University of Antique

College of Teacher Education

Sibalom, Antique

Module 2 – Preliminary Concepts in Educational Assessment

Lesson 3 – Types and Distinctions of Tests

Introduction
The most important aspect of student evaluation in most classrooms involves the tests teachers make
and administer to their students. Teachers need to understand the different types of tests and their uses in the
assessment and evaluation of students’ learning. In this lesson, the different categories of tests are presented so
that teachers can choose the type of test to assess classroom learning. They are contrasted in term of some
salient features.

Learning Outcomes
1. Examine similarities and differences between test and assessment.
2. Recognize the uses of tests in educational assessment.
3. Identify and differentiate the different types of tests.

Content Focus
Testing, in general, is finding out how well something works. In terms of human beings, testing tells what
level of knowledge or skill has been acquired. Through testing, teachers can measure the students’ acquisition of
knowledge, skills, and values in any learning area in the curriculum; however there are limitations in their use as
tests cannot measure student motivation, physical limitations and even environmental factors.

High-stakes testing is a term that was first used in the 1980s to describe testing programs that have
serious consequences for students or educators. Tests are high-stakes if their outcomes determine such
important things as promotion to the next grade, graduation, merit pay for teachers, or school rankings.

A. Test and Assessment

Test and assessment are used interchangeably, but they do mean something different. A test is a
“product” that measures a particular behavior or set of objectives. Meanwhile assessment is seen as a procedure
instead of a product. Assessment is used during and after the instruction has taken place. After you’ve received
the results of your assessment, you can interpret the results and in case needed alter the instruction. Tests are
done after the instruction has taken place. It’s a way to complete the instruction and get the results.

A test is used to examine someone’s knowledge of something to determine what that person knows or
has learned. It measures the level of skill or knowledge that has been reached. It is a formal and systematic way
of gathering information about the learners’ behavior, usually through paper-and-pencil procedure.

While a test is one form of assessment that refers to procedures used to measure a learners’ learning at
a specific point in time and often involves collecting information in numerical form, assessment refers to any of
the procedures teachers use to do this, which may include interviews, observations, administering
questionnaires and reviewing students’ work. Assessment covers a broader range of procedures than testing and
includes both formal and informal measures.
B. Uses of Tests
Tests serve a lot of functions for school administrators, supervisors, teachers, and parents, as well
(Escarilla & Gonzales, 1990).
1. School administrators utilize test results for making decisions regarding the promotion or retention of
students; improvement or enrichment of the curriculum, and conduct of staff development programs for
teachers.
2. Supervisors use test results in discovering learning areas needing special attention and identifying
teachers’ weaknesses and learning competencies not mastered by the students. Test results can also
provide supervisors baseline data on curriculum revision.
3. Teachers utilize test results for numerous purposes. Through testing, teachers are able to gather
information about the effectiveness of instruction, give feedback to students about their progress, and
assign grades.
 4. Parents also derive benefits from tests administered to their children. Through test scores, they are able
to determine how well their children are progressing in school and how well the school is doing its share
in educating their children.

C. Types of Tests
Numerous types of tests are used in school. There are different ways of categorizing tests, namely: ease
of quantification of response, mode of preparation, mode of administration, test constructor, mode of
interpreting results, and nature of response.
The general purpose of the test can either be psychological or educational.
1. Psychological test – the purpose is to identify the general mental ability of an individual. According to
Good (1959) as cited by Calderon & Gonzales (1993), psychological tests measure an individual’s ability
or personality as developed by general experience. Psychological tests assess the individual’s capacity to
adjust or adapt to environmental changes and determine whether one has the capability to adjust to the
demands of the society where he lives.
2. Educational test – aims to measure knowledge, skills, abilities, understanding, and other outcomes in the
subjects taught in school. It assesses the outcomes of instruction. Its specific purpose is to determine the
effectiveness of all educational activities undertaken inside or outside of the classroom. Some examples
of this test are quizzes, unit tests, periodical tests, oral tests, performance tests and the like. All these
tests assess student’s achievement over a period of time.
As to mode of response, tests can be oral, written, or performance.
1. Oral test – a test wherein the test taker gives his/her answer orally.
2. Written test – a test where answers to questions are written by the test taker.
3. Performance test – a test where the test taker creates an answer or a product that demonstrates his/her
knowledge or skill, as in cooking or baking.
As to ease of quantification of response or scoring, tests can be objective or subjective.
1. Objective test – a paper-and-pencil test wherein students’ answers can be compared and quantified to
yield a numerical score because it requires convergent or specific response. No matter who checks the
paper at different times and setting, similar results are generated.
2. Subjective test – a paper-and-pencil test which is not easily quantified as students are given the freedom
to write their answer to a question, such as an essay test. Thus, the answer to this type of test is
divergent. Sometimes this test allows less objective means of scoring (especially when no rubrics are
used).

As to mode of administration, tests can either be individual or group.

1. Individual test – administered to one student at a time.
2. Group test – administered to a group of students simultaneously.

As to test constructor, tests can be classified into standardized and unstandardized.

1. Standardized test – test prepared by an expert or specialist. This test samples behavior under uniform
procedures. Questions are administered to students with the same directions and time limits. Results in
this kind of test are scored following a detailed procedure based on its manual and interpreted based on
specified norms or standards. In other words, this type of test is administered and scored under a
consistent set of procedures. Uniform conditions of administration are necessary to make it possible to
compare results across individuals or schools. Example: NAT (National Achievement Test)
2. Unstandardized test (or Informal Test) – test prepared by teachers for use in the classroom with no
established norms for scoring and interpretation of results. It is constructed by a classroom teacher to
meet a particular need.
As to mode of interpreting results, tests can either be norm-referenced or criterion-referenced.
1. Norm-referenced test – test that evaluates a student’s performance by comparing it to the performance
of a group of students on the same test called the norm. The norms that can be used are measures of
central tendency, measures of variability, or measures of relative position.
2. Criterion-referenced test - measures a student’s performance against an agreed upon or pre-established
level of performance. The preset criterion becomes the basis of interpretation of students’ performance.
Scores less than the preset criterion, fails; those that fall within or above that criterion, pass.
When the level of difficulty of the test is considered, it can be classified as power or speed test.
1. Speed test – contains items with almost similar difficulty levels. A student’s performance is measured in
terms of how many correct items he obtains in the allotted period of time.
2. Power test – contains items with increasing difficulty as the testing process progresses.
 According to the amount of words used, categorizes the test into verbal or non-verbal.
1. Verbal test – constructed with the use of word either written or oral. A classroom is dominated by verbal
tests. A teacher gives a 10-item identification test, the teacher asks questions orally and the students
write their answers on a piece of paper. Both the teacher and students use words in the test.
2. Non-verbal test - requires minimal words to accomplish it. The few words can be found on the direction
alone teacher-directed instructions. The Philippine Non-Verbal Intelligence Test (PNIT) is an example of
this test which is intended for students from Grades 1 to 6. The examinees are required to identify which
among the pictures given is different from the other pictures in every item. In the entire 100 items, no
word is required to accomplish the test.
As to scope, tests are classified as mastery or survey test.
1. Mastery test – to find if the students have mastered a specific content. Determining the students’ level
of mastery will make the teacher decide on some interventions to undertake in order to improve mastery
in the specific area. Thus, the coverage of the Mastery Test is on a specific area.
2. Survey test – to determine what the students have learned over a period of time. The coverage of this
test is on a broad area.
Tests can also be classified as to test item format as selective or supply type.
1. Selective type ( also known as Recognition type) - requires students to choose a correct answer from the
given alternatives for every item. Examples of this are multiple choice, matching type, and alternative
response tests.
2. Supply type (or Constructed Response) – requires the examinees to write or state the correct answer as
required for every item. The examinees are required to write a word or group of words to satisfy the
answer for every item in the test as in the following examples: identification, labelling, enumeration, and
completion tests.

As to nature of the answer, tests can be categorized into the following types:

● Psychological Tests
1. Personality Test. This test is designed for assessing some aspects of an individual’s personality—his
character, traits, behavior, qualities, and individuality. Some areas tested in this kind of test include the
following: emotional and social adjustment; dominance and submission; value orientation; disposition;
emotional stability; frustration level; and degree of introversion or extroversion.
2. Intelligence Test. This test aims to measure one’s general mental ability. Intelligence is instrumental in
one’s acquisition of knowledge. Taking other things equal, the higher the intelligence, the better is the
chance of gaining more knowledge.
3. Aptitude Test. Aptitude tests are designed to predict students’ ability to learn a skill or accomplish
something with further education and training. It measures an individual’s likelihood to succeed in the
area where he wants to pursue {Santrock, 2004).
4. Trade Test. This test is designed to measure an individual’s skill or competence in an occupation or
vocation.

● Educational Tests
5. Achievement Test. It is a test given to students to determine what has been learned from formal
instruction.
6. Summative Test. This test provides students’ achievement at the end of instruction. It includes activities
that aim to determine the learners’ mastery of content and assign grades. It may also be used to obtain
data to gauge the effectiveness of teaching strategies and to improve instruction.
7. Formative Test. This test is given to improve teaching and learning while it is going on. It may also be
given before the instruction from which information collected allows teachers to make adjustments to
the instructional process and teaching strategies to facilitate learning. It can also inform learners about
their strengths and weaknesses to enable them to take further steps for performance improvement and
classroom progress.
8. Diagnostic Test. This test is administered to detect students’ learning problems or difficulties so that
corrective action are done to ensure learning. It may be done right after seeing signs of learning
problems in the course of teaching; or at the start of the school year for spirally-designed curriculum so
that corrective actions are applied if the prerequisite knowledge and skills have not been mastered.
 9. Placement Test. This is done at the beginning of a school year to determine the current knowledge of
learners and their needs that could inform the design of instruction. It may be used to group learners to
make relevant instructional plans to address the needs or accommodations for the learners. An entrance
examination is an example of this test.

References

Calderon, Jose F. & E.C. Gonzales (1993). Measurement and Evaluation. Metro Manila: National Book Store.

Garcia, Carlito D. (2013). Measuring and Evaluating Learning outcomes: A Textbook in Assessment of Learning 1
& 2, 2nd ed. Mandaluyong City: Books Atbp. Publishing Corp.

Rico, Alberto A. (2011). Assessment of Students’ Learning: A Practical Approach. Quezon City: Anvil Publishing,
Inc.

Santrock, John W. (2004). Educational Psychology. Boston, Mass.: McGraw-Hill Higher Education.