Development of Classroom Assessment

Planning the Test

Classroom tests and assessments play a very important role in evaluating students’
performance. They provide relevant measures of learning outcomes. The main goal
of classroom testing and assessments is to obtain reliable, valid, and useful
information about student achievement (Mehrens and Lehmann, 1991).
If the goal of the teacher is to improve learning and instruction, he/she has to follow
the basic steps in classroom testing and assessments (Ebel, 1985).
1. Determine the purpose of the measurement
2. Develop specifications
3. Select appropriate assessment tasks
4. Prepare relevant assessment tasks
5. Assemble the assessment
6. Administer the assessment
7. Appraise the assessment
8. Use the results

A. Determining the Purpose of the Assessment

Pre-testing
a. Whether students have the prerequisite skills needed for the instruction
b. To what extent students have already achieved the objectives of the
planned instruction
 Are they confined to a limited domain?
 Do they have low level difficulty?
During instruction assessment
This is called formative assessment, done about midway through a unit
or chapter. The purpose is to:
a. Monitor learning progress
b. Provide feedback to students and teachers
c. Detect learning errors, diagnostic – practice test, quizzes
d. Predefined segment of instruction – limited sample of learning
outcomes
End of instruction assessment
This is called summative assessment and measures the extent to
which the intended learning outcomes have been achieved, can serve the
same purposes as pre-testing (for the following unit) and formative
assessment.
B. Developing the specifications for tests and assessments (this is the table you
are creating)
Steps:
a. Prepare a list of instructional objectives
b. Outline course content
c. Prepare a two-way table/chart; table is limited to those objectives that are
measurable
 C. Select the appropriate assessment tasks (two forms: objective and
performance)
a. First Form: Objective – highly structured; single right answer, limits type of
response student can make; scoring is quick, easy and accurate
 Supply types (short answer and completion)
 Selection types (alternative choice, matching, multiple choice,
keyed response, interpretative exercise)
b. Second form: Performance – less structure (problem can be redefined and
the answer organized and presented in their own words); scoring is more
difficult and less reliable
 Essay questions:
- Extended-response
- Restricted-response
 Active (evaluates process):
- Construction of graphs, diagrams, models
- Use of equipment or playing an instrument
- Product: report, art work, science project
Remember: Bottom line – select item type that provides the most direct
measure of the intended behavioral objectives.
D. Preparing the relevant assessment tasks; the limited number of items should
be representative of the domain
Learning outcomes at the first 3 levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy are easier
to construct. They usually receive undue emphasis; without the table of
specifications, ease of construction becomes the dominant criterion.
How long should test be? Long enough to provide an adequate
sampling of each behavioral objective; keep in mind also the limitations of the
students (how long can they sit and the like.)
Eliminating irrelevant barriers to performance:
a. Make sure that the students have the prerequisite skills and prior
knowledge needed
b. Measure intended learning outcome, not the irrelevant skills (reading or
writing ability)
c. Ambiguity – again, making sure that you measure your behavioral
objectives and not mind reading
d. Bias (gender, race, ethnicity) – items should be as free of bias as much as
possible
General Suggestions for Writing Test Items or Tasks
1. Use table of specifications
2. Write more items than needed
3. Write items well in advance of testing date
4. Write items so that they call for the performance described in the behavioral
objectives
5. Tasks to be performed is clearly specified
 6. Write item at appropriate reading/writing level (in sub-test not measuring
reading, such as math, science and social studies, test makers generally write
items two years below grade placement to avoid testing reading ability)
7. Item provides no clue to answer
8. Answer is agreed upon by experts
9. Recheck items when revised for relevance
Valid Assessment
Will:
1. Improve student achievement
2. Improve instruction
3. Improve student – teacher relationships
Moreover, in planning the test, the teacher has to ask himself/herself the following
questions:
1. What objectives will (should) I be testing?
2. What types of items will be included in the test?
3. How long will the test be in terms of time and number of items?
4. How much will each be worth in terms of weight and number of items?
One essential step in planning a test is to decide why you are giving the test?
The word “test” is used although we are using it in a broad sense that includes
performance assessments as well as traditional paper and pencil test.
1. Are you trying to sort the students (so you can compare them, giving higher
scores to better students and lower scores to poor students)?
2. Or do you want to know how many of the students have mastered the
content?
Another way to address the “why” questions is to identify if this is to be a
formative assessment to help you diagnose students’ problems and guide future
instruction, or a summative measure to determine grades that will be reported to
parents.
There are six decisions usually made by classroom teacher in the test
development process:
1. What to test;
2. How much emphasis to give to various objectives;
3. What type of assessment (or type of question) to use;
4. How much time to allocate for the assessment;
5. How to prepare the students; and
6. Whether to use the test from the textbook publisher or to create your own.
Other decisions, such as whether to use a separate answer sheet, arise later.
The teacher has to decide what to assess. The term “assess” is associated only
with traditional paper and pencil assessment, to the exclusion of alternative
assessments such as performance tasks and portfolios.
Classroom assessments are generally focused on content that has been
covered in the class, either in the immediate past or (as is case with unit,
semester, and end-of-course tests) over a longer period of time. Once the
teacher has made to what decision, he/she can move to the next step: deciding
how much emphasis to place on each objective. The teacher then look at the
 amount of time in class devoted to each objective; review the number and types
of assignments the students have been given (Downing, 1990).
Preparing a Table of Specifications (TOS)
A Table of Specifications or TOS is a test map that guides the teacher in
constructing a test. The TOS ensures that there is balance between items that test
lower level thinking skills and those which test higher order thinking skills (or
alternatively, a balance between easy and difficult items) in the test. The simplest
TOS consists of four (4) columns: (a) level of objective to be tested, (b) statement of
objective, (c) item numbers where such an objective is being tested and (d) Number
of items and percentage out of the total for that particular objective. A prototype table
is shown below:
Table of Specification Prototype
Level Objective Item Numbers No. %
1. Knowledge Identify subject-verb 1,3,5,7,9 5 14.29%
2. Comprehension Form appropriate verb 2,4,6,8,10 5 14.29%
forms
3. Application Write sentences 11,13,15,17,19 5 14.29%
observing rules on
subject-verb agreement
4. Analysis Determine subject and 12,15,18,21,23 5 14.29%
predicate
5. Evaluation Evaluate whether or not 13,16,19,22,24 5 14.29%
a sentence observes
rules on subject –verb
agreement
6. Synthesis Formula rules on Part II 10 28.57%
subject-verb agreement pts
Total 35 100%

In the table of specifications we see that there are five items that deal with
knowledge and these items are items 1, 3,5,7,9. Similarly, from the same table we
see that five items represent analysis, namely: 11, 15, 18, 21, and 23. The first five
of Bloom’s Taxonomy are equally represented in the test while synthesis (tested
through essay) is weighed equivalent to ten (10) points or double the weight given to
any of the first four levels. The Table of Specifications guides the teacher in
formulating the test. As we can see, the TOS ensures that each of the objectives in
the hierarchy of educational objectives is well represented in the test. As such, the
resulting test that will be constructed by the teacher will be more or less
comprehensive. Without the Table of Specifications, the tendency for the test maker
is to focus too much on facts and concepts at the knowledge level.
Note: Please see attached sample of Table of Specification that NONESCOST is
using.
Constructing the Test Items
The actual construction of the test items follows the TOS. As a general rule, it
is advised that the actual items to be constructed in the draft should be double the
desired number of items, for instance, if there are five (5) knowledge level items to
be included in the final test form, then at least ten (10) knowledge items should be
included in the draft. The subsequent test try –out and item analysis will most like
eliminate many of the constructed items in the draft (either they are too difficult, too
easy or non-discriminatory), hence, it will be necessary to construct more items than
will actually be included in the final test form.
Most often, however, the try-out is not done due to lack of time.
Item Analysis and Try – out
The test draft is tried out to a group of pupils or students. The purpose of this
try – out is to determine the: (a) item characteristics through item analysis; and (b)
characteristics of the test itself – validity, reliability, and practicality.

A. Constructing a True-False Test

Binomial-choice or alternate response tests are tests that have only two (2)
options such as true or false, right or wrong, yer or no good or better, check (ü)
or cross out (û) and so on. A student who knows nothing of the content of the
examination would have 50% chance of getting the correct answer by sheer
guess work. Although correction-for-guessing formulas exist, it is best that the
teacher ensure that a true-false item is able to discriminate properly between
those who know and those who are guessing. A modified true-false test can
offset the effect of guessing by requiring students toe explain their answer and to
disregard a correct answer if the explanation is incorrect. Here are some rules of
thumb in constructing true-false items.

Rule 1. Do not give a hint (inadvertently) in the body of the question.

Example: The Philippines gained its independence in 1898 and therefore
celebrated its centennial year in 2000.______
Obviously, the answer is FALSE because 100 years from 1898 is not
2000 but 1998.
Rule 2. Avoid using the words, “always”, “never”, “often”, and other words that
tend to be either always true or always false.
Example: Christmas always falls on Sunday because it is a Sabbath
day.______
Statements that use the word “always” are almost always false. A test-
wise student can easily guess his way through a test like these and get high
scores even if he does not know anything about the test.
Rule 3. Avoid long sentences as these tend to be “true”. Keep sentence short.
Example: Tests need to be valid, reliable and useful, although, it would
require a great amount if time and effort to ensure that tests possess these
test characteristics._____
Notice that the statement is true. However, we are also not sure which
part of the sentence is deemed true by the student. It is just fortunate that in
this case, all parts of the sentence are true and hence, the entire sentence is
true. The following example illustrates what can go wrong in long sentences:
Example: Tests need to be valid, reliable and useful since it takes very little
amount of time, money and effort to construct tests with these
characteristics._____
The first part of the sentence is true but the second part is debatable and
may, in fact, be false. Thus, a “true” response is correct and also, a “false”
response is correct.
Rule 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 mat detect this strategy and thus get the answer correctly.
 The Raven was written by Edgar Allen Poe.
Allen is misspelled and the answer would be false! This is an example of
a tricky but utterly useless item.
Rule 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 if higher level thinking skills is
not given due importance.
Rule 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, statement with “never” “no” “all” or “always”. Moderately worded
statements are more likely to be true than false. Statement that are
moderately worded use “many” “often” “sometimes” “generally” “frequently”
or “some” usually should be avoided. e.g . Executives usually suffer from
hyperacidity. The statements tends ti be correct. The word “usually” leads
to the answer.
Rule 7. With true or false questions, avoid a grossly disproportionate number of
either true or false statements or even patterns in the occurrence of true
and false statements,
1. T 6. F 1. T 6.F
2. F 7. F 2. F 7. T
3. F 8. F OR 3. T 8. F
4. F 9. F 4.F 9. T
5. F 10. F 5. T 10. F

For ease of correction, teachers some time create a pattern of True or

False answers. Students will sense it and may arrive at a correct answer not
because he/she really knows the answer but he/she senses the pattern.

B. Multiple Choice Tests

A generalizations of the true-false test, the multiple choice type of test offers
the students with more than two (2) options per item to choose from. Each items
in a multiple choice test consists of two parts: (a) the stem, and (b) the options.
In the set of options, there is a “correct” or ”best” option while all the others are
considered “distracters”. The distracters are chosen in such a way that they are
attractive to those who do not know the answer or are guessing but at the same
time, have no appeal to those who actually know the answer. It is this feature of
multiple choice type tests that allow the teacher to test higher order thinking skills
even if the options are clearly stated, as in true-false items, there certain rules of
thumb to be followed in constructing multiple choice test.

Guidelines in Constructing Multiple Choice Items

1) Do not use unfamiliar words, terms and phrases. The ability of the item to
discriminate or its level of difficulty should stem from the subject matter rather
than from the wording of the question.
 Example: What would be the system reliability of a computer system whose
slave and peripherals are connected in parallel circuits and each one has a
known time to failure probability of 0.005?
A student completely unfamiliar with the terms “slave” and ‘peripherals”
may not be able to answer correctly even if he knew the subject matter or
reliability.
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.
Example:
Much of the process of photosynthesis takes place in the:
A. Bark
B. Leaf
C. Stem
The qualifiers “much” is vague and could have been replaced by
more specific qualifiers like: “90% of the photosynthesis process”
or some similar phrase that would be more precise.
3) Avoid complex or awkward word arrangements. Also, avoid use of negatives
in the stem as this may add unnecessary comprehension difficulties.
Example:
(Poor) As President of the Republic of the Philippines, Corazon
Cojuangco Aquino would stand next to the 1986 EDSA Revolution?
(Better) Who was the President of the Philippines after Corazon C.
Aquino?
4) Do not use negative or double negative such as statements tend to be
confusing. It is best to use simpler sentences rather than sentences that
require expertise in grammatical construction.
Example:
(Poor) Which of the following will not cause inflation in the Philippine
economy?
(Better) Which of the following will cause inflation in the Philippine
economy?

Poor: What does the statement “Development patterns acquired during

the formative years are NOT Unchangeable” imply?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Better: What does the statement “Development patterns acquired during
the formative years are changeable” imply?
A.
B.
C.
D.
5) Each item stem should be as short as possible; otherwise you risk testing
more for reading and comprehension skills
 6) Distracters should be equally plausible and attractive
Example:
The short story: May Day’s Eve, was written by which Filipino
author?
A. Jose Garcia Villa
B. Nick Joaquin
C. Genoveva Edrosa Matute
D. Robert Frost
E. Edgar Allan Poe

If distracters had all been Filipino authors, the value of the item
would be greatly increased. In this particular instance, only the first three
carry the burden of the entire items since the last two can be essentially
disregarded by the students.
7) All multiple choice options should be grammatically consistent with the stem.
Example:
As compared to the autos of the 1960s autos in the
1980s_____.
A. Travelling slower C. to use less fuels
B. Bigger interiors D. contain more safety
measures
8) The length, explicitness, or degree of technically of alternatives should not be
the determinants of the correctness of the answer. The following is an
example of this rule:
Example:
If the three angles of two triangles are congruent, then the
triangles are:
A. congruent whenever one of the sides of the triangles are congruent
B. Similar
C. equiangular and therefore, must also be congruent
D. Equilateral if they are aquiangular.

The correct choice, “b”, may be obvious from its length and explicitness
alone. The other choices are long and tend to explain why they must be
the correct choices forcing the students to think that they are, in fact, not
the correct answer!
9) Avoid stems that reveal the answer to another item.
Example:
 a. Who will most strongly disagree with the progressivist who claims that
the child should be taught only that which interests him and if he is not
interested, wait till the child gets interested?
A. Essentialist C. Progressivist
B. Empiricist D. Rationalist
b. Which group will most strongly focus its teaching on the interest of the
child?
A. Progressivist C. Perrenialist
B. Essentialist D. Reconstructionist

One may arrive at a correct answer (letter b) by looking at item that gives the
answer to b.
10) Avoid alternatives that are synonymous with others or those that, include or
overlap others.
Example:
What causes ice to transform from solid state to liquid state?
A. Change in temperature
B. Change in pressure
C. Change in the chemical composition
D. Change in heat levels

The options a and d are essentially the same. Thus, a

student who spots these identical choices would right away narrow
down the fields of choices to a, b and c. the last distracters would play
o significant role in increasing the value of the item.
If this happens then the item has two answers, which is not
acceptable.
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 (unless such discriminating ability is the primary intent of the
evaluation). The item’s value is particularly damaged if the unnecessary
material is designed to distract or mislead. Such items test the students
reading comprehension rather than knowledge of the subject matter.
Example:
The side opposite the thirty degree angle in a right triangle is
equal to half the length of the hypotenuse. If the sine of a 30-degree is 0.5
and its hypotenuse is 5, what is the length of the side opposite the 30-
degree angle?
A. 2.5
 B. 3.5
C. 5.5
D. 1.5

The sine of a 30-degree angle is really quite unnecessary since

the first sentence already gives the method of finding the length of the side
opposite the thirty-degree angle. This is a case of a teacher who wants to
make sure that no student in his class gets the wrong answer!
14) Avoid use of non-relevant sources of difficulty such as requiring a complex
calculation when only knowledge of principle is being tested.
Note in the previous example, knowledge of the sine of the 30-
degree angle would have led some students to use the since formula for
calculation even if a simpler approach would have sufficed.
15) Pack the question in the stem. Here is an example of a question which has
no question. Avoid it by all means.
Example:
The Roman Empire__________.
A. had no central government
B. had no definite territory
C. had no heroes
D. had no common religion
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 the use of “all of the above” may allow credit for partial knowledge.
In a multiple option item, (allowing only one caption choice) if a student only
knew that 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.
Example:
(Less Homogeneous)
Thailand is located in:
A. Southeast Asia
 B. Eastern Asia
C. South America
D. East Africa
E. Central America
(More Homogeneous)
Thailand is located next to:
A. Laos and Kampuchea
B. India and China
C. China and Malaysia
D. Laos and Malaysia
E. India and Malaya

C. Matching Type
The matching type items may be considered modified multiple choice
type item where the choices progressively reduce as one successfully matches
the items on the left with the items on the right.

Guidelines in Constructing Matching Type of Test

Here are some guidelines to observe in the formulation of good
matching type of test.
1. Match homogeneous not heterogeneous items. The items to match must be
homogeneous. If you want your students to match authors with their literary
works, in one column will be authors and in a second column must be literary
works. Don’t insert nationality for instance with names of authors. That will not be
a good item since it is obviously wrong.
Example of homogeneous items. The items are all about the Filipino heroes,
nothing more.

Match the items in Column A with the items in Column B.

Perfect Matching Type

Example: Match the items in column A with the items in column B.

A B
___1. First President of the Republic a. Magellan
___2. National Hero b. Mabini
___3. Discovered the Philippines c. Rizal
___4. Brain of Katipunan d. Lapu-Lapu
___5. The Great painter e. Aguinaldo
___6. Defended Limasawa Island f. Juan Luna
g. Antonio Luna
2. The stem (longer in construction than the options) must be in the second
column while the options (usually shorter) must be in the second elimination.
 3. The options must be more in number than the stems to prevent the students
from arriving at the answer by mere process of elimination.
4. To help the examinee find the answer easier, arrange the option alphabetically
or chronologically.
5. Like any other test, the direction of the test must be given. The examinees
must know exactly what to do.

Mental Exercise
Analyze the matching type of test below. Is this perfect (an answer may
not be repeated) matching type of the test written in accordance with the
guidelines given?

Exercise - Matching type of Test

Column A Column B
1. Poly A. Sides
2. Triangles B. Eight-sided polygon
3. Pentagon C. Ten-sided polygon
4. Square D. Close plane figure
5. Decagon E. Irving
6. Hexagon F. James
7. Isosceles triangles G. Melville
8. Octagon H. Mark Twains (Clemens)
9. Gons I. Wharton
10. Circle J. Many

Matching type items, unfortunately, often test lower order thinking skills
(knowledge level) and are unable to test higher order thinking skills such as
application and judgement skills.
Another type of a matching type of test is the imperfect type.
Below is an example of an imperfect matching type of test. Imperfect
because an answer may be repeated and so like an unfaithful husband or wife
can pair with one other than his wife/her husband.
In column 1 are works and writings in American literature and in Column 2 are
their authors. Write the letter of the author which corresponds to his works on the
blank provided before each author. In some cases, an answer may be repeated.
 Column A Column B
1. The Alhambra A. Cooper
2. The Pioneers B. Dana
3. The Guardian Angel C. Emerson
4. Two Years Before the D. Holmes
Mast
5. Moby Dick E. Irving
6. The World in a Man of War F. James
7. The last of the Mohicans G. Melville
8. The American Scholar H. Mark Twains
(Clemens)
9. The Autocrat of the I. Wharton
Breakfas Table
10. Tom Sawyer
If you intend to
make use of this imperfect type of matching test, make sure you indicate so in
the “Direction” to caution the students who usually think that an answer may not
be repeated.

D. Supply Type or Constructed-Response Type

Another useful device for testing lower order thinking skills is the supply
type of tests. Like the multiple choice test, the items in this kind of test consists
of a stem and a blank where the students would write the correct answer.

Example: The study of life and living organisms is called __________.

Supply type test 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.

Completion Type of Test

It is, however, possible to construct supply type of tests that will test higher
order thinking as the following example shows:
Example: Write an appropriate synonym for each of the following. Each blank
corresponds to a letter:
Metamorphose: _ _ _ _ _ _
Flourish: _ _ _ _ _ _

The appropriate synonym for the first is CHANGE with six (6) letters while the
appropriate synonym for the second is GROW with four (4) letters. Notice that
these questions require not only mere recall or words but also understanding
of these words.
Guidelines in the Formulation of a Completion Type of Test
The following guidelines can help you formulate a completion type of test, the
fill-in-the blank type.
1. Avoid over mutilated sentences like item #1 below. Give enough clue
to the student.
The _____ produced by the _____ is used by the
green _____ to change the _____ and _____ into _____. This
process is called _____.
2. Avoid open-ended item. There should be only one acceptable answer.
This item is open-ended hence, no good test item.
Ernest Hemingway wrote _____.
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. Like the
matching type of test, the stem (where the question is packed) must be
in the first column.
4. Ask question on more significant item not on trivial matter.
Jose Rizal was born on June _____, 1861.
5. The length of the blanks must not suggest the answer. So better to
make the blanks uniform in size.
A part of speech that names persons, places or things is ______.
A word used to connect clauses or sentences or to coordinate words in
the same clause is called _____.

E. Essays
Essays, classified as non-objective tests, allow for the assessment of
higher order thinking skills. Such test 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.
1. Comparing
- Describe the similarities and differences between…
- Compare the following methods for….
2. Relating cause-and-effect
- What are the major causes of …
- What would be the mostly likely effects of ….
3. Justifying
- Which of the following alternatives would you favor and why?
- Explain why you agree or disagree with the ff. Statement.
4. Summarizing
- State the points included in …
- Briefly summarize the contents of …
 5. Generalizing
- Formulate several valid generalizations from the following data.
- State a set of principles that can explain the following events.
6. Inferring
- In the light of the facts presented, what is most likely to happen
when …
- How would Senator X be most likely to react to the bomb
explosion after the bar examination last September?
7. Classifying
- Group the following items according to …
- What do the following items have in common?
8. Applying
- Using the principles of _____ as guide, describe how
you would solve the following problem situation.
- Describe a situation that illustrates the principles of
_____.
9. Analyzing
- Describe the reasoning errors in the following paragraphs.
- List and describe the main characteristics of …
10. Evaluating
- Describe the strengths and weaknesses of the following …
- using the criteria developed in clas, write an evaluation of ….
11. Creating
- Make up a story describing what would happen if …
- Design a plan to prove that …
- Write a well-organized report that shows …

Types of Essay
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.”

Sample Short Response Question

(10th Grade Reading)
How are the scrub jay and the mockingbird different? Support
your answer with details and information from the article.
Non-restricted / Extended Essay
Extended responses can be much longer and complex than short
responses, but students are encouraged to remain focused and organized.

Sample Extended Response Question

(5th Grade Reading)
Robert is designing a demonstration to display at his school’s science fair. He will show
how changing the position of a fulcrum on a lever changes the amount of force needed
to lift an object. To do this, Robert will use a piece of wood for a lever and a block of
wood to act as a fulcrum. He plans to move the fulcrum to different places on the lever
to see how its placement affects the force needed to lift an object.

Part A Identify at least two other actions that would make Robert’s demonstration
better.
Part B Explain why each action would improve the demonstration.
Source: https://fcit.usf.edu/assessment/constructed.constructb.html

Note that all these involve the higher-level skills mentioned in Bloom’s Taxonomy.
The following are rules of thumb which facilitate the scoring of essays;
Rule 1: Phrase the direction in such a way that students are guided on
the key concepts to be included. Specify how the students
should respond.
Example:
Using details and information from the article (Hundred Islands), summarize the
main points of the article. For a complete and correct response, consider these
points:
 Its history (10pts)
 Its interesting features (10pts)
 Why it is a landmark (5pts)
Non-example:
Using details and information from the article (Hundred Islands) summarize the main
points of the article.
Source: https://fcit.usf.edu/assessment/constructed.constructb.html

Rule 2: Inform the students on the criteria to be used for grading their essays.
This rule allows the students to focus on relevant and substantive materials rather
than on peripheral and unnecessary facts and bits of information.
Example:
Write an essay on the topic: “Plant Photosynthesis” using the keywords
indicated. You will be graded according to he following criteria: (a) coherence, (b)
accuracy of statements, (c) use of keywords, (d) clarity and (e) extra points for
innovative presentation of ideas.
Rule 3: Put a time limit in the essay test.
Rule 4: Decide on your essay grading system prior to getting the essays of your
students.

Rule 5: Evaluate all of the students’ answers to one question before proceeding to
the next question.
Scoring or grading grading essay test question by question, rather than
student by student, makes it possible to maintain a more uniform standard for
judging the answers to each question. This procedure also helps offset the halo
effect in grading. When all of the answers on one paper are read together, the
grader’s impression of the paper as a whole is apt to influence the grades he assigns
to the individual answers. Grading question by question, of course, prevents the
formation of this overall impression of a student’s paper. Each answer is more apt to
be judged on its own merits when it is read and compared with other answers to the
same questions, than when it is read and compared with other answers by the same
student.

Rule 6: Evaluate answers to essay questions without knowing the identity of the
writer. This is another attempt to control personal bias during scoring. Answers to
essay questions should be evaluated in terms of what is written, not in terms of what
is known about the writers from other contacts with them. The best way to prevent
our prior knowledge from influencing our judgement is to evaluate each answer
without knowing the identity of the writer. This can be done by having the students
write their names on the back of the paper or by using code numbers in place of
names.

Rule 7: Whenever possible, have two or more persons grade each answer. The best
way to check on the reliability of the scoring of essay answer is to obtain two or more
independent judgments. Although this may not be a feasible practice for routine
classroom testing, it might be done periodically with a fellow teacher (one who is
equally competent in the area). Obtaining two or more independent ratings becomes
especially vital where the results are to be used for important and irreversible
decisions, such as in the selection of students for further training or for special
awards. Here the pooled ratings of several competent persons may be needed to
attain level of reliability that is commensurate with the significance of the decision
being made.
Some teachers use the cumulative criteria i.e. adding weights given to each
criterion, as basis for grading while others use the reverse. In the latter method, each
student begins with a score of 100. Points are then deducted every time a teacher
encounters a mistake or when a criterion is missed by the student in his essay.

Rule 8: Do not provide optional questions. It is difficult to construct questions of equal

difficulty and so teacher cannot have valid comparison of students’ achievement.

Rule 9: Provide information about the value/weight of the question and how it will be
scored.

Rule 10: Scientists have found that oceans can influence the temperature of
nearby landmasses Coastal landmasses tend to have more moderate temperature
in summer and winter than inland landmasses of the same latitude.
Example:
Considering the influence of ocean temperatures, explain why inland
temperature vary in summer and winter to a greater degree than coastal
temperatures. List three coastal land masses.

Gender – Fair Language

Gender-fair language (GFL) aims at reducing gender stereotyping and

discrimination. Twoprinciple strategies have been employed to make languages
gender-fair and to treat women and men symmetrically: neutralization and
feminization.

Neutralization is achieved, for example, by replacing male-masculine forms

(policeman) with gender-unmarked forms (police officer).

Feminization relies on the use of feminine forms to make female referents visible.

What is Sexism in Language?

-It is the use of language which devalues members of one sex, almost invariably
women, and thus fosters gender inequality.

-It discriminates against women by rendering them invisible or trivializing them at the
same time that it perpetuates notions of male supremacy.

Gender-fair language (GFL) aims at reducing gender stereotyping and

discrimination. Two
principle strategies have been employed to make languages gender-fair and to treat
women and men symmetrically: neutralization and feminization.
Neutralization is achieved, for example, by replacing male-masculine forms
(policeman)
with gender-unmarked forms (police officer).
Feminization relies on the use of feminine forms to make female referents visible
Why the Concern about Mere Words?

1. Language articulates consciousness. It not only orders out through but from
infancy, we learn to use language to give utterance to our basic needs and feelings.

2. Language reflects culture. It encodes and transmits cultural meanings and values
in our society.

3. Language affects socialization. Children learning a language absorb the cultural

assumptions and biases underlying language use and see these as an index to their
society’s values and attitudes. Social inequity reflected in language can thus
powerfully affect a child’s later behavior and beliefs

Invisibilization of Women
The invisibilization of women is rooted in the assumption that men are dominant and
are the norm of the fullness of humanity, and women do not exist. Some obvious
examples of women invisibilization in language are:

1. The generic use of masculine pronouns or the use of masculine in general.

2. The assumption that certain functions or jobs are performed by men instead of
both genders.

3. The use of male of job titles or terms ending in man to refer to functions that
maybe given to both genders

Trivialization of Women

1. Bringing attention to the gender of a person, if that person is a woman. (e.g. “girl
athlete”, “lady guard”, “male nannies”, “male nurses”)

2. The perception of women as immature. (e.g. women being labeled as “darling”,

“baby”)

3. The objectification or likening to objects, of women. (e.g. “honey”, “chick”

Fostering Unequal Gender Relations

Language that lacks parallelism fosters unequal gender relations. The use of
“man and wife” assumes that men are still men and women’s identities are
subsumed and shiftedinto beings in relation to their husbands

Gender Polarization of Words in Use of Adjectives

The personal care brand Dove recently came out with an advertisement that
used parallel adjectives to show the difference in perception regarding men and
women. Both men and women did the same activity, but were described differently.
In the ad, men who took the lead were considered the “boss”, while women who had
the same initiative were “bossy”. Men who worked overtime were seen as
“providers”, while women who did the same were seen as “uncaring”. This
polarization of adjective shows how perception does change how one sees certain
acts, depending on who performs them

TOWARDS A GENDER-FAIR LANGUAGE

• Today, the use of gender-fair language in institutions of education and the
removal of
sexist language as imperative to gender responsiveness is currently being
advocated.
• Gender neutral language or pronouns are being used now
• Gabriela women’s party national president and party-list representative, Liza
Maza
called for a ban of sexist language in all official communication and documents in the
house of representatives
TOWARDS A GENDER-FAIR LANGUAGE

•Today, the use of gender-fair language in institutions of education and the removal
of sexist language as imperative to gender responsiveness is currently being
advocated.

•Gender neutral language or pronouns are being used now

•Gabriela women’s party national president and party-list representative, Liza Maza
called for a ban of sexist language in all official communication and documents in the
House of Representatives