Introduction

Test

A test is a device or technique used to measure the performance , skill level ,or
knowledge of a learner on a specific subject matter .
0r
Test is a systematic procedure for observing persons and describing them with
either a numerical scale or a category system . thus a test may give either
qualitative or quantity information .
(Anthony j
nitko )
Or
Test commonly refers to a set of items or questions under specific conditions .
Or
A series of questions , problems , or physical responses designed to determine
knowledge , intelligence or ability is called the test .

Purposes of test

 tests are conducted to find out whether the set objectives for a particular course ,
lesson or topic has been achieved or not .
 test facilitates teacher to determine the progress made by the student in the class.
 Test helps teachers to determine what students have learned and not learnt in the
class.
 Tests are used to place students /candidates into a particular class , school ,level or
employment . such tests are called placements tests .
 Tests can reveal problems or difficult areas of a learner.
 Tests can be used to predict outcomes .

Characteristics of a good test

 A good test should be valid

 A good test should be reliable
  A good test must be capable of accurate measurement of the academic ability of
learner
 A good test should combine both discrete point and integrative test procedures for a
fuller representation of teaching-learning points.
 A good test must represent teaching -learning objectives and goals .
 Test material must be properly and systematically selected .
 Variety is also a characteristic of good test
 Test objectivity
 Comprehensive
 Discrimination

Validity and reliability of a test .

Validity essentially means establishing that the marking measures what it is supposed to
measure. This is a difficult principle, especially when assessing higher order skills such as
critical thinking, formulating, modeling and solving problems in written work, which is why
markers sometimes focus on lower order skills such as referencing, grammar and spelling. In
science and practitioner disciplines where competencies are essential, validity may be
established through competency models, but there are also competencies which are hard to
quantify. -Knight, 2007

Validity refers to how well a test measures what it is supposed to measure: to

 Face validity ascertains that the measure appears to be C assessing the intended
construct under study. The expert panelist can easily assess face validity. This is not
a very ‘scientific’ type of validity.

 Construct validity is used to ensure that the measure is actually measuring what it is
intended to measure (i.e., The construct), and not other variables. Using a panel of
experts’ familiar with the construct is a way in which this Type of validity can be
assessed. The experts can examine the items and decide what that specific item is
intended to measure. Students can be involved in this process to obtain their
feedback.

• Content validity it ensures that the measure covers the broad range of areas within
the concept under study. Not everything can be covered, so items need to be sampled
from all of the domains. This may need to be completed using a panel of ‘experts’ to ensure
that the content area is adequately sampled. Additionally, a panel can help limit ‘expert’
bias (i.e., a test reflecting what an individual personally feels are the most important or
relevant areas).
Reliability of a Test
Reliability is the degree to which an assessment tool produces stable and consistent results.
Types of reliability:
• Test-retest reliability is a measure of reliability obtained by administering the same test
twice over a period of Time to a group of individuals. The scores from Time1 and Time 2 can
then be correlated in order to evaluate the test for stability over time.
Example: A test designed to assess student learning in psychology could be given to a group
of students twice, with the second administration perhaps coming a week after the first. The
obtained correlation coefficient would indicate the stability of the scores.
• Parallel forms reliability is a measure of reliability obtained by administering different
versions of an assessment tool (both versions must contain items that probe the same
construct, skill, knowledge base, etc.) to the same group of individuals. The scores from the
two versions can then be correlated in order to evaluate the consistency of results across
alternate versions.
Example: If you wanted to evaluate the reliability of a critical thinking assessment, you
might create a large set of items that all pertain to critical thinking and then randomly split
the questions up into two sets, which would represent the parallel forms.
Inter-rater reliability is a measure of reliability used to assess the degree to which different
judges or raters agree with their assessment decisions. Inter-rater reliability is useful
because human observers will not necessarily interpret answers the same way, faters may
disagree as to how well certain responses or material demonstrate knowledge certain
responses or materials demonstrate knowledge of the construction or skill being assessed.

Example: Inter-rater reliability might be employed when different judges are evaluating the
degree to which art portfolios meet certain standards. Inter-rater reliability is especially
useful when judgments can be considered relatively subjective. Thus, the use of this type of
reliability would probably be more likely when evaluating artwork as opposed to math
problems.

• Internal consistency reliability is a measure of reliability used to evaluate the degree to

which different test items that probe the same construct produce similar results
a. Average inter-item correlation is a subtype of intermal consistency reliability. It is
obtained by taking all of items on a test that probe the same construct (e.g.,
 reading comprehension),determining the correlation coefficient for each pair of
items, and finally taking the average of all of these correlation coefficients. This final
step yields the average inter-item correlation.

b. Split-half reliability is another subtype of internal con- sistency reliability. The

process of obtaining split-half reliability is begun by ‘splitting in half’ all items of a
test that are intended to probe the same area of knowledge (e.g., human body) in
order to form two ‘sets’ of items. The entire test is administered to a group of
individuals, the total score for each ‘set’ is computed, and finally the split-half
reliability is obtained by determining the cor- relation between the two total ‘set’
scores.

Test can be
Standardized or non standardized
Standardized tests are those test stated the uniformity and equality in the scoring and
administrating and interpreting the result .e.g . any examination in which the same test is given in
the same manner to all the students .

Non standardized test is one that allows for an assessment of an individual ,s abilities or
performances ,but doesn’t allow for a fair comparison of one student to another.

Difference between standardized and non standardized tests .

Criteria Standardized test standardized test /teacher

made test
Learning outcome and content basic skills and complex Tend to neglect complex
measured learning outcomes learning outcomes
Well adapted to outcomes and
content of local curriculum
Quality of test items Written by specialists Prepared by teacher
General quality of items high Quality typically lower than
Selected on the basis of standardized test
effectiveness
Frequency of occurrence Standardized tests are Frequently used in classroom
occasionally used . although to evaluate the students
their variety and their “high performances.
shakes’’ nature may make
them feel dominant .
Reliability High Usually unknow
Administration and scoring Standardized procedure Flexible approach
Specific instructions provided Uniform procedure possible
Norms for comparison Allows wider comparison of Availability of norms -teachers
achievement have only their students for
comparison and this is mostly
informal .
Standardized test
Standardized means uniformity of procedure in scoring , administering and interpreting the
results .
Standardized tests are instruments that measure and predict the ability / aptitude and
achievement .such tests are :

 Normed on an appropriate reference group (e.g ,a group of people similar to those

that the test will be used with )
 Always administered ,scored ,and interpreted in the same way .
A standardized test is a test that is administered and scored in a consistent ,or standard
manner .standardized tests are designed in such a way that the questions, conditions for
administering ,scoring procedures , and interpretations are consistent and are administered
and scored in a predominated ,standard manner .
Purposes of standardized tests

 Diagnose students strengths and weaknesses

 Provide information for planning and instructions
 Provide information about students progress and program placement
 Contribute to accountability
 Help in program evaluation.
Characteristics
Constructed by test experts or specialists.
Covers board or wide areas of objectives and content.
Selection of items will be done very carefully and the validity, reliability, usefulness of the
rest is ascertained in a systematic way.
Procedure of administration is standardized.
Test has clear directions and it will be motivating, encouraging students.
Scoring key is provided.
Test manual provides norms for the test.
It should be fixed.
It is specific direction for administering and scoring the test.
It consist of standard content and procedure
It provides standardized frame of reference determining individual performance.
 Types of standardized tests
1. Norm reference test :it is a test that compares an individual performance with the
performance of others .
2. Criterion reference test: it is a test that compares a persons performances to a set of
objectives , anyone who meets the criterion can get a high score .
Forms of standardized test

 Achievement test
 Psychological test
Achievement test : a systematic procedure for determining the amount a student has
learned through instructions . (Groundlund)
Achievement test is designed /used as a sampling of skills or abilities on specified area of
knowledge .
Standardized achievement test may assessed any or all of reading ,math,s and written
language as well as subject areas such as science and social studies .
e.g reading tests
mathematics tests
social studies tests

classification of achievement tests

oral written performance test

Written

Essay test Objective test

Extended S
Restricted response selective type
response upply type

Completion type
Short answer
 Short essay short answer very short answer

True-false Extended
Multiple Matching Assertion - Interpretiv
response Multiple
response type reason e
type choice
item

Psychological test
A psychological test is an instrument designed to describe and measure a sample of certain aspect of
human behavior .

Psychological tests yield objective and standardized description of the behavior , quantified by
numerical scores.

Intelligence test
Intelligence is the global capacity of individual to think rationally ,to act purposefully ,to deal
effectively with the environment .

Intelligence tests are psychological test that are designed to measure functions such as
reasoning ,comprehension ,and judgment .

Example of intelligence test

Wachsler adult intelligence scale (WAIS)

Aptitude test
According to Warren “aptitude is a set of characteristics symptomatic of an individual’s ability to
acquire with training , some specific field of knowledge ,skill or set of responses .”

Example of aptitude test

Verbal reasoning measures

Numerical reasoning

uses of aptitude test

 Determining student performances

  Determine individual’s knowledge
 Selection of an employee who is best suited for a job
 Carrier test : aptitude based tests are regarded as one of the most useful varirties of career
tests e.g CET
 Guidance : these can be used for guiding candidate for suitable course or training .

Personality tests

Personality is the sum of activities that can be discovered by actual observation over a period of time
to give reliable information .

Example :

Minnesota multiphasic personality inventory .