b. Alignment and integration of learning outcomes are the

keys to successful assessment planning. Learning
outcomes identified at the institutional level must be
integrated at the program and course level. Conversely,
course outcomes must align with program outcomes, which
in turn must align with institutional outcomes.

c. Effective planning and integration depend on clearly

articulated goals for student learning. Outcome statements
must also be measurable and must target various skill levels
within the cognitive domain.
2. DO: How do I teach effectively?
a. Assessment gathers data on what students do (what is
learned) not on what instructors do (what is taught).
However, the "DO" stage of the assessment cycle begins
with instructors and with the question, "How do I teach
effectively?".

b. Effective teaching provides continuity between the Plan

and Check stages of the assessment cycle. Effective
teachers implement program outcomes at the course level
in ways that facilitate student learning. That is, they design
learning activities that help students achieve what is
developed in the Plan stage. The range of possible learning
activities is wide and varied: projects, papers, performances,
presentations, and exams are the most familiar direct
measurements of student learning used at the course level.

c. Learning activities must be designed to stimulate

learning and to yield assessment data for the evaluation
that follows in the Check stage. In addition to relying on
data gathered within particular courses, program evaluation
is also based on other sources of assessment data,
including direct measures such as comprehensive and
standardized exams and indirect measures such as course
evaluations and alumni surveys. The development of these
assessment measures is also part of the Do stage.
3. CHECK: Are my outcomes being met?
a. The previous stage concludes with students "doing"
activities designed to help them achieve learning objectives
developed at the "planning" stage. Effectively designed
activities generate assessment data that is "checked" at this
stage of the assessment cycle.

b. Checking should occur at both the course and program

levels. Instructors check the array of activities students
complete to fulfill course requirements. But if checking
stops with the individual instructor, then program
assessment will necessarily be limited. Effective program
assessment requires that participants gather and share data
on student achievement of program outcomes. Some of this
data may come from assessments not limited to a particular
course (such and surveys and competency exams). Other
data will come from student performance within the courses
that constitute the academic program.

c. Checking seeks to determine the extent to which

students are achieving each outcome. Thus, a global
measure of student success, such as a course grade, is not
likely to provide sufficient assessment data. Effective course
and program evaluation require that student performance
on individual outcomes be reported as specifically as
possible.
4. ACT: How do I use what I’ve learned?
a. Good instructors constantly act on the results of
assessment. When students don't seem to be achieving
desired outcomes, instructors make adjustments. Such a
process is continuous and includes both reinforcement and
revision. The things that work, stay; the things that don't, go.

b. When the above process is followed within an individual

course, the assessment cycle is complete and able to
repeat. Instructors can improve at each stage of the
process, but the minimum requirements of assessment are
being met and modifications (based on assessment data)
can be made to improve student learning.

c. Action can be taken at the program level provided

sufficient data have been gathered and checked. If the
steps described in the Check stage have been followed,
those involved in designing the program can take needed
action.

d. At both the course and program levels, the results of

"checking" identify "actions" that will form the basis for
subsequent "planning." Action thus allows the Plan-Do-
Check-Act cycle to continue.
 Test Item Formulation
Test Item - is a specific task test taker are asked to perform.

Classifying Test Items:

▪ Discrete - a completely discrete-point item would test
simply one point or objective such as testing for the
meaning of a word in isolation.
▪ Integrative - an integrative item would test more than
one point or objective at a time. (e.g., comprehension of
words, and ability to use them correctly in context).
▪ Objective – a test item that has only one answer.
▪ Subjective - the scorer is not looking for any one right
answer, but rather for a series of factors (creativity, style,
cohesion and coherence, grammar, and mechanics).

The Intellectual Operation Required

Items may require test takers to employ different levels
of intellectual operation in order to produce a response
(Valette, 1969, after Bloom et al., 1956).
The following levels of intellectual operation have been
identified:
1. Knowledge. Bringing to mind the appropriate material.
2. Comprehension. Understanding the basic meaning of
the material.
3. Application. Applying the knowledge of the elements of
language and comprehension to how they interrelate in the
production of a correct oral or written message.
4. Analysis. Breaking down a message into its constituent
parts in order to make explicit the relationships between
ideas, including tasks like recognizing the connotative
meanings of words and correctly processing a dictation,
and making inferences.
5. Synthesis. Arranging parts so as to produce a pattern not
clearly there before, such as in effectively organizing ideas
in a written composition.
6. Evaluation. Making quantitative and qualitative
judgments about material.

Steps for Writing Test Items

1. Planning
2. Preparing
3. Analyzing and Revising

Test Construction
1. General Steps
a. Make an outline
b. Produce a test blueprint
c. For each check on the blueprint, match the question level
indicated with a question type appropriate to that level.
d. For each check on the blueprint, jot down three or four
alternative question ideas and item types which will get at
the same objective.
e. Put all the cards with the same item type together and
write the first draft of the items following guidelines for the
chosen type(s).
f. Put all the cards with the same topic together to cross
check questions so that no question gives the answer to
another question.
g. Put the cards aside for one or two days.
h. Reread the items from the standpoint of a student,
checking for construction errors. i. Order the selected
questions logically:
i. Place some simpler items at the beginning to ease
students into the exam, ii. Group item types together under
common instructions to save reading time, and iii. If
desirable, order the questions logically from a content
standpoint.
j. Put the questions away for one or two days before
rereading them or have someone else review them for
clarity.
k. Time yourself in actually taking the test and then multiply
that by four to six depending on the level of the students.
Remember, there is a certain absolute minimum amount of
time required to simply physically record an answer, aside
from the thinking time.
l. Once the test is given and graded, analyze the items and
student responses for clues about well-written and poorly
written items as well as problems in understanding of
instruction.
2. Test Blueprint
a. Don’t make it overly detailed.
b. It’s best to identify major ideas and skills rather than
specific details.
c. 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.
d. Weigh the appropriateness of the distribution of checks
against the students’ level, the importance of the test, the
amount of time available.

3. Question Types
a. Factual Knowledge
i. Multiple Choice
ii. True or False
iii. Matching Types
iv. Completion
v. Short Answer

b. Application
i. Multiple Choice
ii. Short Answer
iii. Problems
iv. Essay

c. Analysis and Evaluation

i. Multiple Choice
ii. Essay
Criteria for a Good Test
1. It must possess a very high validity,
2. It must have a high reliability,
3. It must be very objective in nature,
4. It must be very comprehensive,
5. It must be easy to use,
6. Norms established on the basis of its results must be
satisfactory, and
7. It must pick out the good students from the poor.

Guidelines for Constructing Effective Test Items

1. Multiple Choice. The most flexible and the most effective

of the objective item types. A standard multiple-choice test
item consists of two basic parts:
a. Stem (Problem)
b. Alternatives (List of suggested Solution)
i. Best Alternative (answer)
ii. Inferior Alternative (distractor)

✓ Guidelines for Writing Multiple Choice Questions

Design each item to measure an important learning
outcome; present a single, clearly formatted problem in
the stem of the item; put the alternatives at the end of
the question, not in the middle and put as much of the
wording as possible in the stem.
All options should be homogenous and reasonable, and
punctuation should be consistent, make all options
grammatically consistent with the stem.
 Reduce the length of the alternatives by moving as
many words as possible to the stem. The justification is
that additional words in the alternatives have to be read
four or five times.
Construct the stem so that it conveys a complete
thought and avoid negatively worded items like “Which
of the following is not…….?” textbook wording and
unnecessary words.
Do not make the correct answer stand out because of
its phrasing or length. Avoid overusing always and
never in the alternatives and overusing all of the above
and none of the above.

2. True or False Items. The true false items typically present

a declarative statement that the student must mark as either
true or false.

✓ Rules for Writing True/False Items:

Be certain that the statement is completely true or false.
Convey only one thought or idea in a true/false
statement and avoid verbal clues (specific determiners
like “always”) that indicate the answer.
Do not copy sentences directly from textbooks or other
written materials and keep the word-length of true
statements about the same as that of false statements.

3. Completion Items. The completion item requires the

student to answer a question or to finish an incomplete
statement by filling in a blank with the correct word or
phrase.
✓ Rules for Writing Completion Items:
Start with a direct question, switch to an incomplete
statement, and place the blank at the end of the
statement.
Leave only one blank. This should relate to the main
point of the statement. Provide two blanks if there are
two consecutive words.
Make the blanks in uniform length and avoid giving
irrelevant clue to the correct answer.

4. Matching Types. It typically consists of a list of questions

or problems to be answered along with a list of responses.
The examinee is required to make an association between
each question and a response.

✓ Rules for Writing Matching Items

Teacher should use homogeneous material in each list
of a matching exercise.
Put the problems or the stems (typically longer than the
responses) in a numbered column at the left and the
response choices in a lettered column at the right.
Always include more responses than questions.
Arrange the list of responses in alphabetical or
numerical order if possible in order to save reading time.
All the response choices must be likely, but make sure
that there is only one correct choice for each stem or
numbered question.
5. Short Answer Type Items. Short-answer questions
should be restrictive enough to evaluate whether the
correct answer is given. These tests can test a large amount
of content within a given time period.

6. Constructing Essay Types. A test item which requires a

response composed by the examinee, usually in the form of
one or more sentences, of a nature that no single response
or pattern of responses can be listed as correct, and the
accuracy and quality of which can be judged subjectively
only by one skilled or informed in the subject.

✓ Rules for Constructing Essay Questions:

Ask questions that are relatively specific and focused,
and which will elicit relatively brief responses.
If you are using many essay questions in a test, ensure
reasonable coverage of the course objectives. Follow
the test specifications in writing prompts. Questions
should cover the subject areas as well as the complexity
of behaviors cited in the test blueprint. Pitch the
questions at the students’ level.
Formulate questions that present a clear task to perform
and indicate the point value for each question, provide
ample time for answering, and use words which
themselves give directions
✓ Rules for Scoring Essay Type Tests
Evaluate answers to essay questions in terms of the
learning outcomes being measured.
All other factors, such as interesting but extraneous
factual information, style of writing, and errors in
spelling and grammar, should be ignored (to the extent
possible) during the evaluation.
Score restricted-response answers by the point method,
using a model answer as a guide.
Grade extended-response answers by the rating
method, using defined criteria as a guide.
Extended-response items allow so much freedom in
answering that the preparation of a model answer is
frequently impossible. Thus, the test maker usually
grades each answer by judging its quality in terms of a
previously determined set of criteria, rather than scoring
it point by point with a scoring key. The criteria for
judging the quality of an answer are determined by the
nature of the question and thus by the learning
outcomes being measured.
Evaluate answers to essay questions without knowing
the identity of the writer.
Evaluate all of the students’ answers to one question
before proceeding to the next question.
Reviewing Test Items
Once the teacher has constructed his test items,
regardless of the type and the format, he should ask himself
the following questions:
▪ Do the items truly measure what I am trying to measure?
▪ Will the intent of the items be clear to someone reading it
for the first time?
▪ Do my learners have all of the information they need to
answer the items?
▪ Is the wording as clear and concise as possible? If not,
can the item be revised and still understood?
▪ Is the correct answer clearly correct and up-to-date
according to experts in the field?

Item Analysis
Item analysis is a process of examining class-wide
performance on individual test items. There are three
common types of item analysis which provide teachers with
three different types of information:

1. Item Difficulty. “Is the exam question too easy or too

hard?”
a. The Item Difficulty Index (P-Value) ranges from 0.0
to 1.00: the higher the value, the easier the question. The
formula for “Item Difficulty Index” would be:
𝑫𝑰 = 𝑹 ÷ 𝑵
Where:
R – Total number of students who answered the item correctly;
T – Total number of students who took the test.
b. Interpretation of Item Difficulty Index:

2. Item Discrimination.
“Does the exam question discriminate between students
who understand the material and those who do not?”

a. It refers to the ability of an item to differentiate among

students based on how well they know the material being
tested.
b. How to calculate Index of Discrimination:
i. Grade the quiz and sort from high to low;
ii. Group the top 27% students with high grades and
bottom 27% with low grades;
iii. Calculate the “item difficulty” for each group;
iv. Calculate the “Discrimination Index.”

c. The Item Discrimination Index ranges from 0.0 to

1.00: the higher the value, the easier the question. The
formula for “Item Discrimination Index” would be:

𝑫𝒔 = 𝑷𝒖 − 𝑷𝒍
𝑵

Where:
Pu – Number in the upper group who answered the item correctly;
Pl – Number in the lower group who answered the item correctly;
N – The total number of takers.
c. The Item Discrimination Index:

i. Positive Discrimination Index – more from the upper

group got the correct answer (Retain).
ii. Negative Discrimination Index – more from the lower
group got the correct answer (Reject).
iii. Zero Discrimination Index – the item cannot
discriminate (too easy or ambiguous) (Reject).

3. Item Distractors. “Do exam questions effectively distract

test takers from the correct answer?”

a. A distractor which no one chooses means its “obviously”

an incorrect answer.

b. A good item must have distractors that attract more

people from the lower group (LG) than those at the upper
group (UG). Otherwise, it is considered as an “ambiguous”
item.
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