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Lecture Notes 3 - Assessment in Learning 1

The document discusses principles of developing classroom assessment tools. It outlines general principles like ensuring tests measure all instructional objectives and learning tasks. The document also discusses different types of assessment tools like objective tests, subjective tests, performance assessments, and portfolios. Key qualities of good assessment tools are described like validity, reliability, fairness, and practicability. Validity refers to a test measuring what it intends to measure, while reliability means a test gives consistent results. For assessments to be practical, they must be easy to administer and score.
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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
55 views16 pages

Lecture Notes 3 - Assessment in Learning 1

The document discusses principles of developing classroom assessment tools. It outlines general principles like ensuring tests measure all instructional objectives and learning tasks. The document also discusses different types of assessment tools like objective tests, subjective tests, performance assessments, and portfolios. Key qualities of good assessment tools are described like validity, reliability, fairness, and practicability. Validity refers to a test measuring what it intends to measure, while reliability means a test gives consistent results. For assessments to be practical, they must be easy to administer and score.
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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LECTURE NOTES IN ASSESSMENT IN LEARNING 1

Lecture 3: Development of Classroom Assessment Tools

Introduction

The instructional objectives must be specific, measurable and observable. Teachers must develop test items that should match
with the instructional objectives appropriately and accurately.

General Principles of Testing


 Measure all instructional objectives. When a teacher constructs test items to measure the learning progress of the
students, they should match all the learning objectives posed during instruction. That is why the first step in constructing a test
is for the teacher to go back to the instructional objectives.
 Cover all the learning tasks. The teacher should construct a test that contains a wide range of sampling of items. In this
case, the teacher can determine the educational outcomes or abilities that the resulting scores are representatives of the total
performance in the areas measured.
 Use appropriate test items. The test items constructed must be appropriate to measure learning outcomes.
 Make test valid and reliable. The teacher must construct a test that is valid so that it can measure what it is supposed to
measure from the students. The test is reliable, when the scores of the students remain the same or consistent when the
teacher gives the same test for the second time.
 Use test to improve learning. The test scores should be utilized by the teacher properly to improve learning by discussing
the skills or competencies on the items that have been learned or mastered by the learners.

Principles of High Quality Assessment

• Assessing the performance of every student is a very critical task for classroom teacher.
• Teacher-made tests are developed by a classroom teacher to assess the learning progress of the students within classroom.
• The strengths of a teacher-made test lie on its applicability and relevance in the setting where they are utilized.
• Its weaknesses are the limited time and resources for the teacher to utilize the test and also some of the technicalities
involved in the development of the assessment tools.
• Test constructors believed that every assessment tool should possess good qualities.
• Validity and reliability are considered to be the most common technical concepts in assessment.
• Assessment should be carefully developed so that it may serve whatever purpose it is intended for and the test results must
be consistent with the types of assessment that will be utilized.
Clarity of the Learning Target
 When a teacher plans for his classroom instruction, the learning target should be clearly stated and must be focused on
student learning objectives rather than teacher activity.
 The learning outcomes must be SMART.
 The performance task of the students should also be clearly presented.
 The teacher should also discuss clearly with the students the evaluation procedures, the criteria to be used and the skills to be
assessed in the task.
Appropriateness of Assessment Tool
 The type of test used should always match the instructional objectives or learning outcomes of the subject matter posed
during the delivery of the instruction.
 Teachers should be skilled in choosing and developing assessment methods.

Objective test
 Requires student to select the correct response from several alternatives or to supply a word or short phrase to answer a
question or complete a statement.
 It includes true-false, matching type, & multiple-choice questions.
 The word objective refers to the scoring.

Subjective test
 Permits the student to organize and present an original answer.
 It includes either short answer or long general questions.
 This type of test has no specific answer.
 It is scored on an opinion basis.
Performance assessment
 Students are asked to perform real-world tasks.
 It can measure learning objectives which focus on the ability of the students to demonstrate skills or knowledge in real-life
situations.
Portfolio assessment
 Assessment based on the systematic, longitudinal collection of student work created in response to specific known
instructional objectives and evaluated in relation to the same criteria.
Oral questioning
 Collecting assessment data by asking questions.
 The most commonly used of all forms of assessment in class.
 The ability of the students to communicate orally is very relevant to this type of assessment; a form of formative assessment.
Observation Technique
 The teacher will observe how students carry out certain activities either observing the process or product.
 There are two types of observation techniques: formal and informal observations.
Self-report
 The responses of the students may be used to evaluate both performance and attitude.
 Assessment tools could include sentence completion, Likert scales, checklists, or holistic scales.

Different Qualities of Assessment Tools


 Validity
- refers to the appropriateness of score-based inferences; or decisions made based on the students’ test results
- the extent to which a test measures what it is supposed to measure
 Reliability
- the consistency of measurement; that is, how consistent results or other assessment results from one measurement to
another
- when it can be used to predict practically the same scores when test administered twice to the same group of students (RI of
0.61 above)
 Fairness
- the test items should not have any biases
- it should not be offensive to any examinee subgroup
- test can only be good if it is fair to all examinees
 Objectivity
- agreement of two or more raters or test administrators concerning the score of a student
- lack of objectivity reduces test validity in the same way that the lack of reliability influence validity
 Scorability
- the test should be easy to score, direction for scoring should be clearly stated in the instruction
- provide the students an answer sheet and the answer key for one who will check the test
- Adequacy
- the test should contain a wide range of sampling of items to determine the educational outcomes or abilities so that the
resulting scores are representatives of the total performance in the areas measured
 Administrability
- test should be administered uniformly to all students so that the scores obtained will not vary
- there should be a clear provision for instruction for the students, proctors and even the one who will check the test or the test
scorer
* Practicality and Efficiency
-teacher’s familiarity with the methods used, time required for the assessment, complexity of the administration, ease of
scoring, ease of interpretation of the test results and the materials used must be at the lowest cost

CHARACTERISTICS OF ASSESSMENT METHODS

 Validity
-The degree to which a test measures what it intends (purports, claim, suppose) to measure or the truthfulness of the
response.
-The validity of a test concerns what the test measures and how well it does so.
Example: To assess the validity of teacher-made test, it is necessary to consider what kind of teacher-made test is supposed to
measure and how well it serves its purpose.
 Validity
-No test can be said to have a “high” or “low” validity in the abstract.
-Its validity is determined with reference to the particular use for which the test is being considered.
-The validity of the test must always be considered in relation to the purpose it is to serve.
-A valid test is always valid. This means a valid test had veracity or truthfulness of the answer.
Example: Social Science test is administered twice to second year college teacher education students. The answer of Student C on
Item 8 “What is the capital of Zamboanga del Norte?” is Dipolog City. In the second administration, his answer is still the same on Item
8. His answer is both valid and reliable.
Valid because his answer is correct and reliable due to the consistency of his answer.

 Reliability
-This means that the extent in which a test is consistent and dependable. The test agrees with itself.
-It is concerned with the consistency of responses from moment to moment.
-Even if a student takes the same test twice, the test yields the same results. However, a realizable test may both always be valid.
Example: Student D took Mathematics test twice. His answer is eight (8) to Item 9, “How many sides are there in heptagon?” In the
second administration of the test, his answer to the same question remains the same, 8. Thus, his response is reliable due to
consistency of responses, but not valid because the correct answer is seven (7). Hence, a reliable test may be always be valid.

 Practicability
It means the test can be satisfactorily used by teachers and researchers without undue expenditure of time, money and effort. In other
words, practicability means usability.

Factors that Determine Practicability

1. Ease of Administration
 Instruction must be complete and precise.
 As a rule, group test are easier to administer than individual tests. The direction is given only once to group of examinees
thus, saves time and effort on the part of the examiner or teacher.
2. Ease of Scoring
 Ease of scoring depends upon the following
 Construction of the test is objective
 Answer keys are adequately prepared
 Scoring directions are fully understood
 Tips: *It is easier if examinees are instructed to write their answer as letter or number
or word in one column at the right. It is obsolete and impractical to let the
examinees write their response column before the item or left column.
3. Ease of Interpretation and Application
 Result of test are easy to interpret and apply if tables are presented.
 All scores must be given equivalent from the tables without necessity of computation
 As a rule, norms must be based on age and grade/year level as in the case of school achievement tests.
 It is also desirable if all achievement test must be provided with separate norms for rural and urban learners and various
degrees of mental ability.
4. Low Cost
 It is more practical if the test is low cost material-wise. It is also economical if test can be reused by future teachers.
5. Proper Mechanical Make-up
 A good test must be printed clearly in an appropriate font size for the grade or year level the test is intended to be given.
Careful attention to the pictures and illustrations must be given to lower grades.

 Justness
It is the degree to which the teacher is fair in assessing the grades of the learners .
The learner must be informed on the criteria they are being assessed.
Example: In a Mathematics class, the criteria are quizzes, 30%; assignment and class participation, 30%; departmental test, 30%; and
character, 10% with a total of 100%.
Character includes punctuality and regularity of attendance, industry, courtesy and honesty.
The teacher must be just in assessing the achievements of the learners based on the criteria.

MORALITY IN ASSESSMENT
• It is the degree of secrecy of grades of the learners.
• Morality of ethics in assessment of test results or grades must be confidential to avoid slow learners from embarrassment.
• Learners who passed the test with flying colors or the honor students, the top ten must be published at the bulletin board as
incentive.
• Learners with low scores or grades must be kept confidential.
• Only the concerned learners and the teacher should be aware of the test results or grades.
• Parents whose children are low achievers must be informed in order that they can advise their children to study hard or hire a
tutor to assist their children in their studies.

ETHICS IN ASSESSMENT

 Teachers should free the students from harmful consequences of misuse or overuse of various assessment procedures such
as embarrassing students and violating student right to confidentiality.
 Teachers should be guided by laws and policies that affect their classroom assessment.
 Administrators and teachers should understand that it is inappropriate to use standardized student achievement to measure
teaching effectiveness.

Basic Concepts on Test

 TEST
 It is a systematic form of assessment that answer the question.
 How well does the individual perform – either in comparison with others or in comparison with a domain of performance task?

Purposes/Uses of Test

Instructional Use of Test


 identifying specific weaknesses of learners
 grouping learners for instruction within a class
 measuring class progress for any given period
 assigning grades/marks
 guiding activities for specific learners (the slow, average, fast)
Guidance Use of Test
 assisting learners to set educational and vocational goals
 improving teacher, counselor and parents’ understanding of children with problems
 preparing information/data to guide conferences with parents about their children.
 determining interests in types of occupations not previously considered or known by the students
 predicting success in future educational or vocation endeavor
Administrative Use of Test
 determine emphasis to be given to the different learning areas in the curriculum
 measuring the school progress from year to year
 determining how well students are attaining worthwhile educational goals
 determining appropriateness of the school curriculum for students of different levels of ability
 developing adequate basis for pupil promotion or retention

Classification of Test (According to Format)


Non-standardized Test versus Standardized Test
1. Non-standardized test is a type of test developed by the classroom teachers.
2. Standardized test is a type of test developed by test specialists. It is administered, scored and interpreted using a certain
standard condition

Standardized Test
This is carefully prepared by experts in the light of accepted objectives. Exact procedures in controlling the method of
administration and scoring are provided.
• Constructed by a professional item writer, cover a large domain of learning tasks with just few items measuring each specific
task.
• items are of average difficulty and omits very easy and very difficult items
• emphasize discrimination among individuals in terms of relative level of learning
Teacher-Made Test/Non-Standardized Test
• Constructed by a classroom teacher, give focus on a limited domain of learning tasks with relatively large number of items
measuring each specific task.
• matches item difficulty to learning tasks, without alternating item difficulty or omitting easy or difficult items,
• Emphasize description of what learning tasks students can and cannot do/perform.

Ability Test
A combination of verbal and numerical ability, reasoning and computations.

Aptitude Test
This test is a predictive measure of a person’s likelihood of benefit from instruction or experience in a given field, such as art,
music, mechanical task, clerical work, academic studies.

Teacher-Made/Non-Standardized Test
Test constructed and prepared by classroom teachers which measure and appraise student progress in terms of specific
classroom/ instructional objectives.

Objective test is a type of test in which two or more evaluators give an examinee the same score.
 These are in the form of a single word or phrase or symbol.
Supply test is a type of test that requires the examinees to supply an answer, such as an essay test item or completion or short answer
test item.
 Supply/Constructed/Free Response
o Short-Answer
o Completion
o Identification
o Fill in the Blanks
o Enumeration
 Fixed-response test is a type of test that requires the examinees to select an answer from a given option such as multiple-
choice test, matching type of test, or true/false test.
o Selected/Fixed Response
 Matching Type
 True-False/Alternative Response/Alternate response/Binary-Choice/Binomial Choice
 Multiple Choice
a. Limited Response Type
This requires the student to select the answer from a given number of alternatives or choices.
Multiple Choice Test
 It consists of a stem each of which present three to five alternatives or options in which only one is correct or definitely
better than the other. The correct option choice or alternative in each item is merely called answer and the rest of the
alternatives are called distracters or decoys or foils.
True-False or Alternative Response
 This consists of declarative statements that one has to respond or mark true or false, right or wrong, correct or incorrect,
yes or no, fact or opinion, agree or disagree and the like. It is made up of items which allow dichotomous responses.
Matching Type
 This consists of parallel columns with each word, number or symbol in one column being matched to a word sentence, or
phrase in the other column. The items in column I or A for which a match is sought are called premises and the items in
column II or B are called responses.

Subjective test is a type of test in which the scores are influenced by the judgement of the evaluators, meaning there is no one correct
answer.

b. Free Response Type or Supply Type


This requires the student to supply or give the correct answer.
Short Answer
 It uses a direct question that can be answered by a word, phrase, number, or symbol.
Completion Test
 This consists of an incomplete statement that can also be answered by a word, phrase, number or symbol.
Essay Type
 Essay questions provide freedom of response that is needed to adequately assess students’ ability to formulate, organize,
integrate and evaluate ideas and information or apply knowledge and skills.
o Restricted Essay limits both the content and the response. Content is usually restricted by the scope of the topic
to be discussed.
 Limit the ways in which teachers permits the students to answer. (analytical rubric – No “bluffing” allowed)
 * There ARE correct answers
 * We allow students to express the answers in their own words
o Extended Essay allows the students to select to any factual information that they think is pertinent to organize their
answers in accordance with their best judgment and to integrate and evaluate ideas which they appropriate.
 open-ended
 the response arrives a conclusion based on their specific knowledge of the topic.
 (holistic rubric)
 No “correct” answers but reasonable/logic.

Advantages of Essay Disadvantages of Essay


* easy to construct, *low validity
* economical, *low reliability
*trains the core of organizing/ expressing /and reasoning *low usability
power, *encourages bluffing
*minimize guessing, *difficult to score
*develops critical thinking, *disadvantageous for students with poor penmanship
* minimizes cheating and memorizing, Scoring
*develops good study habits. *Avoid looking at the names of the paper you are scoring.

Other Classification of Test

Educational Test
 An achievement test which aims to measure a person’s knowledge, skills, abilities, understanding, and other outcomes in
subjects taught in school or measures the results/effects of instruction. Achievement test in Math/English

Types of Test (According to Construction)


Structured (restricted test)– the examinee is required to respond within the framework or design of the test and correct responses are
expected. Ex. objective tests whether standardized or teacher-made

Unstructured (unrestricted test)– the examinee is free to respond in any way he likes, thinks, feels, or has experienced and there are no
incorrect answers. Ex. projective tests

Types of Test (According to Number of Takers)

Individual test- administered to only one person at a time using careful oral questioning. Ex. Personality test
Group test – given to more than one person at a time or group of individuals, questions are typically answered using paper and pencil
technique. Ex. IQ test and achievement test

Types of Test (According to the degree to which words are used in test items and in learner’s response)
Verbal Test
 It is of the paper-pencil test variety but questions may be presented orally or in written form or objects may be presented
for identification.
 It is one in which words are very necessary and the examinee should be equipped with vocabulary in attaching meaning to
or responding to test items.
Nonverbal Test
 A minimum amount of language is used. The test composed mostly of symbols, may be written or given orally but the
answers are given solely in numbers, graphical representations, or three dimensional objects or materials.
 One on which words are not that important, student responds to test items in the form of drawings, pictures or designs.

Types of Tests (According to the difficulty of test items)


Scale Test
 The items are arranged in the order of difficulty.
Speed Test
 It measures the speed and accuracy of the examinee within the time limits imposed. It is also called as alertness test. This
consists of items of uniform difficulty.
 It is designed to measure number of items an individual can complete over a certain of time.
Power Test
 It is made up to a series of test items graded in difficulty, from the easiest to the most difficult.
 It is designed to measure the level of performance rather than speed of response. It contains test items that are arranged
according to increasing degree of difficulty.
Survey Test
 This measure general level of student’s achievement over a broad range of learning outcomes and tend to emphasize
norm-referenced interpretation.
 A type of test that measures students’ general achievement over a broad range of learning outcomes using norm-
reference to interpret the result.
Mastery Test
 This measure the degree of mastery of a limited set of specific learning outcomes and typically use criterion referenced
interpretation.
 A type of achievement test that measures the degree of mastery of a limited set of learning outcomes using criterion-
reference to interpret result.
Prognostic Test
 It predicts how well a person is likely to do in a certain school subject or task.
Diagnostic Test
 It identifies the weaknesses of an individual’s achievement in any field and serves as basis for remedial instruction.
Achievement Test
 It measures what has been learned by the student of the subject matter taught in school.
Accomplishment Test
 A measure of achievement, usually for individual subjects in the curriculum or a sampling of the curriculum as a whole.
Preference Test
 It measures vocational or avocational interest or aesthetic judgments by requiring the testee to make forced choices
between members of paired or grouped items.
Placement Test
 This is used to measure the type of job an applicant should fill, or a test used to determine the grade level or year level a
student or pupil be enrolled after ceasing from school.
Interest Inventory Test
 This determines the extent to which a person’s likes and dislikes that relates to a vocation or profession.
 It reveals the type of work or career a person is interested in whether business, teaching, nursing, etc.
Performance Test
 A nonverbal test but the pupils may be required to use paper and pencil for responding, or the manipulation of physical
objects and materials. Arrangement of blocks

PSYCHOLOGICAL TEST
 This measures an individual’s ability or personality as developed by general experience.
 This also aims to measure students’ intangible aspects of behavior. i.e. Intelligence, attitudes, interests and aptitudes.

Personality Test
 A test which measures the ways in which individuals’ interest with other individuals (or in terms of the roles an individual
has) ascribed to himself and adopts in the society. This is designed to measure some aspects of an individual’s personality.
Intelligence Quotient Test
 This is a composite test made of parts that have been found to correlate well with some practical measure of intellectual
ability, such as success in school. It measures general mental ability.
Intellectual Test
 It measures the intelligence quotient (IQ) of an individual as very superior, superior, high average, average, low average,
borderline or mentally defective. Its function is to establish the ability to think abstractly or to organize parts of a situation
into a coherent whole.
Aptitude Test
 This is designed to indicate a person’s potential ability for performance of a type of activity as in musical aptitude test,
prognostic test, scholastic aptitude test, mechanical aptitude test and the like. This type of test measures special ability or
talent.

Types of Personality Test (According to Function)

PROJECTIVE TESTS
 These were developed in an attempt to eliminate some of the major problems inherent in the use of self-report measures
such as the tendency of some respondents to give “socially acceptable responses”.
 The purpose of such tests are usually not obvious to respondents, the individual is typically asked to respond ambiguous
items.
 The most commonly used techniques is the method of association, this technique asks the respondent to react to a stimulus
such as a picture, inkblot or word.
 The stimulus is usually unstructured and produces responses reflecting the person’s individuality.
o Rorschach Test
 This is consisting of inks blots which the subject interprets and his interpretations reveal his personality.
o Thematic Apperception Test
 This is consisting of standardized pictures which the respondent interprets and his interpretations will
reveal his values, motives, and other aspects of his personality.
o Personality Test
 This determines an individual’s personal characteristics. i.e. emotional adjustment or tendencies toward
introversion or extroversion, and may be arranged for self-rating, or for rating by other persons. This test
also measures dominance and submissiveness.
o Locus of Control Test
 A 13-item questionnaire developed by Rotter (1966). It measures generalized expectancies for internal
versus external control of reinforcement.
 People with an internal locus of control believe that their own actions determine the rewards that they
obtain, while those with an external locus of control believe that their own behavior doesn't matter much
and that rewards in life are generally outside of their control.
 Scores range from 0 to 13. A low score indicates an internal control while a high score indicates external
control.
NON-PROJECTIVE TESTS

Personality Inventories
 This presents a list of questions or statements describing behaviours characteristic of certain personality traits and the
individual is asked to indicate (yes or no, undecided) whether the statement describes her or him.
Creative Test
 Test of Creativity are really tests designed to measure those personality characteristics that are related to creative
behaviour.
 One such trait is referred to as divergent thinking; unlike convergent thinkers who tend to look for the right answer divergent
thinkers tend to seek alternatives
Interest Inventories
 An interest inventory asks an individual to indicate personal dislike, such as kinds of activities he or she likes to engage in.

PRINCIPLES OF TEST CONSTRUCTION


1. Comprehensiveness
 The test should include items that measure the content areas and processes covered in the lesson.
 Prepare a table of specifications (TOS) or a test blueprint and use it as a guide for writing test items.
2. Compatibility
 There should be a close association between the intended learning outcomes and the test items.
 Match the test items with the instructional objectives.
3. Comprehensibility
 The test items as well as the directions should be clearly understood by the test-takers.
 Keep the reading difficulty and vocabulary level of the test items as simple as possible.
 Ensure that the test directions are direct and clear.
4. Accuracy
 Each test item should have only one correct answer. It should be unanimously acceptable to the experts concerned.
 State each test item so that only one answer is correct.
5. Independence
 The test items should be distinct from each other. They should not be interrelated.
 See to it that one test item does not provide help or give clues in answering other test items.

Classroom Test Construction


1. Determining the purpose of the test
2. Specifying the instructional objectives
3. Preparing the table of specifications (TOS)
4. Determining the item format, number of test items, and difficulty level of the test
5. Writing test items that match the objectives
6. Editing, revising and finalizing test items
7. Administering the test
8. Scoring
9. Tabulating and analyzing the results
10. Assigning grades

Teacher-made Test Construction


1. Planning the test (based on instructional objectives)
2. Preparing Principle: easy – easier – easiest – then increasing degree of difficulty
3. Reproducing
4. Administering
5. Scoring For a two or three option test the correction formula should be applied.
Two - option: Score = Right – Wrong
Three – option: Score = Right – ½ Wrong
6. Evaluating

Steps in Developing Assessment Tools

1) Examine the instructional objectives of the topics previously discussed;


2) Make a table of specifications (TOS);
3) Construct the test items;
4) Assemble the test items;
5) Check the assembled test items;
6) Write directions;
7) Make the answer key; and
8) Analyze and improve the test items.

TABLE OF SPECIFICATIONS (TOS)


 Teacher’s test blue print.
 A device for describing test items in terms of the content and the process dimensions
TOS (student)
 what is expected to know and what he or she is expected to do with that knowledge.
 relates the instructional objectives to the course content.

Construction of the Table of Specifications (TOS)


1. Selecting the learning outcomes to be measured;
2. Make an outline of the subject matter;
3. Decide on the number of items per subtopic;
4. Construct the format; and
5. Construct the test items.
One-way TOS
 The test is designed primarily based on content or the test objectives.

Decide on the number of items per subtopic

Example on how to compute the number of items in each topic:


Number of item for the topic: Synthetic division
Number of class session discussing the topic: 3
Desired number of items: 10
Total number of class sessions for the unit: 10

Two-way TOS
 The test is designed to reflect the levels of cognitive behavior per test content based on the theory behind cognitive testing.
 Example: The common framework for testing at present in the DepEd Classroom Assessment Policy is the Revised Bloom’s
Taxonomy (DepEd, 2015).

Three-way TOS
 The test is designed to reflect the features of one-way and two-way.

NOTE:
* The number of item for each level will depend on the skills the teacher wants to develop in his students. In the case of tertiary level,
the teacher must develop more higher-order thinking skills (HOTS) questions.
*For elementary and secondary levels, the guidelines in constructing test will be as stipulated in the DepEd Order 33, Series 2004 must
be followed. That is, factual information 60%, moderately difficult or more advanced questions 30%, and HOTS 10% for distinguishing
honor students.
General Guidelines for Constructing Test Items (Kubiszyn & Borich, 2007)
1. Begin writing items far enough or in advance so that you will have time to revise them;
2. Match items to intended outcomes at appropriate level of difficulty to provide valid measure of instructional objectives. Limit the
questions to the skill being assessed;
3. Be sure each item deals with an important aspect of the content area and not with trivia;
4. Be sure the problem posed is clear and unambiguous;
5. Be sure that the item is independent with all other items. The answer to one item should not be required as a condition in answering
the next item. A hint to one answer should not be embedded to another item;
6. Be sure the item has one or best answer on which experts would agree;
7. Prevent unintended clues to an answer in the statement or question. Grammatical inconsistencies such as a or an give clues to the
correct answer to those students who are not well prepared for the test;
8. Avoid replication of the textbook in writing test items; do not quote directly from the textual materials. You are usually not interested
in how well students memorize the text. Besides, taken out of context, direct quotes from the text are often ambiguous;
9. Avoid tricky or catchy questions in an achievement test. Do not waste time testing how well the students can interpret your
intentions; and
10. Try to write items that require higher order thinking skills.
Determining the number of test items
* Consider the following average time in constructing the number of test items.
*The length of time and the type of item used are also factors to be considered in determining the number of items to be constructed in
an achievement test.
* The number of items included in a given assessment will also depend on the length of the class period and the type of items utilized.

Assemble the test items


After constructing the test items following the different principles of constructing test item, the next step to consider is to
assemble the test items. There are two steps in assembling the test: (1) packaging the test; and (2) reproducing the test.
* Group all test items with similar format;
* Arrange test items from easy to difficult;
* Space the test items for easy reading;
* Keep items and option in the same page;
* Place the illustrations near the description;
* Check the answer key; and
* Decide where to record the answer.
* Write directions
* Check the assembled test items
* Make the answer key
*Analyze and improve the test items
Different formats of classroom assessment tools
There are two general types of test item to use in achievement test using paper and pencil test. It classified as selection-type items
and supply type items
Selection Type or Objective Test Items
-require students to select the correct response from several options;
-also known as objective test item;
-selection type items can be classified as: multiple-choice, true or false, or interpretative exercises; and
-objective test item requires only one correct answer in each item.
Kinds of Objective Type Test
MULTIPLE-CHOICE TEST
* Used to measure knowledge outcomes and other types of learning outcomes such as comprehension and applications.
* It is the most commonly used format in measuring student achievements at different levels of learning.
* MCQ consists of three parts: the stem, the keyed, and the incorrect options or alternatives (distracters or foil).
General Guidelines in Constructing Multiple-Choice Test
1. Make a test item that is practical or with real-world applications to the students;
2. Use a diagram or drawing when asking question about application, analysis or evaluation;
3. When ask to interpret or evaluate about quotations, present actual quotations from secondary sources like published books or
newspapers;
4. Use tables, figures, or charts when asking question to interpret;
5. Use pictures if possible when students are required to apply concepts and principles.
6. List the choices/options vertically not horizontally;
7. Avoid trivial questions;
8. Use only one correct answer or best answer format;
9. Use three to five options to discourage guessing;
10. Be sure that distracters are plausible and effective;
11. Increase the similarity of the options to increase the difficulty of the item;
12. Do not use “none of the above” options when asking for a best answer; and
13. Avoid using “all of the above” options.
Guidelines in constructing the stem
1. The stem should be written in question form or completion form;
2. Do not leave the blank at the beginning or at the middle of the stem when using completion form of a multiple-choice type of test;
3. The stem should pose the problem completely;
4. The stem should be clear and concise;
5. Avoid excessive and meaningless use of words in the stem;
6. State the stem in positive form. Avoid using the negative phrase like “not” or “except”. Underline or capitalize the negative words if it
cannot be avoided. Example: Which of the following does not belong to the group? Or which of the following does NOT belong to the
group?
7. Avoid grammatical clues in the correct answer.
Guidelines in constructing options
1. There should be one correct or best answer in each item;
2. List options in vertical order not a horizontal order beneath the stem;
3. Arrange the options in logical order and use capital letters to indicate each option such as A, B, C, D, E;
4. No overlapping options;
5. All options must be homogenous in content to increase the difficulty of an item;
6. As much as possible the length of the options must be the same or equal;
7. Avoid using the phrase “all of the above”; and
8. Avoid using the phrase “none of the above” or “I don’t know.”
Guidelines in constructing the distracters
1. The distracters should be plausible;
2. The distracters should be equally popular to all examinees;
3. Avoid using ineffective distracters. Replace distracter/s that are not effective to the examinees;
4. Each distracter should be chosen by at least 5% of the examinees but not more than the key answer;
5. Revise distracter/s that are over attractive to the teachers. They might be ambiguous to the examinees.

5 Varieties of Multiple Choice Form


1. Stem-and-options variety
* The stem serves as the problem.
2. Setting-and-options variety
* The optional responses to this type of test are dependent upon a setting or foundation of some sort. i.e. graphical representation, a
sentence, paragraph, picture, equation, or some forms of representation.
3. Group-term variety
* It consists of a group of words or terms in which one does not belong to the group.
4. Structured-response variety
* It makes use of structured response which are commonly used in classroom testing for natural science subjects.
5. Contained-option variety
* This variety is designed to identify errors in a word, phrase, sentence or paragraph.
MATCHING TYPE TEST
Guidelines in Constructing Matching Type of Test
1. The descriptions and options must be short and homogeneous;
2. The descriptions must be written at the left side and marked it with Column A and the options must be written at the right side and
marked it with Column B to save time for the examinees;
3. There should be more options than descriptions or indicate in the directions that each option may be used more than once to
decrease the chance of guessing;
4. Matching directions should specify the basis for matching. Failure to indicate how matches should be marked can greatly increase
the time consumed by the teacher in scoring;
5. Avoid too many correct answers;
6. When using names, always include the complete name to avoid ambiguities;
7. Use numbers for the descriptions and capital letters for the options to avoid confusions to the students that have a reading problem;
8. Arrange the options into a chronological order or alphabetical order;
9. The descriptions and options must be written in the same page; and
10. Three to seven items for elementary and a maximum of seventeen items for secondary and tertiary levels.

TRUE OR FALSE TYPE


Guidelines in Constructing True or False Test
1. Avoid writing a very long statement. Eliminate unnecessary word/s in the statement;
2. Avoid trivial questions;
3. It should contain only one idea in each item except for statements showing the relationship between cause and effect;
4. It can be used for establishing cause and effect relationship;
5. Avoid using opinion-based statement, if it cannot be avoided the statement should be attributed to somebody;
6. Avoid using negative or double negatives. Construct the statement positively. If this cannot be avoided, bold negative words or
underlined it to call the attention of the examinees;
7. Avoid specific determiner such as “never”, “always”, “all”, “none” for they tend to appear in the statements that are false;
8. Avoid specific determiner such as “some”, “sometimes”, and “may” they tend to appear in the statements that are true;
9. The number of true items must be the same with the number of false items;
10. Avoid grammatical clues that lead to a correct answer such as the article (a, an, the);
11. Avoid statement directly taken from the textbook;
12. Avoid arranging the statements in a logical order; and
13. Directions should indicate where or how the students should mark their answer.
Different Formats of Classroom Assessment Tools
Supply Type of Subjective Type of Test Items
-require students to create and supply their own answer or perform a certain task to show mastery of knowledge or skills
-also known as constructed response test
-classified as: short answer or completion type and essay type items (restricted or extended response)
COMPLETION TYPE OR SHORT ANSWER TEST
Guidelines in Constructing Completion Type or Short Answer Test
1. The item should require a single word answer or brief and definite statement. Do not use indefinite statement that allows several
answers;
2. Be sure that the language used in the statement is precise and accurate in relation to the subject matter being tested;
3. Be sure to omit only key words; do not eliminate so many words so that the meaning of the item statement will not change;
4. Do not leave the blank at the beginning or within the statement. It should be at the end of the statement;
5. Use direct question rather than incomplete statement. The statement should pose the problem to the examinee;
6. Be sure to indicate the units in which to be expressed when the statement requires numerical answer;
7. Be sure that the answer the student is required to produce is factually correct;
8. Avoid grammatical clues; and
9. Do not select textbook sentences.

ESSAY ITEMS
Extended Response Essays
* Allows the students to determine the length and complexity of the response.
* Useful in assessing the synthesis and evaluation skills of the students.
Examples:
1. Present and describe the modern theory of evolution and discuss how it is supported by evidence from the areas of (a) comparative
anatomy, (b) population genetics.
2. From the statement, “Wealthy politicians cannot offer fair representation to all the people.” What do you think is the reasoning of the
statement? Explain your answer.
Restricted Response Essays
* Places strict limits on both content and the response given by the students.
* The content is usually restricted by the scope of the topic to be discussed and the limitations on the form of the response is indicated
in the question.
Examples:
1. List the major facts and opinions in the first state of the nation address (SONA) of Pres. Duterte. Limit your answer to one page only.
The score will depend on the content, organization and accuracy of your answer.
2. Point out the strengths and weaknesses of a multiple-choice test. Limit your answer to five strengths and five weaknesses. Explain
each answer in not more than two sentences.
Guidelines in Constructing Essay Test Items
1. Construct essay question used to measure complex learning outcomes only.
2. Essay questions should relate directly to the learning outcomes to be measured.
3. Formulate essay questions that present a clear task to be performed.
4. An item should be stated precisely and it must clearly focus on the desired answer.
5. All students should be required to answer the same question.
6. Number of points and time spent in answering the question must be indicated in each item.
7. Specify the number of words, paragraphs or the number of sentences for the answer.
8. The scoring system must be discussed or presented to the students.

Suggestions for Grading Essay Test


1. Decide on a policy for dealing with incorrect, irrelevant or illegal responses.
2. Keep scores of the previously read items out of sight.
3. The student’s identity should remain anonymous while his/her paper is being graded.
4. Read and evaluate each student’s answer to the same question before grading the next question.
5. Provide students with general grading criteria by which they will be evaluated prior to the examination.
6. Answer the test question yourself.
7. Write your comments on their papers.

Lecture Notes in CPE105: Prof. Arnold B. Asotigue


Faculty. Department of Secondary Teaching
College of Education MSU Main Campus, Marawi City (6/2/2021)

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