Matthew 6:21

“For where your treasure

is, there your heart will
also be.”

Assessment of Learning
STAGES IN TEST CONSTRUCTION
1. Planning the Test 2. Trying out the Test 3. Establishing 4. Establishing 5. Interpreting
a. Determining the a. Administering the Test Validity the Test the Test
objectives First try-out then Reliability Score
b. Preparing the Table Item Analysis
of Specifications b. Administering the
c. Selecting the Second try-out
Appropriate Item then Item Analysis
Format c. Preparing the final
d. Writing the Test form of the test
Items
e. Editing the Test
Items
Major Considerations in Test Construction
There should be enough to cover the content adequately, but the length of the class period
or the attention span or fatigue limits of the students usually restrict the test length.
Test Length Decisions about test length are usually based on practical constraints more than on
theoretical considerations. Teachers prefer power tests, where at least 90% of the
students have time to attempt 90% of the test items.
Group tests, Individual tests, Written tests, Oral tests, Speed tests, Power tests, Pretests
Type of Test
and Posttests.
Objectively-scored (ex: Multiple choice, matching type) or Organization of thought (ex:
Item Formats
Essay)
POINTS TO CONSIDER IN PREPARING A TEST
1. Instructional objectives should be clearly defined
2. Specify the knowledge, skills and attitudes you want to 8. Adapt the test’s difficulty to your student’s ability
measure 9. Avoid using textbook jargons
3. Table of Specifications must be prepared 10. Cast the items in positive form
4. Formulate well defined and clear test items 11. Prepare a scoring key
5. Employ correct English in writing the items 12. Each item have a single correct answer
6. Avoid giving clues to the correct answer 13. Review your items
7. Test the important ideas rather than the trivial
GENERAL PRINCIPLES IN CONSTRUCTING DIFFERENT TYPES OF TESTS
1. Test items should be selected very carefully. Only important facts should be included.
2. There should only be one possible correct response for each test item.
3. Lifting sentences from books should not be done to encourage thinking and understanding
4. Test should have extensive sampling of items
5. Test should measure the degree of achievement or determine the difficulties of the learners.
6. Majority of the test items should be of moderate difficulty. Few difficult and few easy items should be included
7. Each item should be independent. Leading clues to other items should be avoided
8. Test items should be carefully expressed in simple, clear, definite and meaningful sentences.
9. Test should emphasize ability to apply and use facts as well as knowledge of facts.
10. Items which can be answered by previous experience alone without knowledge of the subject matter should not be
included
11. Various types of test items should be made to avoid monotony.
12. Test should be of such length that it can be completed within the time allotted by all or nearly all of the learners. The
teacher should perform the test herself/himself to determine its approximate time allotment.
13. The first person, personal pronouns I and we should not be used.
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14. Catchy words should not be used in the test items.
15. Test items should be arranged in an ascending order of difficulty. Easy items should be at the beginning to encourage
the examinee to pursue the test and the most difficult items should be at the end
16. Clear, concise, and complete directions should precede all types of test. Sample test items may be provided for
expected responses.
17. Test items must be based upon the objectives of the course and upon the course content.
18. Information on how scoring will be done should be provided.
19. Rules governing good language expression, grammar, spelling, punctuations and capitalization should be observed in
all items.
20. Scoring keys in correcting and scoring tests should be provided.
Pointers in Constructing and Scoring Different Test Types
Recall Types
 Consists of questions calling for a single word or expression as an answer.
1. Simple recall  Items usually begin with who, where, when and what
 Score is the number of correct answers
 Only important words or phrases should be omitted to avoid confusion.
 Blanks should be of equal lengths
 As much as possible, blanks, is placed near or at the end of the sentence.
2. Completion
 Articles (a, an, and the) should not be provided before the omitted word or phrase to
avoid clues for answers.
 Score is the number of correct answers
 The exact number of expected answers should be stated
3. Enumeration  Blanks should be of equal lengths
 Score is the number of correct answers
 Items should make an examinee think of a word, number, or group of words that
4. Identification would complete the statement or answer the problem
 Score is the number of correct answers
Recognition Types
 Items should be stated in declarative sentences.
 The number of “true” and “false” items should be more or less equal
 The truth or falsity of the sentence should not be too evident
 Negative statements should be avoided
1. True-False or Alternate-  The “modified true-false” is more preferable than the “plain true-false” statements
Response  Avoid using specific determiners like: all, always, never, none nothing, most, often,
some and avoid weak statements as may, sometimes, as a rule, in general.
 Minimize the use of qualitative terms like: few, great, many, more
 Avoid leading clues to answers in all items
 Score is the number of correct answers in “modified true-false” and right answers
minus wrong answers in “plain true-false”
 Items should be in interrogative sentences
2. Yes-No
 Principles are similar to true-false type of questions
 There should be three to five choices. The number of choices used in the first item
should be the same number of choices in all the items of this type of test
 Choices should be numbered or lettered so that only the number or letter can be
written on the blank provided
 If the choices are figures, they should be arranged in ascending order
3. Multiple Response  Avoid the use of “a or an” as the last word prior to the listing of the responses
 Random occurrence of responses should be employed
 As much as possible, the choices, should be at the end of the statements
 Choices should be related in some way or should belong to the same class
 Avoid the use of “none of these” as one of the choices
 Score is the number of the correct answers
 There should be three to five choices all of which are right but vary in their degree of
4. Best Answer merit, importance or desirability
 Score is the number of correct answers
 There should be two columns: Under “A” are the stimuli which should be longer and
5. Matching Type more descriptive than the responses under column “B.” The response may be a word,
a phrase, a number or a formula

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  The stimuli under column “A” should be numbered and the responses under column
“B” should be lettered. Answers will be indicated by letters only on lines provided in
column “A”
 The number of pairs usually should not exceed 20 items. Less than 10 introduces
chance elements. 20 pairs may be used but more than 20 is decidedly wasteful of
time
 The number of responses in column “B” should be two or more than the number of
items in column “A” to avoid guessing
 Only one correct matching for each item should be possible
 Matching sets should neither be too long nor too short
 All items should be on the same page to avoid turning of pages in the process of
matching pairs
 Score is the number of correct answers
Essay Types
Common types:
1. Comparison of two things
2. Explanation of the use or meaning of a statement or passage
3. Analysis
4. Decisions for or against
5. Discussion
Constructing Essay Type Questions:
1. Determine the objectives or essentials for each Scoring Essay Type Questions:
question to be evaluated. 1. Have a model answer in advance
2. Phrase questions in simple, clear and concise 2. Indicate number of points for each questions
language 3. Score a point for each essential
3. Suit the length of the questions to the time
available for answering the essay examination. The
teacher should try to answer the test
herself/himself
OBJECTIVE TYPE
Advantages Disadvantages
 It is difficult to construct and requires more time to
 Free from personal bias in scoring
prepare
 Easy to score. With a scoring key, the test can be
 Does not afford the students the opportunity in training
corrected by different individuals without affecting the
for self and though organization
accuracy of the grades given
 Cannot be used to test ability in theme writing or
 Has high validity because it is comprehensive with wide
journalistic writing
sampling of essentials
 Less time-consuming since many items can be answered
in a given time
 Fair to students since the slow writers can accomplish the
test as fast as the fast writers.
ESSAY TYPE
Advantages Disadvantages
 Essay examination can be used in practically all subjects
of the school curriculum.  Limited sampling of items makes the test unreliable
 It trains students for though organization and self measure of achievements or abilities.
expression  Questions usually are not well prepared.
 It affords students opportunities to express their  Scoring is highly subjective due to the influence of the
originality and independence of thinking corrector’s personal judgement
 Only the essay test can be used in some subjects like  Grading of the essay test is inaccurate measure of pupil’s
composition writing and journalistic writing which cannot achievements due to subjectivity of scoring
be tested by the objective type test
 Essay examination measures higher mental abilities like
comparison, interpretation, criticism, defense of opinion
and decision
 Easily prepared
 Inexpensive

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