Table of Specifications (TOS)

and Test Questions (TQ)

Construction
KATHLEEN GRACE C. MAGNO
Instructor 1, QSU Maddela Campus
January 4, 2019
Training Objective #5:

To engage participants in the design and

creation of Table of Specifications (TOS) and
Test Questions (TQ)
Specific Objectives:

At the end of this session, the participants should be able to:

 Recall the process of TOS construction;
 Distinguish the different types of objective tests based on the cognitive domain levels of
thinking each meets;
 Construct a TOS with complete components;
 Create a set of test questions based on a TOS, applying the principles in constructing
tests.
Important Steps in Planning for a Test:

1. Identifying test objectives / lesson outcomes

2. Deciding on the type of objective test to be prepared
3. Preparing a Table of Specifications
4. Constructing the draft test items
5. Try-out and validation
1. Identifying Test Objectives

Knowledge – Remembering
Comprehension – Understanding
Application – Applying
Analysis – Analyzing
Evaluation – Evaluating
Synthesis - Creating
2. Decide on the type of objective test

“Start with the end in mind.”

Types of Objective tests:
True or False
Multiple Choice
Matching Type
Supply Type
Completion Type
*Essay
***

We have a lot of types of objective tests to

choose from, but does that type of test
measure the level of thinking which is stated in
your objective?
***

e.g.1 Obj. : to define the Figures of Speech

Type of Test: Identification or Definition
e.g.2 Obj.: to differentiate plant and animal cell
Type of Test: Venn Diagram or Matching
Type
3. Preparing a Table of Specifications
(TOS)

TOS – a test map that GUIDES the teacher in constructing

a test. It ensures that there is balance between items that
test LOTS and HOTS, or a balance between easy and
difficult items in the test.

***Without the TOS, the tendency for the testmaker is to

focus too much om facts and concepts at the KNOWLEDGE
(Remembering) Level.
4. Constructing the test items

It is advised that the actual number of items

to be constructed in the draft should be
double the desired number of items as it
appear in the TOS. (Try-out and item analysis)
 5. Try-out and validation

Purposes of Try-out:
Item characteristics through item analysis
a. Item Difficulty: easy, average, difficult
b. Item Discrimination: Discriminating, Non-discriminating
Characteristics of the test itself:
a. validity – measures what it intends to measure
b. reliability – consistency of result
c. practicality
RULES IN CONSTRUCTING GOOD TEST
QUESTIONS

 TRUE OR FALSE
1. Do not give a hint in the body of the question.
2. Avoid using the words “always”, “never”, “often”
and other words that tend to be either always
true or always false.
3. Avoid long sentences as these tend to be ‘true’.
Keep sentences short.
RULES IN CONSTRUCTING GOOD TEST
QUESTIONS

 TRUE OR FALSE
4. Avoid trick statements with some minor
misleading word or spelling anomaly, misplaced
phrases, etc.
5. Avoid quoting verbatim from reference material
or textbooks.
6. Avoid specific determiners.
RULES IN CONSTRUCTING GOOD TEST
QUESTIONS

 TRUE OR FALSE
7. Avoid a grossly disproportionate number of either
true or false statements, or even patterns in the
occurrence of true or false statements.
RULES IN CONSTRUCTING GOOD TEST
QUESTIONS

 MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. Do not use unfamiliar words, terms and phrases.
2. Do not use modifiers that are vague and whose
meanings can differ from one person to another
such as: much, often, usually, etc.
3. Avoid complex or awkward word arrangements
as they may add unnecessary comprehension
difficulties.
RULES IN CONSTRUCTING GOOD TEST
QUESTIONS

 MULTIPLE CHOICE
4. Do not use negatives or double negatives as such
statements tend to be confusing.
5. Each item should be as short as possible.
6. Distracters should be equally plausible and
attractive.
RULES IN CONSTRUCTING GOOD TEST
QUESTIONS

 MULTIPLE CHOICE
7. All options should be grammatically consistent
with the stem.
8. The length, explicitness, or degree of technicality
of alternatives should not be the determinants of
the correctness of the answer.
9. Avoid stems that reveal answer to another item.
RULES IN CONSTRUCTING GOOD TEST
QUESTIONS

 MULTIPLE CHOICE
10. Avoid alternatives that are synonymous with
others, or those that include or overlap others.
11. Avoid presenting sequenced items in the same
order as in the text.
12. Avoid use of assumed qualifiers that many
examinees may not be aware of.
RULES IN CONSTRUCTING GOOD TEST
QUESTIONS

 MULTIPLE CHOICE
13. Avoid use of unnecessary words or phrases
which are not relevant to the problem onhand.
14. Avoid use of non-relevant sources of difficulty
such as requiring a complex calculation when
only knowledge of a principle is being tested.
15. Pack the question in the stem.
RULES IN CONSTRUCTING GOOD TEST
QUESTIONS

 MULTIPLE CHOICE
16. Use the ‘None of the above’ option only when
the keyed answer is totally correct.
17. Note that use of ‘All of the above’ may allow
credit for partial knowledge.
18. Better use ‘None/All of the above’ sparingly.
Best not to use them at all.
RULES IN CONSTRUCTING GOOD TEST
QUESTIONS

 MULTIPLE CHOICE
19. Having compound response choices may
purposefully increase difficulty of an item.
RULES IN CONSTRUCTING GOOD TEST
QUESTIONS

 MATCHING TYPE
1. Match homogenous not heterogeneous items.
2. The stem must be in the first column while the
options must be in the second column.
3. The options must be more in number than the
stem to prevent the student from arriving at the
answer by mere elimination.
RULES IN CONSTRUCTING GOOD TEST
QUESTIONS

 MATCHING TYPE
4. To help the examinee find the answer easier,
arrange the options alphabetically or
chronologically.
5. Direction must be given.
RULES IN CONSTRUCTING GOOD TEST
QUESTIONS

 SUPPLY TYPE
These tests depend heavily on how the stems are
constructed. These tests allow for one and only one
answer, and often tests only knowledge.
e.g. Identification
Enumeration
RULES IN CONSTRUCTING GOOD TEST
QUESTIONS

 COMPLETION TYPE
1. Avoid over mutilated sentences. Give enough
clue to the student.
2. Avoid open-ended item. There should only be
one acceptable answer.
3. The blank should be at the end or near the end of
the sentence.
RULES IN CONSTRUCTING GOOD TEST
QUESTIONS

 COMPLETION TYPE
4. Ask item on more significant item not on trivial
matter.
5. The length of the blank must not suggest the
answer. Make blanks uniform in size.
RULES IN CONSTRUCTING GOOD TEST
QUESTIONS

 ESSAY
1. Phrase the direction in such a way that students
are guided on the key concepts to be included.
Specify how the students should respond.
2. Inform the students on the criteria to be used for
grading their essays.
RULES IN CONSTRUCTING GOOD TEST
QUESTIONS

 ESSAY
3. Put a time limit on the essay test.
4. Decide on your essay grading system prior to
getting the essays of your students.
5. Evaluate all of the students’ answers to one
question before proceeding to the next.
RULES IN CONSTRUCTING GOOD TEST
QUESTIONS

 ESSAY
6. Evaluate answers to essay questions without
knowing the identity of the writer.
7. Whenever possible, have two or more persons
grade each answer.
8. Do not provide optional questions.
RULES IN CONSTRUCTING GOOD TEST
QUESTIONS

 ESSAY
9. Provide information about the value/weight of
the question and how it will be scored.
10. Emphasize higher level thinking skills.