Lesson 5.

Distinguishing and
Constructing Various
Paper and Pencil
Tests
 Objectives
1. Construct a Table of
Specifications
2. Construct a paper and pencil
test in accordance with the
guidelines in test construction
3. Converting paper and pencil
test to online assessment using
Google Forms.
 Ice-
breaker
Activity
Scavenger
hunt ft.
Riddles
Planning a test &
Construction of
Table of
Specifications
(TOS)
 Why do you need to
define the test
objectives or learning
outcomes targeted for
assessment?
These learning outcomes are knowledge.
skills, attitudes, and values that every
student should develop throughout the
course. Clear articulation of learning
outcomes is a primary consideration in
lesson planning because it serves as the
basis for evaluating the effectiveness of
the teaching and learning process
determined through testing or
assessment.
 These learning goals provide the
rationale for the curriculum and
instruction. They provide teachers the
focus and direction on how the course is
to be handled, particularly in terms of
course content, instruction, and
assessment. Setting objectives for
assessment is the process of establishing
direction to guide both the teacher and
students .
What are the
objectives for
testing?
 In developing a written test, the
cognitive behaviors of learning
outcomes are usually targeted. For the
cognitive domain, it is important to
identify the levels of behavior expected
from the students. Traditionally,
Bloom's Taxonomy was used to
classify learning objectives based on
levels of complexity and specificity of
the cognitive behaviors.
 What is a table of
specifications?
A table of specifications (TOS), sometimes called a
test blueprint, is a tool used by teachers to design a
test. It is a table that maps out the test objectives,
contents, or topics covered by the test; the levels of
cognitive behavior to be measured; the distribution
of items, number, placement, and weights of test
items; and the test format. It helps ensure that the
course's intended learningoutcomes, assessments,
and instruction are aligned.
 Teachers need to create a TOS for every test that
they intend to develop. The test TOS is important
because it does the following:

✓Ensures that the instructional objectives and what

the test captures match
✓Ensures that the test developer will not overlook
details that are considered essential to a good test
✓Makes developing a test easier and more efficient
✓Ensures that the test will sample all important
content areas and processes Is useful in planning
and organizing
✓Offers an opportunity for teachers and students to
clarify achievement.
 What are the
general steps in
developing a table
of specifications?
 Learner assessment within the framework of
classroom instruction requires planning.

1. Determine the objectives of the test.

The first step is to identify the test objectives. This

should be based on the instructional objectives. In
general, the instructional objectives or the intended
learning outcomes are identified at the start, when the
teacher creates the course syllabus.
There are three types of objectives: (1) cognitive, (2)
affective, and (3) psychomotor.
2 . Determine the coverage of the
test.

The next step in creating the TOS

is to determine the contents of the
test. Only topics or contents that
have been discussed in class and
are relevant should be included in
the test.
 3. Calculate the weight for each topic. Once
the test coverage is determined, the weight of
each topic covered in the test is determined.
The weight assigned per topic in the test is
based on the relevance and the time spent to
cover each topic during instruction.

For example, for a test on the Theories of

Personality for General Psychology 101 class,
the teacher spent ¼ to 12 hours class
sessions. As such, the weight for each topic.
4. Determine the number of items for the
whole test.

To determine the number of items to be

included in the test, the amount of time
needed to ariswer the items are
considered. As a general rule, students
are given 30-60 seconds for each item in
test formats with choices. For a one-hour
class, this means that the test should not
exceed 60 items.
 5. Determine the number of items per
topic. To determine the number of iterns to
be included in the test, the weights per
topic are considered. Thus, using the
examples above, for a 60-item final test,
Theories & Concepts, Humanistic
Theories, Cognitive Theories, Behavioral
Theories, and Social Learning Theories
will have 5 items, Trait Theories 10 items,
and Psychoanalytic Theories-15 items.
 What are the
different formats
of a test table of
specifications?
There are three (3)
types of TOS:
(1) one-way,
(2) two-way, and
(3) three-way.
 1. One-Way TOS.

A one-way TOS maps out the content or topic, test

objectives,number of hours spent, and format,
number, and placement of items. This
type of TOS is easy to develop and use because it
just works around the objectives without
considering the different levels of cognitive
behaviors. However, a one-way TOS cannot
ensure that all levels of cognitive behaviorsthat
should have been developed by the course are
covered in the test.
 2. Two-Way TOS.

A two-way TOS reflects not only the content, time

spent, and number of items but also the levels of
cognitive behavior targeted per test content based
on the theory behind cognitive testing. For example,
the common framework for testing at present in the
DepEd Classroom Assessment Policy is the
Revised Bloom's Taxonomy (DepEd, 2015). One
advantage of this format is that it allows one to see
the levels of cognitive skills and dimensions of
knowledge that are emphasized by the test. It also
shows the framework of assessment used in the
development of the test. However, this format is
more complex than the one-way format.
 3.Three-Way TOS.

This type of TOS reflects the features

of one-way and two-way TOS. One
advantage of this format is that it
challenges the test writer to classify
objectives based on the theory behind
the assessment. It also shows the
variability of thinking skills targeted by
the test. However, it takes a much
longer to develop this type of TOS.
 What are the
major categories
and formats of
traditional tests?
 For the purposes of classroom
assessment, traditional tests fall into
two general categories:

(1) selected-response type, in which

learners select the correct response
from the given options, and
(2) constructed-response type, in
which the learners are asked to
formulate their own answers.
 Selected-Response Tests

require learners to choose the correct

answer or best alternative from several
choices. While they can cover a wide range
of learning materials very efficiently and
measure a variety of learning outcomes,
they are limited when assessing leaming
outcomes that involve more complex and
higher level thinking skills.
 Multiple Choice Test.

It is the most commonly used

format in formal testing and typically
consists of a stem (problem), one
correct or best alternative (correct
answer), and three or more
incorrect or inferior alternatives
(distractors) .
True-False or Alternative
Response Test

It is generally consists of
a statementand deciding
if the statement is true
(accurate/correct or
false (Inaccurate/
incorrect).
 Matching-Type Test.

It consists of two sets of

items to be matched with
each other based on a
specified attribute.
 Constructed-Response
Tests

require learners to supply

answers to a given
question or problem.
 Short Answer test

It consists of open-ended
questions or incomplete
sentences that require learners
to create an answer for each
item, which is typically a single
word or short phrase.
 Completion consists of
incomplete statements
that require the learners
to fill in the blanks with
the correct word or
phrase.
 Identification.

It consists of statements that

require the learners to identify
or recall the terms/concepts,
people, places, or events that
are being described.
 Enumeration,

it requires the learners

to list down all possible
answers to the
question.
 Essay Test

it consists of problems/questions
that require learners to-compose
or construct written responses,
usually long ones with several
paragraphs.
 Problem-Solving Test.

It consists of problems/questions that

require learners to solve problems in
quantitative or non-quantitative
settings using knowledge and skills in
mathematical concepts and
procedures, and/or other higher-order.
Constructing Selected-
response test

1. Multiple Choice test

2. Matching type
3. True-False Test
Constructing Supply Type or
Constructed Response Type

1. Completion type of test

2. Essays
3. Types of essay
 GUIDELINES IN
CONSTRUCTING
MULTIPLE CHOICE
ITEMS
 1. Do not use unfamiliar words, terms and
phrases.

2. Do not use modifiers that are vague and

whose meanings can differ from one person
to the next such as: much, often, usually, etc.

3. Avoid complex or awkward word

arrangement. Also, avoid use of negatives in
the stem as this may add unnecessary
comprehension difficulties.
 4. Do not use negatives or double negatives as
such statements tend to be confusing. It is best to
use simpler sentences rather than sentences that
would require expertise in grammatical
construction.

5. Each item stem should be as short as possible:

otherwise you risk testing more
reading and comprehension skills.

6. Distracters should be equally plausible and

attractive.
 7. All multiple choice options should be
grammatically consistent with the stem.

8. The length, explicitness, or degree of

technicality of alternatives should not be
the determinants of the correctness of the
answer.

9. Avoid stems that reveal the answer to

another item.
10. Avoid alternatives that are synonymous
with others or those that include or overlap
others.

11. Avoid presenting sequenced items in

the same order as in the text.

12. Avoid use of assumed qualifiers that

many examinees may not be aware of.
13. Avoid use of unnecessary words or
phrases, which are not relevant to the
problem at hand.

14. Avoid use of non-relevant sources of

difficulty such as requiring a complex
calculation when only knowledge of a
principle is being tested.

15. Pack the question in the stem.

16. Use the "None of the above" option only when the
keyed answer is totally correct. When choice of the
"best" response is intended "none of the above" is not
appropriate, since the implication has already been
made that the correct response may be partially
inaccurate.

17. Note that use of all of the above" may allow credit
for partial knowledge. In a multiple option item,
(allowing only one option choice) if a student only
knew two (2) options were correct, he could then
deduce the correctness of "all of the above". This
assumes you are allowed only one correct choice.
18. Better still use "none of the above" and "all
of the above sparingly. But best not to use
them at all.

19. Having compound response choices may

purposefully increase difficulty of an item. The
difficulty of a multiple choice item may be
controlled by varying the homogeneity or
degree of similarity of responses. The more
homogeneous, the more difficult the item
because they all look like the correct answer.
GUIDELINES IN
CONSTRUCTING
MATCHING TYPE
OF TEST
 1. Match homogeneous and not
heterogeneous items. The items to
match must be homogeneous.

2. The stem (longer in construction

than the options) must be in the first
column while the options (usually
shorter) must be in the second
column.
 3. The options must be more in number than
the stems to prevent the student from arriving
at the answer by mere process of elimination.

4. To help the examinees find the answer

easier, arrange the options alphabetically or
chronologically.

5. Like any other test, the direction of the test

must be given. The examinees must know
exactly what to do.
 RULES IN
CONSTRUCTING A
TRUE-FALSE
TEST
 1. Do not give a hint in the body of the
question.

2. Avoid using the word "always"

"never""often" and other words that tend
to be either always true or always false.

3. Avoid long sentences as these tend to

be "true". Keep sentences short.
 4. Avoid trick statements with some minor
misleading word or spelling anomaly, misplaced
phrases, etc. A wise student who does not know
the subject matter may detect this strategy and
thus get the answer correctly.

5. Avoid quoting verbatim from reference

materials or textbooks. This practice sends the
wrong signal to the students that it is necessary
to memorize the textbook word for word and
thus, acquisition of higher level thinking skills is
not given due importance.
 6. Avoid specific determiners or give-away qualifiers.
Students quickly learn that strongly worded statements
are more likely to be false than true,
for example, statements with "never""no""all" or "always".
Moderately worded statements are more likely to be true
than false. Statements that are moderately worded use
"many"" often" "sometimes" generally""frequently"" or
"some" usually avoided.

7. With true or false questions, avoid a grossly

disproportionate number of either true or false statements
or even patterns in the occurrences of true and false
statements.
 SUPPLY TYPE
OR
CONSTRUCTED-
RESPONSE
TYPE
 Another useful device for testing lower
order thinking skills is the supply type of
test.
The items in this kind of test consist of a
stem and a blank where the students
would write the correct answer. Supply
type tests depend heavily on the way the
stems are constructed. These tests allow
for one and only one answer and, hence,
often test only the students' knowledge.
GUIDELINES IN THE
FORMULATION OF A
COMPLETION TYPE
OF TEST
1. Avoid over mutilated sentences. Give
enough clues to the student.

2. Avold open-ended items. There should

be only one acceptable answer.

3. The blank should be at the end or near

the end of the sentence. The question
must first be asked before an answer is
expected.
 4. Ask questions on more
significant items, not on trivial
matters.

5. The length of the blanks

must not suggest the
answer .So better to make the
blanks uniform in size.
 ESSAYS
Essays, classified as non-objective tests,
allow for the assessment of higher order
thinking skills. Such tests require
students to organize their thoughts on a
subject matter in coherent sentences in
order to inform an audience. In essay
tests, students are required to write one
or more paragraphs on a specific topic.
Essay questions can be used to
measure attainment of a variety
of objectives: comparing, relating
cause and effect, justifying,
summarizing, generalizing,
inferring, classifying, applying,
analyzing, evaluating, and
creating.
Types of Essays
When you are reading a
question, your voice will
rise at the end of the
question.
1. Restricted essay
It is also referred to as short
focused response. Examples are
asking students to "write an
example." "list three reasons" or
" compare and contrast two
techniques".
 2. Non- Restricted/
Extended essay
Extended responses can be much
longer and complex than short
responses, but students are
encouraged to remain focused and
organized.
 TBC...
What goes at the end of this
sentence?

Can I have that crayon