Republic of the Philippines

Commission on Higher Education

Samar Colleges, Inc.
Catbalogan City, Samar
Tel Nos. (055) 251-3021, 543-8321, Fax (055) 251-3021
College of Education

Handout in Assessment and Learning 1

(Chapter 2 Lesson 5)

LESSON 5
(Construction of Written Tests)

•It is important that assessment tasks or tests are meaningful and further promote deep learning,
as well as fulfill the criteria and principles of test construction.
•There are many ways by which learners can demonstrate their knowledge and skills and show
evidence of their proficiencies at the end of a lesson, unit, or subject.

What are the general guidelines in choosing the appropriate test format?
1. What are the objectives or desired learning outcomes of the subject/unit/lesson being
assessed?
- Deciding on what test format to use generally depends on your learning objectives
or the desired learning outcomes of the subject/unit/lesson.
2. What level of thinking is to be assessed (ie. Remembering, understanding, applying,
analyzing, evaluating and creating)? Does the cognitive level of the test question match
your instructional objectives or DLOs?
- The level of thinking to be assessed is also an important factor to consider when
designing your test, as this will guide you in choosing the appropriate test format.
3. is the test matched or aligned with the course's DLOS and the course contents or
learning activities?
- it is important that you are clear about what DLOs are to be addressed by your
test and what course activities or tasks are to be implemented to achieve the
DLOs.
4. Are the test items realistic to the students?
- Test items should be meaningful and realistic to the learners. They should be
relevant or related to their everyday experiences. The use of concepts, terms, or
situations that have not been discussed in the class or that they have never
encountered, read, or heard about should be minimized or avoided.

What are the major categories and formats of traditional tests?

1. Selected-Response Tests require learners to choose the correct answer or best
alternative from several choices. Selected-response tests include:
-Multiple Choice Test. It is the most commonly used format in formal testing and typically
consists of a stern (problem), one correct or best alternative (correct answer), and three
or more incorrect or inferior alternatives (distractors).
-True-False or Alternative Response Test. It generally consists of a statement and
deciding if the statement is true (accurate/correct) or false (inaccurate/incorrect).
-Matching-Type Test. It consists of two sets of items to be matched with each other based
on a specified attribute.

2. Constructed-Response Tests require learners to supply answers to a given question or

problem. These include:

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 - Short Answer Test. It consists of open-ended questions or incomplete sentences
that require learners to create an answer for each item, which is typically a single
word or short phrase. This includes the following types:
•Completion. It consists of incomplete statements that require the learners to fill
in the blanks with the correct word or phrase.
•Identification. It consists of statements that require the learners to identify or
recall the terms/concepts, people, places, or events that are being described.
•Enumeration. It requires the learners to list down all possible answers to the
question.
-Essay Test. It consists of problems/questions that require learners to compose or
construct written responses, usually long ones with several paragraphs.
-Problem-Solving Test. It consists of problems/questions that require learners to
solve problems in quantitative or non-quantitative settings using knowledge and
skills in mathematical concepts and procedures, and/or other higher-order
cognitive skills (e.g., reasoning, analysis, critical thinking, and skills).

What are the general guidelines in writing multiple-choice test items?

The following are the general guidelines in writing good multiple-choice items. They are clasified
in terms of content, stem, and options.

CONTENT
1. Write items that reflect only one specific content and cognitive processing skills.
2. Do not lift and use statements from the textbook or other learning materials as
test questions.
3. Keep the vocabulary simple and understandable based on the level of
learners/examinees.
4. Edit and proofread the items for grammatical and spelling before administering
them to the learners.
STEM
1. Write the directions in the stem in a clear and understandable manner
2. Write stems that are consistent in form and structure, that is, present all items
either in question form or in descriptive or declarative form.
3. Word the stem positively and avoid double negatives, such as NOT and EXCEPT in
a stem. If a negative word is necessary, underline or capitalize the words for
emphasis.
4. Refrain from making the stem too wordy or containing too much information
unless the problem/question requires the facts presented to solve the problem.
OPTION
1. Provide three (3) to five (5) options per item, with only one being the correct or
best answer/alternative.
2. Write options that are parallel or similar in form and length to avoid giving clues
about the correct answer.
3. Place options in a logical order (e.g., alphabetical, from shortest to longest).
4. Place correct response randomly to avoid a discernable pattern of correct
answers.
5. Use None of the above carefully and only when there is one absolutely correct
answer, such as in spelling or math items.
6. Avoid All of the Above as an option, especially if it is intended to be the correct
answer.
7. Make all options realistic and reasonable.

What are the general guidelines in writing matching-type items?

It is most appropriate when you need to measure the learners' ability to identify the relationship
or association between similar items.

1. Clearly state in the directions the basis for matching the stimuli with the
responses.

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 2. Ensure that the stimuli are longer and the responses are shorter.
3. For each item, include only topics that are related with one another and share the
same foundation of information.
4. Make the response options short, homogeneous, and arranged in logical order.
5. Include response options that are reasonable and realistic and similar in length
and grammatical form.
6. Provide more response options than the number of stimuli.

What are the general guidelines in writing true or false items?

True or false items are used to measure learners ability to identify whether statement on
proposition is correct/true or incorrect/false.
There are different variations of the true or false items. These include the following:
1. T-F Correction or Modified True-or-False Question. In this format, the statement is
presented with a key word or phrase that is underlined, and the learner has to supply the
correct word or phrase.
2. Yes-No Variation. In this format, the learner has to choose yes or no, rather than true or
false.
3. A-B Variation. In this format, the learner has to choose A or B, rather than true or false.

The following are the general guidelines in writing true or false items:
1. Include statements that are completely true or completely false.
2. Use simple and easy-to-understand statements.
3. Refrain from using negatives-especially double negatives,
4. Avoid using absolutes such as "always" and "never."
5. Express a single idea in each test item.
6. Avoid the use of unfamiliar words or vocabulary.
7. Avoid lifting statements from the textbook and other learning materials.

What are the general guidelines in writing short answer test items?
A short answer test item requires the learner to answer a question or to finish an incomplete
statement by filling in the blank with the correct word or phrase.

The following are the general guidelines in writing good fill-in-the-blank or completion test items:
1. Omit only significant words from the statement.
2. Do not omit too many words from the statement such that the intended
meaning is lost
3. Avoid obvious clues to the correct response.
4. Be sure that there is only one correct response.
5. Avoid grammatical clues to the correct response..
6. If possible, put the blank at the end of a statement rather than at the
beginning.

What are the general guidelines in writing essay tests?

Teachers generally choose and employ essay tests over other forms of assessment because essay
tests require learners to create a response rather than to simply select a response from among
alternatives.

There are two types of essay test: (1) extended-response essay and (2) restricted response
essay.

Extended Response Restricted Response

Requires much longer and complex responses Is much more focused and restrained
↓ ↓
How are the leopard and tiger differ support Tina is preparing for demonstration to display at
you answer with her school’s science fair. She needs to show the
effects of salt on the buoyancy of egg.
↓

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 Identify at least two other actions that would
make Tina’s demonstration better.
↓
Explain why each action would improve the
demonstration.

The following are the general guidelines in constructing good essay questions:.
1. Clearly define the intended learning outcome to be assessed by the essay test.
-To design effective essay questions or prompts, the specific intended learning outcomes
are identified.
2. Refrain from using essay test for intended learning outcomes that are better assessed
by other kinds of assessment.
-Some intended learning outcomes can be efficiently and reliably assessed by selected-
type test rather than by essay test. In the same manner, there are intended learning
outcomes that are better assessed using other authentic assessments, such as
performance test, rather than by essay test.
3. Clearly define and situate the task within a problem situation as well as the type of
thinking required to answer the test.
-Essay questions or prompts should provide clear and well-defined tasks to the learners.
4. Present tasks that are fair, reasonable, and realistic to the students.
-Essay questions should contain tasks or questions that students will be able to do or
address.
5. Be specific in the prompts about the time allotment and criteria for grading the
response
-Essay prompts and directions should indicate the approximate time given to the students
to answer the essay questions to guide them on how much time they should allocate for
each item, especially if several essay questions are presented.

What are the general guidelines in problem-solving test items?

Problem-solving test items are used to measure learners' ability to solve problems that require
quantitative knowledge and competencies and/or critical thinking skills.

There are different variations of the quantitative problem-solving items. These include the
following:
1. One answer choice- This type of question contains four or five options, and
students are required to choose the best answer.
2. All possible answer choices - This type of question has four or five options, and
students are required to choose all of the options that are correct.
3. Type-In answer-This type of question does not provide options to choose from.
Instead, the learners are asked to supply the correct answer.

The following are some of the general guidelines in constructing good problem-solving test items:
1. Identify and explain the problem clearly.
2. Be specific and clear of the type of response required from the students.
3. Specify in the directions the bases for grading students' answers/procedures.
4. When are the following traditional tests appropriate to use?
-multiple-choice test
-matching-type test
-true or false test
-short answer test
-essay test
-problem solving test
5. How should the items for the above traditional tests be constructed?
To check whether you have learned the important information about constructing the
traditional types of tests, please complete the following graphical representation:

Traditional Test Types

↓

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 What are the types?
↓
When to use?
↓
Why choose it?
↓
How to construct?

Prepared by:
Lorna M. Lumanta
Ivan Celso L. Alarcon

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