TH E A R T O F

Q U ES TIO N IN G A N D
TES T C O N S TR U C TIO N

DARIUS P.
October 24-26, 2016
TOLENTINO
 ACTIVITY

ANSWERS X MIND TO
START
QUESTION THINKING
S
ANSWERS
X MIND
TO
THINK
QUESTION
S
 D id you know that
Teachers ask up to two questions every minute, up to
400 in a day, around 70,000 a year, or two to three
million in the course of a career
Questioning accounts for up to a third of all teaching
time, second only to the time devoted to explanation
Most questions are answered in less than a second.
That's the average time teachers allow between
posing a question and accepting an answer, throwing
it to someone else, or answering it themselves
Research has found, however, that increasing the
wait time improves the number and quality of the
responses - three seconds for a lower-order question
and more than 10 seconds for a higher-order
question
 Q uestioning w as the only
defensive form ofteaching
-Socrates

Active
Good and Critical
Questioni independ Thinkers
ng ent
learners
Socratic questioning

Systematic way of following up

students answers with further
question to force the class to think.
Its purpose is to
Probe student thinking
Determine the extent of student
knowledge on a given topic
Develop critical thinking abilities
3 Categories ofQ uestions

Fact those with one right answer

What is the boiling point of water?
Opinion those with better or worse
answers
How can you help address pollution
problems?
Reasoned judgment those with as many
answers as there are different.
What are the pros and cons of building a
nuclear-powered plant?
Pow er Q uestions

What do you think will happen if ?

Can you tell me something more?
What are your plans?
Can you think of other solution to the
problem?
How are you going to do that?
Do you think its possible? Why did
you say so?
Too m any facts, too little
conceptualizing, too m uch
m em orizing, and too little
thinking.

~ PaulH urd,the O rganizer in

D eveloping Blueprints for Institutional
Change
TEST CO N STRU CTIO N
W hy do w e construct
TEST?
An act of EVALUATION

* evaluates: Learning,
teaching, school, educational
programs, curriculum, etc.

* gauges and measures

performance.
TABLE O F SPECIFICATIO N S (TO S)
Percentage oftests in diff
erent
skills
Knowledge and comprehension =
60%
Application and Analysis = 30%
Synthesis and Evaluation = 10%
Form ula:

NO. of days/unit/lesson X Total No. of Items

Total No. of days per
Grading Period

= Number of items

Forces and motion:

10 days X 50
46 days = 10.86 ( 11 Items )
K now ledge sim ple recall of a
specif c
i inform ation

Questions like:
What is
Where is
When did
Who were the .
What is the definition of
Com prehension -explaining the
m eaning ofinform ation.
Questions like:
How would you classify living things?
How would you compare contrast ?
What facts or ideas show .?
Which statement support . ?
Which is the best answer?
What is the main idea of the selection?
Application using learned know ledge
in new situation or to solve a reallife
problem .
How would you use?
What approach would you use to solve
the problem?
What would result if ?
What element would you choose to
change ?
Instead of burning the dry leaves, what
would you do to make it useful for
plants?
Analyzing breaking dow n a w hole
into com ponent parts
How is __________ related to ____?
What motive is there?
What evidence can you find ..?
What is the function of ?
What ideas justify the ..?
What conclusions can you draw ?
Evaluating m aking judgm ents about
the m erits ofideas,m aterials or
phenom enon based on criteria.

What would you recommend?

What would you prioritize ?
Why was it better than ..?
Creating putting ideas together to
form a new and diff erent w hole.

What will happen if?

What alternative can you propose..?
What could be done to
maximize/minimize..?
What could be combined to improve.?
What would you predict as the outcome of
..?
Parts of M ultiple Choice Q uestion (M CQ )

1. Stem
2. Alternatives/options
3. Key
4. Distracters
5. Stimulus Materials
William is invited to a birthday party
and the debutant told him the party
will surely end at 12 midnight.
Without a second thought, he joined
the group while his mother is worriedly
waiting in the house
__1. What do you think will
happen next?
a.His mother will join the party.
b.William will bring his classmates to
their house.
c.His mother will send foods and gifts
to the debutant.
d.His mother will get angry and
punish him when he arrives.
Strengths of M ultiple choice test

1. Learning outcomes
from simple to complex
can be measured.
2. Highly structured and
clear tasks are
provided.
3. A broad sample of
 Strengths of M ultiple choice
test
4. Incorrect alternatives
provide diagnostic
information.
5. Scores are less
influenced by guessing
than true-false items.
6. Scoring is easy,
Lim itations of M ultiple C hoice
Test
1. Constructing good
items is time
consuming.
2. It is frequently
difficult to find
plausible distracters.
3 Form s ofM ultiple Choice Test

Stem and Option Variety

Setting and Option Variety
Group-Term Variety
FO R M S of M ultiple C hoice TEST

1. Stem-and-option
variety.
Best Answer Variety
Correct Answer Variety
Negative or Exception
Variety
Incomplete
 FO R M S of M ultiple
C hoice
2. Setting-and-Option Va
riety
> It uses stimulus
materials.
> The responses to this
type of test are
dependent upon a setting
or foundation of some
FO R M S O F M U LTIP LE C H O IC E

3. Group Term Variety

> It consists of words or
terms in which one does
not belong to the group.
H ow to prepare better M CQ
1. Avoid negatives
Negative Items
All of the following are correct procedures for
putting out a fire in a pan on the stove except:
a. Do not move the pan
*b. Pour water into the pan
c. Slide a fitted lid onto the pan.
d. Turn off the burner controls.
All of the following are correct procedures for
putting out a fire in a pan on the stove except:
a. Leave the pan where it is.
*b. Pour water into the pan.
c. Slide a fitted lid onto the pan.
d. Turn off the burner controls.
2.Base each item on a specific problem
stated clearly in the stem .
California:
a. Contains the tallest mountain in the United
States
b. Has an eagle on its state flag.
c. Is the second largest state in terms of area.
*d. Was the location of the Gold Rush of 1849.
What is the main reason so many people
moved to California in 1849?
a. California land was fertile, plentiful, and
inexpensive.
*b. Gold was discovered in central California
c. The east was preparing for a civil war.
3. Include as m uch ofthe item as possible
in the stem ,but do not include irrelevant
m aterial.
If you increase the volume of a certain amount of gas
while holding its pressure constant, its temperature
will:
a. Decrease.
*b. Increase.
c. Remain the same.
d. Increase then decrease
If the pressure of a certain amount of gas is held
constant, what will happen if its volume is increased?
a. The temperature of the gas will decrease.
*b. The temperature of the gas will increase.
c. The temperature of the gas will remain the same.
d. The temperature of the gas will increase, then decrease.
 Suppose you are a mathematics professor who wants to
determine whether or not your teaching of the unit on
probability has had a significant effect on your
students. You decide to analyze their scores from a test
they took before the instruction and their scores from
another exam taken after the instruction. Which of the
following t-tests is appropriate to use in this situation?
*a. Dependent samples.
b. Heterogeneous samples.
c. Homogeneous samples.
d. Independent samples.
When analyzing your students pretest and posttest
scores to determine if your teaching has had a
significant effect, an appropriate statistic to use is the t-
test for:
*a. Dependent samples.
b. Heterogeneous samples.
c. Homogeneous samples.
d. Independent samples.
4. W ord the alternatives clearly and
concisely.
The term hypothesis, as used in research, as defined as:
a. A conception or proposition formed by speculation or deduction or
by abstraction and generalization from facts, explaining or relating an
observed set of facts, given probability by experimental evidence or by
factual or conceptual analysis but not conclusively established or
accepted.
b. A statement of an order or relation of phenomena that so far as is
known is invariable under the given conditions, formulated on the
basis of conclusive evidence or tests and universally accepted, that
has been tested and proven to conform to facts.
*c. A proposition tentatively assumed in order to draw out its logical or
empirical consequences and so test its accord with facts that are
known or may be determined, of such a nature as to be either proved
or disproved by comparison with observed facts.
The term hypothesis, as used in research, is defined as:
a. An assertion explaining an observed set of facts that has not been
conclusively established.
b. A universally accepted assertion explaining an observed set of facts.
*c. A tentative assertion that is either proved or disproved by
comparison with an observed set of facts.
5.Keep the alternatives m utually exclusive.

How long does an annual plant generally

live?
*a. It dies after the first year.
b. It lives for many years.
c. It lives for more than one year.
*d. It needs to be replanted each year.
How long does an annual plant generally
live?
*a. Only one year.
b. Only two years.
c. Several years.
6.Keep the alternatives hom ogeneous in
content.

Nueva Ecija is widely known as:

*a. The largest producer of rice in the
Philippines.
b. The location of the tallest mountain in the
Philippines.
c. The only province with active volcanoes
d. The longest province in the Philippines.
Nueva Ecija is widely known for its:
*a. Rice
b. Corn.
c. Potatoes.
7.Keep the alternatives free from clues as to
w hich response is correct.
A word used to describe a noun is called
an:
*a. Adjective.
b. Conjunction.
c. Pronoun.
d. Verb.
A word used to describe a noun is called:
*a. An adjective.
b. A conjunction.
c. A pronoun.
d. A verb.
8.Avoid the use ofspecifi
c determ iners

To avoid infection after receiving a puncture wound to

the hand, you should:
a. Always go to the immunization center to receive a tetanus
shot.
b. Be treated with an antibiotic only if the wound is painful.
*c. Ensure that no foreign object has been left in the wound.
d. Never wipe the wound with alcohol unless it is still bleeding.
To avoid infection after receiving a puncture wound to
the hand, you should always:
a. Go to the immunization center to receive a tetanus shot.
b. Be treated with an antibiotic if the wound is painful.
*c. Ensure that no foreign object has been left in the wound.
d. Wipe the wound with alcohol unless it is still bleeding.
9.Avoid including keyw ords in the
alternatives
When conducting library research in education,
which of the following is the best source to use for
identifying pertinent journal articles?
a. A Guide to Sources of Educational Information.
*b. Current Index to Journals in Education.
c. Resources in Education
d. The International Encyclopedia of Education.
When conducting library research in education,
which of the following is the best source to use for
identifying pertinent journal articles?
a. A Guide to Sources of Educational Information.
*b. Education Index.
c. Resources in Education.
d. The International Encyclopedia of Education.
10.Avoid the alternatives allofthe above
and none ofthe above (in general).
 Analyze the effectiveness ofeach item
after each adm inistration ofthe test.
Item analysis is an excellent way to
periodically check the effectiveness of
your test items. It identifies items that
are not functioning well, thus enabling you
to revise the items, remove them from
your test, or revise your instruction,
whichever is appropriate.
 Critical thinking is a desire to seek,
patience to doubt, fondness to meditate,
slowness to assert, readiness to consider,
carefulness to dispose and set in order; and
hatred for every kind of imposture.

~ Francis Bacon (1605)