TEST CONTRUCTION

MARDIE E. BUCJAN, Ph.D, Ed.D

[email protected]
Surigao del Sur State University
Tandag City
09998817086
 Asking questions is natural and intuitive. Teachers ask
questions from the start of the lesson until the end. Asking
questions forms part of any lesson because it invites the
student to think.
 Teachers use questions to engage the students and sustain an
„active‟ style to the learning. The teacher also uses questions
as part of the assessment of learning in order to determine
how they best structure, organize and present new learning.
 However, research has found that many teachers wait only for
0.9 seconds before seeking an answer. Developing
questioning approaches, requires much greater emphasis on
the time provided for students to think individually,
collaboratively and deeply to enable them to develop answers
and to share better answers. This will improve their thinking
and engagement.
 BARRIERS IN TEST CONSTRUCTION
 Ms. Alanganin – -confusing statements
 Mr. Highfalutin – -difficult vocabulary
 Ms. Madaldal – -excessive wordiness
 Ms. Magulo – -complex sentence
structure
 Ms. Malabo – -unclear instructions
 Mr. Dimaintindihan – -unclear illustrative
materials
 Ms. Foringer – -linguistically bound words
 Ms. Colonial Mentality- -culturally bound words

- Rivera, A. (2010)
What makes a test
good or bad?

The most basic and obvious

answer to that question is that
good tests measure what you want
to measure, and bad tests do not.
Generally…
Creating a test is one
of the most challenging tasks
confronting an instructor/ teacher.
Unfortunately, many of us have
had little, if any, preparation in
writing tests.
Well constructed tests motivate
students and reinforce learning.
Well constructed tests enable
teachers to assess the students
mastery of course objectives.
Tests also provide feedback on
teaching, often showing what was
or was not communicated clearly.
In general,
test items should…
 Assess achievement of instructional objectives
 Measure important aspects of the subject (concepts and conceptual
relations)
 Accurately reflect the emphasis placed on important aspects of
instruction
 Measure an appropriate level of student knowledge
 Vary in levels of difficulty solving, critical thinking, and reasoning.
Cognitive complexity refers to the various levels of learning that can
be tested.
 A good test reflects the goals of the instruction.
 If the instructor/teacher is mainly concerned with students
memorizing facts, the test should ask for simple recall of material. If
the instructor is trying to develop analytic skills, a test that asks for
recall is inappropriate.
Higher-Order Thinking fall into three categories:
(1) those that define higher-order thinking in terms
of transfer,
(2) those that define it in terms of critical
thinking, and
(3) those that define it in terms of problem
solving.
Transfer category:
Two of the most important educational goals are to promote retention
and to promote transfer (which, when it occurs, indicates meaningful
learning) retention requires that students remember what they have
learned, whereas transfer requires students not only to remember but
also to make sense of and be able to use what they have learned.
(Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001, p. 63)

critical thinking category includes this definition:

Critical thinking is reasonable, reflective thinking that is focused on
deciding what to believe or do. (Norris & Ennis, 1989, p. 3) Another
example in this category comes from Barahal (2008), who defines
critical thinking as “artful thinking” (p. 299), which includes reasoning,
questioning and investigating, observing and describing, comparing and
connecting, finding complexity, and exploring viewpoints.
In the problem solving category are these two definitions:
A student incurs a problem when the student wants to reach a
specific outcome or goal but does not automatically recognize the
proper path or solution to use to reach it. The problem to solve is
how to reach the desired goal. Because a student cannot
automatically recognize the proper way to reach the desired goal,
she must use one or more higher-order thinking processes.
These thinking processes are called problem solving. (Nitko &
Brookhart, 2007, p. 215)
Picture Study

Common Questions
a. What happened to the boy in
the picture?
b. What was the girl doing?

Better
 Where did the incident
happen?
 How do you think the two
children were related?
 How badly hurt do you think
the boy was?
 What do you think happened
in the end?
 How would you react if you
saw the boy down?
 Multiple Choice Test Items

Multiple choice items are considered to be among the most

versatile of all item types. They can be used to test factual recall
as well as levels of understanding and ability to apply learning. As
an example, the multiple choice item below is testing not only
information recall but also the ability to use judgment in analyzing
and evaluating.

Multiple choice tests can be used to test the ability to:

1. recall memorized information
2. apply theory to routine cases
3. apply theory to novel situations
4. use judgment in analyzing and evaluating
Example: Writing Multiple Choice Test Items
Example: Writing Multiple Choice Test Items
Example: Writing Multiple Choice Test Items
Eliminate excessive verbiage or irrelevant information from
the stem.
.
Undesirable:
While ironing her formal, Jane
burned her hand accidently on
the hot iron. This was due to a
transfer of heat between...

Desirable:
Which of the following ways of
heat transfer explains why Jane‟s
hand was burned after she
touched a hot iron?
Include in the stem any word(s) that might otherwise be repeated
in each alternative.

Undesirable: Desirable:
In national elections in the In national elections in the United
United States the President is States the President is officially
officially: chosen by
A. chosen by the people. A. the people.
B. chosen by members of B. members of Congress.
Congress. C. the House of Reps.
C. chosen by the House of D. the Electoral college. "
Representatives.
D. chosen by the Electoral
College."
Use negatively stated stems sparingly. When used, underline and/or
capitalize the negative word.

Undesirable:
Which of the following is not cited as an
accomplishment of the Kennedy
administration?

Desirable:
Which of the following is NOT cited as an
accomplishment of the Kennedy
administration?
 True-False Test Items

 True-false questions are well suited for testing student recall or

comprehension. Students can generally respond to many
questions, covering a lot of content, in a fairly short amount of
time.
 From the teacher‟s perspective, true-false questions can be
written quickly.
 They are easy to score. Because they can be objectively
scored, the scores are more reliable than for items that are at
least partially dependent on the teacher‟s judgment.
Example: Writing True-False Test Items
Example: Writing True-False Test Items
 Matching Test Items

Writing Matching Test Items is GOOD for:

 Knowledge levels
 Recall and memorization of facts

Advantages of Writing Matching Test Items

 Good for who, what, where, when content
 Minimizes guessing
 Encourages more intensive study. Student must know the
answer vs. recognizing the answer.
 Can usually provide an objective measure of student
achievement or ability
Example: Writing Matching Test Items
Example: Writing Matching Test Items
 Completion or Fill-in-the-Blank Test Items
 No-Hint Test Construction/ Completion items are especially useful in
assessing mastery of factual information when a specific word or
phrase is important to know. They preclude the kind of guessing that
is possible on limited- choice items since they require a definite
response rather than simple recognition of the correct answer.
Because only a short answer is required, their use on a test can
enable a wide sampling of content.
 A completion item requires the student to answer a question or to
finish an incomplete statement by filling in a blank with the correct
word or phrase.
Example: Completion or Fill-in-the-Blank Test Items
 Essay Test Items

A typical essay test usually consists of a small

number of questions to which the student is expected to
recall and organize knowledge in logical, integrated
answers.

Writing Essay Test Items is Good for:

Application,
synthesis and
evaluation levels.
Example: Essay Test Items
Look at the picture for each question. Use your imagination to give
interesting and creative answer.

Now, in about 60 words, write the whole story and give your story title.
Remember…

Essay tests present a realistic task to the

student. In real life, a person is required to
organize and communicate thoughts rather
than respond to multiple choice questions.
Add/ distribute photo copy of Blooms Taxonomy (Refer to OK
Effective_Questioning&Talk)

WORKSHOP- TEST CONSTRUCTIONS

 SALAMATAY
(Thank you so much)