Guidelines in

Test Construction and

Writing Multiple Choice
Items
ROBINSON S. SAROMINEZ, Ph.D
Public Schools District Supervisor
Training Objective

“
At the end of the session, the participants are
expected;
To demonstrate knowledge and skills on
constructing A multiple-choice formative and
summative test items and table of specifications in
SCIENCE following the standards and guidelines
within the student's level across grade levels
 Enabling Objectives

“
1. Prepare a Table of Specification for
quarterly assessment; and
2. Construct a multiple-choice formative and
summative test items across grade levels
Session Objectives

“
1. Discuss the characteristics of formative
and summative assessments
2. Show model of a Table of Specification
following the SOLO Model for a
multiple-choice test.
3. Use the guidelines and standards in
constructing a multiple-choice test.
 1. What are the things that you do when
preparing to write your test items?

• Prepare Table of Specifications (TOS)

• Use the Taxonomy of Cognitive skills (Bloom’s
taxonomy/ SOLO MODEL)
• Conduct Item review
TOS USING THE BLOOM
TAXONOMY OF COGNITIVE
DOMAIN
Learning Competencies Rem UNDER AP ANAL EVA CREATIN
P Y L G
10% 25% 25% 20% 10% 10%
 TABLE OF SPECIFICATIONS
Sience 8 8 1st Quarter 2021- 2022
Subject Grade Grading Period School Year

BLOOM'S TAXONOMY LEVEL OF LEARNING

Total Number of Items

Frequency
Rememberin Understandi
Applying Analyzing Evaluation Creating
g ng
Competencies

Weight %
Total
Topic

NOI POI NOI POI NOI POI NOI POI NOI POI NOI POI

Time Spent/
adjust
actual
ed
investigate the
relationship between
Newton’s the amount of force
28.57 6,7,8, 18,19,
Laws of applied and the mass of 10 14.29 14 4 3 2 31,32 5 46-50 14.00
% 9 20
Motion the object to the amount
of change in the object’s
motion S8FE-Ia-15
Infer that when a body
exerts a force on
another, an equal 28.57 21,22,
Forces and 10 14.29 14 2 1,2 2 10,11 3 4 33-36 3 41-43 14.00
amount of % 23
Motion
force is exerted back on
it
Identify and explain the
Potential factors that affect 28.57 12,13, 24,25,
10 14.29 14 2 3,4 3 3 4 37-40 2 44-45 14.00
and Kinetic potential and kinetic % 14 26
Energy energy

Describe how work is

Work, 14.29 15,16,
related to power and 5 7.14 7 1 5 3 4 27-30 7.00
Power and % 17
energy
Energy
 Table of specifications (SOLO-HOTS )

Learning NO. % UNIS MUL RELA

Competencies OF ALL TRU TI- TION
DAY OCA CTU STR AL
S TION RAL UCT
URA
L
1.

3
2. What are the things that you consider
when writing your test items?
• Learning objectives
• Curriculum/national standards
• Needs of students
• Higher order thinking skills
• Test length
• Test instruction
• Test layout
• Scoring
3. What further steps do you do after you
have scored and recorded the test papers?
• Item analysis
• Item difficulty
• Item discrimination
• Distracter analysis
• Reliability analysis
• Validity analysis
 ITEM A NALYSIS WITH MPS, FREQUENCY OF ERRORS A ND MASTERY L EVEL
cr eated b y an d p asswo r d : cr esel d a

Subjec t: SCIENCE 9 Grade Level: 9 Sec tion: LAPU-LAPU

Quarter First T ype of T e st Quarterly Exam No. of T a kers 55 M AT 50

Instruction: Enter the number of students took the test/exam and count the number of students answered correctly per item. Fill in also the number of items.
Freq u en c y o f Erro rs Mas t ery L ev el
No . o f No . o f
Co mp et en c y
S t u d en t s
An s wered
S t u d en
got
t s No .
I t em
Remark s % Remark s GRAPH
Co rrec t l y u n c o rrec t
an s wer
1 53 2 Minimal Errors 96 Mastered
2 52 3 Minimal Errors 95 Mastered
54
3
4 46
1
9
Minimal Errors
Minimal Errors
98
84
Mastered
Mastered
Mastery Level
5 11 44 Further Errors 20 Not Mastered 30 26
6 35 20 Marginal Errors 64 Least Mastered 25
7 32 23 Marginal Errors 58 Not Mastered
20
8 45 10 Minimal Errors 82 Mastered
15 12
9 21 34 Further Errors 38 Not Mastered 9
10 47 8 Minimal Errors 85 Mastered 10
11 45 10 Minimal Errors 82 Mastered 5 2
12 7 48 Further Errors 13 Not Mastered 0
13 40 15 Marginal Errors 73 Least Mastered N ot Lea st N ea rly Ma stered
14 38 17 Marginal Errors 69 Least Mastered Ma stered Ma stered Ma stered
15 6 49 Further Errors 11 Not Mastered
16 40 15 Marginal Errors 73 Least Mastered
17 40 15 Marginal Errors 73 Least Mastered
18 39 16 Marginal Errors 71 Least Mastered
19 53 2 Minimal Errors 96 Mastered M A STERY L EVEL
20 6 49 Further Errors 11 Not Mastered 1-59% 1 Not M astered 26
21 12 43 Further Errors 22 Not Mastered 60-74%
w ith hidden 60 Least M astered 12
formula
22 18 37 Further Errors 33 Not Mastered 75-79% 75 Nearly M astered 2
23 0 55 Further Errors 0 # N/A 80-100% 80 M astered 9
24 35 20 Marginal Errors 64 Least Mastered TOTA L 49
25 21 34 Further Errors 38 Not Mastered
26 9 46 Further Errors 16 Not Mastered
27
28
40
44
15
11
Marginal Errors
Marginal Errors
73
80
Least Mastered
Mastered
Frequency of Errors
29 43 12 Marginal Errors 78 Nearly Mastered 30
26
30 43 12 Marginal Errors 78 Nearly Mastered 25
31 33 22 Marginal Errors 60 Least Mastered
32 27 28 Further Errors 49 Not Mastered 20
16
33 9 46 Further Errors 16 Not Mastered 15
34 34 21 Marginal Errors 62 Least Mastered
10 8
35 14 41 Further Errors 25 Not Mastered
5
36 28 27 Further Errors 51 Not Mastered 0
37 35 20 Marginal Errors 64 Least Mastered 0
38 10 45 Further Errors 18 Not Mastered N o Error Mini ma l Ma rg inal Further
39 13 42 Further Errors 24 Not Mastered E rrors E rrors E rrors
40 37 18 Marginal Errors 67 Least Mastered
41 8 47 Further Errors 15 Not Mastered
42 7 48 Further Errors 13 Not Mastered
43 27 28 Further Errors 49 Not Mastered
44 6 49 Further Errors 11 Not Mastered FREQUECY OF ERRORS
45 25 30 Further Errors 45 Not Mastered 0 0 No Error 0
46 20 35 Further Errors 36 Not Mastered 1-10
w ith hidden 1 M inim al Errors 8
formula
.11-24 11 M arginal Errors 16
47 10 45 Further Errors 18 Not Mastered
48 9 46 Further Errors 16 Not Mastered 25-50 25 Further Errors 26
49 23 32 Further Errors 42 Not Mastered TOTA L 50
50 13 42 Further Errors 24 Not Mastered

MPS 25 49.56 No t Mas t ered

What other forms of assessment do you
conduct aside from paper and pencil tests?

Alternative forms of assessment

•Performance-based Assessment
•Authentic assessment
•Portfolio assessment
What are the
characteristics of
formative assessment?
 Characteristics of Formative
Assessment (FA)
• Before, during
1. Ongoing and and after
Continuous
instruction
Characteristics of FA: Ongoing and continuous

Knowing where the

learners are

Diagnosing Identifying
learners’ Before learners’ difficulty
learning instruction and
problem misconceptions

Basis for instructional decisions: moving

on to the new lesson or clarifying pre-
requisite understanding
 Characteristics of FA: Ongoing and continuous
Determining effectiveness of Comparing its results with the
teaching strategies assessment results before
instruction

Making
Checking instructional
learning During decision :
review, re-teach,
progress instruction remediate or
enhance
 Characteristics of FA: Ongoing and continuous
Checking achievement of
objectives

After Evaluating effectiveness of

instruction instructional activities and
strategies, etc.

Identifying learners who needs

remediation/reinforcement/
enhancement
Characteristics of formative
assessment

• Specific learning needs,

learners’ strengths and
Diagnostic weaknesses
• for Instructional planning
& flexibility
Characteristics of formative
assessment

Feedback- • Teacher and

oriented learners
Characteristics of formative
assessment
• Skills and
Developmental
understanding
Characteristics of formative assessment

• Learners diversity;
Varied in • Quizzes, discussions, recitations,
Format observations, projects,
interactive activities, etc.
Characteristics of formative
assessment

Student- • Learners needs; Active

Centered engagement
 Characteristics of formative
assessment
• Teaching approach, methods and
Flexible
content delivery
Characteristics of formative assessment

Timely • immediate
 Assessment Road Map
Formative Summative
Assessment Assessment

Prepares learners for summative assessment

Aligned, similar and or parallel with the
summative assessment
Multiple-Choice
Test Guidelines
•A Multiple-choice item consists of a
problem and a list of suggested solutions.
•the multiple-choice item is the most
versatile type of test item available.
• It can measure a variety of learning
outcomes, from the most simple to the most
complex and is applicable to almost all
subject matter content.
The parts of a Multiple-choice item and
their definitions are:
Stimulus Materials: Special information on which an item is
based. It can be in a form of a Table, a picture, a paragraph, a
chart, etc.
Stem: the portion of an item that states the problem. It can be
a closed question, an incomplete statement or a direction.
Alternatives or Options: the choice following the stem from
which the pupils is to select the correct answer.
For multiple-choice items, 4 to five alternatives are usually
offered.
Key: the option/alternatives that states the
correct answer to the stem. There should be
only one key for an item.

Distracters: the option/alternatives that state

the correct answers to the stem.
 The pyramid below shows the way lita spends
her weekly allowance of 150.00
MISCELLANE
OUS 5%
Stimulus Stem
RRECREATION How much does lita spend for meals & snacks
8%
in a week?
A. 55.00 Distractors

SCHOOL SUPPLIES 12% B. 72.00

C. 75.00 Alternatives

D. 82.00 Key
BUS FARE 20%

MEALS &
SNACKS 55%
 FORMS OF MULTIPLE-CHOICE ITEM.
1. Correct answer variety. This variant of the
multiple-choice format has a key that is
absolutely correct and distracters that are
incorrect.
Ex. Who invented the sewing machine?
A. Fulton C. Singer
B. Howe D. Whitney
2. Best Answer Variety. This variant has two or more
suggested responses that are totally correct, correct to
some degree, or totally wrong.

Ex. What is the principal value of a daily program of

exercises?
A. to increase appetite.
B. to develop musculature
C. to increase intelligence
D. to use up extra time
3. Incomplete statement variety. Very often, the stem
of a multiple-choice item is an incomplete statement
rather than a direct question.
Ex. The shortest day of the year in the northern
Hemisphere is in ______.
A. March
B. June
C. September
D. December
4. The negative or exception variety. This variant is used for items which
have several good answers. The options include one correct answer while
all he others are incorrect.
Which of the following is NOT true of a virus?
A. It can live only in plants and animal cells.
B. It can reproduce itself
C. It is compost of very large living cells
D. It can cause disease.
All of the following is true of a virus EXCEPT.
A. It can live only in plant and animal cells.
B. it can reproduce it self.
C. It is compost of very large living cells.
D. It can cause disease.
Liza bought 1 Kg of mango and 3 kgs. of avocado. How many
kilograms of fruits did she buy all in all?
A. 3 kilograms B. 4 kilograms C. 5 kilograms D. 6 kilograms

Liza bought 1 Kg of mango and 3 Kgs. of avocado. How many

kilograms of fruits did she buy all in all?
A. 3 B. 4 C. 5 D. 6
“
END OF THE
Thank You and GOOD LUCK EVERYONE
TOPIC!