Chapter 5:Constructing

Objective Paper-and-Pencil Test

Acknowledgement: Measuring and Evaluating Learning Outcomes A.Textbook in Assessment of Learning 1 and 2 By: Carlito D. Garcia

Ed D

Nebres, Ma. Jessa Kristine C.BSED III - English

Constructing Paper-and-Pencil Tests is a professional skill.

☺ Becoming proficient at it takes study, time, and practice.☺Owing to the recognized importance of a testing program, a prospective teacher has to assume this task seriously and responsibility.

☺ He or she needs to be familiar with the different types of test items and how best to write them.

General Principles of TestingEbel and Frisbie (1999) listed five basic principles that should

guide teachers in measuring learning and constructing their own test.

☺Measure all instructional objectives. The test a teacher writes should be congruent with all learning objectives focused in class.

☺Cover all learning tasks.A good test is not focused only on one type of objective. It must be truly representative of all targeted learning outcomes.

☺Use appropriate test items.Test items utilized by a teacher have to be in consonance with the learning objectives to be measured.

☺Make test valid and reliable.

Teachers have to see to it that the test they construct measures what it purports to measure.

☺Use test to improve learning.Test scores obtained by the students can serve as springboards for the teachers to re-teach concepts and skills that the former have not measured.

Attributes of a Good Test as an Assessment Tool

A good test must possess the following attributes: (Sparzo, 1990; Reyes, 2000; Manarang and Manarang, 1983; Medina’ 2002)

• Validity

• Reliability

• Objectivity

• Scorability

• Administrability

• Relevance

• Balance

• Efficiency

• Difficulty

• Fairness

Validity

♥ It is the degree to which a test measures what it seeks to measure.

♥ To determine whether a test teacher constructed is valid or not, he/she has to answer the following questions:

1.Does the test adequately sample the intended content?

2. Does it test the behaviors/skills important to the content being tested?

3. Does it test all the instructional objectives of the content taken up in class?

Reliability

♥ It is the accuracy with which a test consistently measures that which it does measure.

♥ A test, therefore, is reliable if it produces similar results when used repeatedly.

♥ A test may be reliable but not necessarily valid.

♥ On the other hand, a valid test is always a reliable one.

Objectivity

♥ It is the extent to which personal biases or subjective judgment of the test scorer is eliminated in checking the students’ responses to the test items, as there is only one correct answer for each question.

Scorability

♥ It is easy to score or check as answer key and answer sheet are provided.

Administrability

♥ It is easy to administer as clear and simple instructions are provided to students, proctors, and scorers.

Relevance

♥ It is the correspondence between behavior required to respond correctly to a test item and the purpose or objective in writing the item.

♥ When used in relation to educational assessment, it is considered a major contributor to test validity.

Balance

♥ Balance in a test refers to the degree to which the proportion of items testing particular outcomes corresponds to the ideal test.

Efficiency

♥ refers to the number of meaningful responses per unit of time

Difficulty

♥ The test items should be appropriate in difficulty level to the group being tested.

♥ In general, for a norm-referenced test, a reliable test is one in which item is passed by half of the students.

♥ For a criterion-referenced test, difficulty can be judged relative to the percentage passing before and after instruction.

♥ Difficulty will definitely be based on the skill and knowledge measured and student’s ability.

Discrimination

♥ For a norm-referenced test, the ability of an item to discriminate is generally indexed by the difference between the proportion of good and poor students who respond correctly.

♥ For a criterion-referenced test, discrimination is usually associated with pretest and posttest differences of the ability of the test or item to distinguish competent from less competent students.

Fairness

♥ To insure fairness, the teacher should construct and administer the test in a manner that allows students an equal chance to demonstrate their knowledge or skills.

Steps in Constructing Classroom Tests

♥ Identification of instructional objectives and learning outcomes. This is the first step a teacher has to undertake when constructing classroom tests. He/She has to identify instructional objectives and learning outcomes, which will serve as his/her guide in writing test items.

♥ Listing of the Topics to be covered by the Test. After identifying the instructional objectives and learning outcome, a teacher needs to outline the topics to be included in the test.

Steps in Constructing Classroom Tests

♥ Preparation of a Table of Specifications (TOS). The table of specifications is a two-way table showing the content coverage of the test and the objectives to be tested. It can serve as a blueprint in writing the test items later.

♥ Selection of the Appropriate Types of Tests. Based on the TOS, the teacher has to select test types that will enable him/her to measure the instructional objectives in the most effective way.

♥ Writing of Test Items. After determining the type of test use, the teacher proceeds to write the suitable test items.

Steps in Constructing Classroom Tests

♥ Sequencing the Items. After constructing the test items, the teacher has to arrange them based on difficulty. As a general rule items have to be sequenced from the easiest to the most difficult for psychological reason.

♥ Writing the Directions or Instructions. After sequencing test items, the teacher has to write clear and simple directions, which the students will follow in answering the test questions.

♥ Preparation of the Answer Sheet and Scoring Key. To facilitate checking of student’s answers, the teacher has to provide answer sheets and prepare a scoring key in advance.

Preparing the Table of Specifications (TOS)

According to Arends (2001). The TOS is valuable to teachers for two reasons.

1. It helps teachers decide on what to include and leave out in a test.

2. It helps them determine how much weight to give for each topic covered and objective to be tested.

Steps to observe in preparing a table of test specifications

1. List down the topics covered for inclusion in the test.

2. Determine the objectives to be assessed by the test.

3. Specify the number of days/hours spent for teaching a particular topic.

4. Determine percentage allocation of test items for each of the topics covered. The formula to be applied is:

% for a topic = Total number of days/hours spent divided by the total number of days/hours spent teaching the topic.

Steps to observe in preparing a table of test specifications

5. Determine the number of items to construct for each topic. This can be done by multiplying the percentage allocation for each topic by the total number of items to be constructed.

6. Distribute the number of items to the objectives to be tested. The number of items allocated for each objective depends on the degree of importance attached by the teacher to it.

Slide 25

Example:

Mrs. Garcia utilized 10 hours for teaching the unit on Pre-Spanish Philippines. She spent 2 hours in teaching the topic, “Early Filipinos and their Society.” What percentage of test items should the allocate for the aforementioned topic?

Solution: 2/10 (100) = 20 %

Example:

Mrs. Garcia decided to prepare a 50-item test on the unit, “Pre-Spanish Philippines.” How many items should she write for the topic mentioned in step number 4?

Solution: 50 items x 0.20 (20%)

After going through the six steps, the teacher has to write the TOS in a grid or matrix.

Table of Specification for a 50-Item Test in Economics

Topic/Objective Knowledge Comprehension Application Analysis Total

The Nature of Economics

Economic Systems

Law of Demand and

SupplyPrice Elasticity of Demand and Supply

2

3

3

2

2

2

3

3

1

3

3

3

5

2

6

7

10

10

15

15

Total 10 10 10 20 50

General Guidelines in Writing Test Items

Airisian (1994) identified five basic guidelines in writing test items.

1. Avoid wording that is ambiguous and confusing.

2. Use appropriate vocabulary and sentence structure.

3. Keep questions short and to the point.

4. Write items that have one correct answer.

5. Do not provide clues to the answer.

Thank You!

Acknowledgement: Measuring and Evaluating Learning Outcomes A. Textbook in Assessment of Learning 1 and 2 By: Carlito D. Garcia Ed D