DEVELOPMENT OF

ASSESSMENT TOOLS:
KNOWLEDGE & REASONING
TYPES OF OBJECTIVE TESTS
 Multiple Choice Type Items
 True or False Items
 Matching Types and Supply Type Items
 Enumeration and Filling of Blanks
 Essays(classified as non objective test)
 PLANNING A TEST AND
CONSTRUCTION OF
TABLE OF SPECIFICATIONS
 IMPORTANT STEPS IN
PLANNING FOR A TEST

 Identifying test objectives

 Deciding on the type of objective
test to be prepared
 Preparing a Table of Specifications
 Try out and Validation
 Identifying Test Objectives

An OBJECTIVES TEST, it is to be comprehensive, must

cover the various levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy.

Each objectives consist of statement of what is to be

achieved and preferably, by how many percent of the students.
Deciding on the Type of Objective Test

The test objectives dictate the kind of

objective test that will be designed and constructed
by the teacher.
Preparing a Table of Specifications

Table of Specifications ( T O S )
- is a test map that guides the teacher in
constructing a test

- ensures that there is a balance between

easy and difficult items
 T
NUMBER A
ITEM
LEVEL OBJECTIVES NUMBERS
OF %
B
POINTS
L
E
Recognizing and 1,3,5,7,9 or 1-
REMEMBER recalling facts 5
5 16.67%
O
F

S
Understanding what 2,4,6,8,10 or 6
UNDERSTAND the fact mean -10
5 16.67% P
E
C
I
Applying the facts, rule, 11,13,15,17, F
APPLY concepts and ideas 19 or 10-15
5 16.67% I
C
A
Breaking down T
12,14,16,18,
ANALYZE information
20 or 15-20
5 16.67% I
into component parts O
N
Judging the value of
EVALUATE information or ideas
Part II 10 33.32%
Combining parts to
CREATE make a new whole

TOTAL 30 100%
CONSTRUCTING TEST ITEMS

The actual construction of the test

items follow the TOS.
As general rule, it is advised that
actual number of items to be constructed
in the draft double the desired items.
ITEMS ANALYSIS AND TRY- OUT

The test draft is tried out to a group of

pupils or students.
 MULTIPLE
CHOICE TEST
MULTIPLE CHOICE TEST
 Offers more than two options per items to choose from.
 Each items consist o two parts: the “Stem” and the “Options”.
 In the “options” there is a “correct or best” while the others are
considered “ distracters”
 Distracters should be attractive
GUIDELINES ON CONTRUCTING
MULTIPLE CHOICE ITEMS
Do not use unfamiliar words, terms and
1 phrases.
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 0.05?

Do not use modifiers that are vague and whose

2 meanings can differ from one person to the next
such as much, often, always, and usually.
Example:
Much of the process of photosynthesis take place in the:
a. Bark b. Leaf c. Stem
G Avoid complex or awkward word arrangements.
U 3 Also, avoid of negatives in the stem as this may
add unnecessary comprehension difficulties.
I
D Example:
As President of the Philippines, Corazon Cojuangco
E Aquino would stand next to which President of the
L Philippines subsequent to 1986 EDSA Revolution?
I
N Do not use negatives or double negatives as such
E statements tend to be confusing. It is better to use
4 simpler sentences rather than sentences that would
S require expertise in grammatical construction.
Example:
Which of the following will not cause inflation in the
Philippine economy?

Each item should be as short as possible, otherwise

5 you risk testing for more reading comprehension
skills.
G 6 Distracters should be equally plausible and attractive
U Example:
The short story “May Day’s Eve” was written by which
I Filipino author?
D a. Jose Garcia Villa
E b. Nick Joaquin
c. Genoveva Edrosa Matute
L d. Robert Frost
I e. Edgar Allan Poe

N
All multiple choice options should be grammatically
E 7 consistent with the stem.
S
The length, explicitness or degrees of technicality of
8 alternatives should not be determinants of the correct
answers.
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 equiangular
G Avoid stems that reveal the answer to
9
U another item.
I
D Avoid alternatives that are synonymous or
10
E those that, include or overlap others.
L Example:
What causes ice to transform from solid state to liquid
I
state?
N a. Change in temperature
E b. Changes is pressure
S c. Change in chemical composition
d. Change in heat levels

Avoid presenting sequences items in the

11
same order as it the text.

Avoid used of assumed qualifiers that many

12
examinees may not be aware of
G Avoid use of unnecessary words or phrases which are
U not relevant to the problem at hand ( unless such
discriminating ability is he primary in tent of the
I 13 evaluation). The item’s value is particularly damaged if
D the unnecessary material is design to distract or
E mislead. Such items test the student’s reading
L comprehension rate than knowledge of subject matter.

I Example:
N The side opposite the thirty degree angle in a right
triangle is equal to half the length of the hypotenuse.If the
E sine of a 30-degree is 0.5 and its hypotenuse is 5, what is
S the length of the side opposite the 30-degree angle?
a. 2.5 b. 3.5 c. 5.5 d. 1.5

Avoid use of non-relevant sources of difficulty such as

14 requiring a complex calculation when only knowledge of
principle is being tested.

Avoid alternatives that are synonymous or those that,

15
include or overlap others.
G Include as mush as possible in the stem. This allow
16
less repetition and shorter choice options.
U
I
D Use the “None of the above” option only when the
keyed answer is totally correct. When choice of the
E “best” response is intended, “None of the Above” is
17
L not appropriate since the implication has already
I been made that the correct response may e partially
inaccurate.
N
E Note that use of “All of the Above may allow credit for
S partial knowledge. In multiple option item, (allowing
18 only one point choice) if a student only knew the two
options were correct, he could then reduce the
correctness of “All of the above”. This assumes you
are allowed only one correct choice.

19 Having compound response choices may

purposefully increase difficulty of all item.
G
U The difficulty of a multiple choice item my be controlled
by varying the homogeneity or degree of similarity of
I 20
responses. The more homogenous, the more difficult
D the items.
E
L Example:
I (Less Homogenous) (More Homogenous)
Thailand is located in: Thailand is located next to:
N
a. Southeast Asia a. Laos and Kampuchea
E b. Eastern Europe b. India and China
S c. South America c. China and Malaya
d. East Africa d. Laos and China
e. Central America e. India and Malaya
TRUE

FALSE
CONSTRUCTING A TRUE or FALSE TEST

BINOMIAL-CHOICE TESTS

are tests that have only two (2) options such as true
or false, right or wrong, good or better, and so on.
ADVANTAGES :

1. True/false items are relatively easy to prepare since

each item comes rather directly from the
content.

2. They offer the instructor the opportunity to write

questions that cover more content than most
other item types since students can respond to
many questions in the time allowed.

3. They are easy to score accurately and quickly.

DISADVANTAGES :

1. True/false items, however, may not give a true

estimate of the students’ knowledge since
students have a 50/50 chance of guessing the
correct answer.

2. They are very poor for diagnosing students’ strengths and

weaknesses and are generally considered to be “tricky”
by students.

3.Since true/false questions tend to be either extremely easy or

extremely difficult, they do not discriminate between
students of varying ability as well as other types of
questions.
Skills Mastered

Good For :

Knowledge level content

 Evaluating student understanding of popular

misconceptions

 Concepts with two logical responses

Rules in constructing True or False
1. Do not give a hint (inadvertently) in the body of
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.
 2.Avoid using the words “always”, “never”, “often”
R and other adverbs that tend to be either
U always true or always false.
L
E
Example:
S
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
 3. Avoid long sentences as these tend to be “true”.
R Keep sentences short.
U
L Example 1:
E Tests need to be valid, reliable and
S useful, although, it would require a great
amount of 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
above sentence are true. The following
example illustrates what can go wrong in long
sentences.
 3. Avoid long sentences as these tend to be “true”.
R Keep sentences short.
U
L
E Example 2:
S 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,
false. Thus, a “true” response is correct and
also, a “false” response is correct.
 4. Avoid trick statements with some minor
misleading word or spelling anomaly,
R misplaced phrases, etc.
U A wise student who does not know the about the subject
matter may detect this strategy and thus get the
L
answer correctly.
E
S Example.
The principle of our school is Mr. Albert
P. Panadero.

The principal’s name may actually be

correct but since the word is misspelled and
the entire sentence takes different meaning.
The answer is false. This is as an example of a
tricky but utterly useless item.
 5. Avoid quoting verbatim from reference materials
or textbooks.
R
This practice sends wrong signal that it is necessary to
U memorize the textbook word for word and thus,
L acquisition of higher thinking skills are not given
E importance.
S
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 with “many”,
“often”, “sometimes”, “generally”, “frequently” or
“some” should be avoided.
 7. With true or false questions, avoid grossly
R disproportionate number of either true or false
U statements or even patterns in the occurrence of
L true and false statements.
E
S
 MATCHING TYPE

SUPPLY TYPE ITEMS

 MATCHING TYPE

 Consist of a column of key words presented on

the left side of the page and a column of options
placed on the right side of the page. Student are
required to match the options associated with the
given key word(s)

 May be considered as modified multiple choice

type items.
Keywords:

PREMISES – the items in column for which a match

is sought.

RESPONSES – the items in the column from which

the selection made.
USE OF MATCHING TYPE

The ability to identify the relationship between

two things and sufficient number of homogenous
premises and responses can be obtained, A matching
exercise seems most appropriate.
It is compact and efficient method of measuring
such simple knowledge outcomes. Some teachers
considered the relationship important in a variety
fields.
WHEN TO USE MATCHING TYPE
They are effective when you need to measure the
learner’s ability to identify the relationship or association
between similar items. They work best when the course
content has many parallel concepts.

•Terms and definitions

•Objects or pictures and labels
•Symbols and Proper Names
•Causes and Effects
•Scenarios and Responses
•Principles and Scenarios to which they apply
 ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES
ADVANTAGES
 Provide objective measurement of students
knowledge
Allow the comparison of related ideas concepts
or theories

DISADVANTAGES
 May overestimate learning due to the influence
of guessing
May limit assessment to lower levels of
understanding.
Rules for Constructing Matching type

RULE 1: Check your objectives to make sure this type of

question is appropriate
RULE 2: Give clear directions or instructions.
RULE 3: Use number to identify items in column A, capital
letter to identify response in column B, or vice versa.
RULE 4: Include more response than Premises or allow
response to be used more than once or vice versa.
RULE 5: Arrange items in column B in logical order or vice
versa.
RULE 6: Put the items with more words in column A.
RULE 7: Keep the two sets of items homogeneous.
RULE 8: Avoid using pattern in the correct answers.
EXAMPLE: Match the items in column A with the items in column B

A B
1. Magellan a. First President of the Republic
2. Mabini b. National Hero
3. Rizal c. Discovered the Philippines
4. Lapu- Lapu d. Brain of Katipunan
5. Aguinaldo e. The Great Printer
f. Defended Limasawa Island

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 judgment skills.
 A variant of the matching type items is the data sufficiency
and comparison type of test illustrated below:

EXAMPLE: Write G if the item on the left is greater than the item on the right;
L if the item on the left is less than the item on the right;
E if the item on the left equals the item on the right and
D if the relationship cannot be determined.
A B
1. square root of 9 ______ a. -3
2. square of 25 ______ b. 615
3. 36 inches ______ c. 3 meters
4. 4 feet ______ d. 48 inches
5. 1 kilogram ______ e. 1 pound

The data sufficiency test above can, if properly constructed, test higher order
thinking skills. Each item goes beyond simple recall of facts and, in fact
requires the student to make decisions.
 Another useful devices for testing lower order thinking skills is the
supply type of test. like the multiple choice test , the items in this kind
of test consist 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 that the stems are constructe
d. These test allow for one and only one answer .
 Possible to construct supply type of test that will test
higher order thinking as the following example will show:

EXAMPLE:
Write an appropriate synonym for each of the following.
Each blank correspond 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.
 ESSAY
ITEM TEST
 ESSAY TEST

 ESSAY TESTS let students display their overall

understanding of a topic and demonstrate their
ability to think critically, organize their
thoughts, and be creative and original.
 ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES
OF ESSAY TEST
ADVANTAGES

 Measures higher-order thinking skills

 Easy to construct
 Develop good study habits

DISADVANTAGES
 Low validity
 Low reliability
 Difficulty to score
 SUGGESTIONS FOR CONSTRUCTING
ESSAY TEST
1. STATE THE QUESTION CLEARLY AND PRECISELY

POOR: Compare the essay test with the multiple choice type of test.

This question is so general and comprehensive that different

student will emphasize different aspects while the examiner may
altogether have different view.

BETTER:
Compare the essay test with the multiple choice test in terms of:
(a) learning outcomes to be measured
(b) framing the question
(c) scoring
(d) influence of extraneous factors.
2. AVOID THE USE OF OPTIONAL QUESTIONS

Example : Answer 5 of the 10 questions

When students answer different questions, it is obvious

they are taking different test and the common basis for
evaluating their achievement is lost.

3. Do not use essay questions to evaluate understanding

that could be tested with multiple-choice questions.

Save essay questions for testing higher levels of thought

(application, synthesis, and evaluation), not recall facts.
4. ASK STUDENTS TO WRITE MORE THAN ONE ESSAY.

Tests that ask only one question are less valid and
reliable than those with a wider sampling of test items. In
a fifty-minute class period, you may be able to pose three
essay questions or ten short answer questions.

5. INDICATE THE POINTS FOR EACH ITEM AND

THE ESTIMATED TIME FOR ANSWERING.

Example:
Compare the writings of Bret Harte and Mark Twain
in terms of settings, depth of characterization, and dialog
ue styles of their main characters. (10 points 15 minutes)
 SUGGESTIONS FOR SCORING
ESSAY TEST
1. PREPARE AN OUTLINE OF THE EXPECTED
ANSWERS IN ADVANCE
This will provide a common frame of reference for evaluating
the individual papers

2. AVOID JUDGING EXAMS ON EXTRANEOUS

FACTORS

Don't let handwriting , spelling or other such factors influence

your judgment about the intellectual quality of the response.
 3. READ AND SCORE WITHOUT LOOKING AT THE
STUDENTS' NAMES
Grade the paper as nearly anonymously as possible, the less you
know about who wrote an answer, the more objectively you can
grade papers.

4. SCORE QUESTION BY QUESTION,

NOT BY STUDENT
This permits the examiner to concentrate on the answer to a single
question and to judge better the merits of several pupils responses
to the same question.

5. STRIVE TO BALANCE POSITIVE AND

CRITICAL COMMENT

Focus on the organization and flow of the response, not on

whether you agree or disagree with the students' ideas.
 ENUMERATION

FILL IN THE BLANKS

Enumeration and Filling of Blanks

Present a test question as text and blank

spaces where the user must enter the correct
answer for each blank space.
ITEM ANALYSIS
STEPS:

1. Score the test. Arrange from lowest to highest.

2. Get the top 27% and below 27% of the examinees.
3. Get the proportion of the Top and Below who got
each item correct. (PT) & (PB)
4. Compute for the Difficulty Index.
Df =(PT + PB) / N
5. Compute for the discrimination Index
Ds=(PT – PB) / n
INTERPRETATION

Difficulty Index (Df)

0.76 - 1.00 = easy (revise)
0.25 - 0.75 = average (accept)
0.00 - 0.24 = very difficult (reject)

Discrimination Index (Ds)

0.40 - above = very good (accept)
0.30 - 0.39 = good (accept)
0.20 - 0.29 = moderate (revise)
0.19 and below = poor (reject)
EXAMPLE:

Question A B C D Df
1 0 3 24* 3

2 12* 13 3 2

# of students: 30

To compute the Df:

Divide the number of students who chose the correct answer by
the total number of student.
EXAMPLE:

Question A B C D Df
1 0 3 24* 3 0.80

2 12* 13 3 2 0.40

# of students: 30

To compute the Df:

Divide the number of students who chose the correct answer by
the total number of student.
EXAMPLE:
Students Score Q1 Q2 Q3
Joe 90 1 0 1
Dave 90 1 0 1
Sujie 80 0 0 1
Darrell 80 1 0 1
Eliza 70 1 0 1
Zoe 60 1 0 0
Grace 60 1 0 1
Hannah 50 1 1 0
Ricky 50 1 1 0
“1”Anita
–correct; “0”- incorrect40 0 1 0

“1”- correct ; “0”- incorrect

EXAMPLE:

Question PT PB Df Ds

1 4 4 0.80 0

2 0 3 0.30 -0.6

3 5 1 0.50 0.8
Lesson Plan in Assessment of Learning 1

I. Objectives: Students must be able to:

• Construct Objective Tests
• Construct a Table of Specifications
II. Subject-Matter/Content:
Topic: Development of Assessment Tools: Knowledge and Reasoning
References: Internet, Assessment of Learning 1 by Rosita de
Guzman-Santos, Ph.D.
Materials: Computer, Projector, White board
III. Procedure:
A. Preparation
1. Ask what the students know about the topic.
B. Lesson Proper
1. Lecture
2. Q and A with students
IV. Evaluation:
• Test Yourself Quiz
Test Question Draft
DEVELOPMENT OF ASSESSMENT TOOLS: KNOWLEDGE AND REASONING

Name: ___________________________________ Block:______ Date:_____________

Test I. Read each item carefully and write F if the statement is False and T if the statement is true.
____1. Multiple choice is a binomial-choice test.
____2. True-False Test tests the higher order thinking skills
____3. Matching Type is considered as the modified multiple choice type items.
____4.Supply Type Items is classified as non-objective tests.
____5. Multiple Choice Test has two parts, the stem and the option.
____6. Multiple Choice Test only have two options.
____7. True-False Test has more than two options in each item.
____8. Supply Type Items consist of a stem and a blank
____9. One of the 14 types of abilities that can be measured by essay items is “Questions on cause
and effect”.
____10. Long sentences on True-False test tend to be true, hence it should be avoided.
Test Question Draft
Test II. Create a question on the topic “Basic Concepts in Assessment” using one of the Types
of Objective Tests. (5pts.)
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
_____
Test III. Choose an appropriate Type of Objective Test to be use on the following test objectives.
Write your answer on the blank provided.

1. Identify the subject and the verb in each sentence. ___________________________

2. Determine the parts of a sewing machine. _____________________________________
3. Summarize the process of photosynthesis. _____________________________________
4. Construct a sentence using subject and predicate. ____________________________
5. Determine the elements of Religion. ___________________________________________
6. Explain the separation of church and state. ____________________________________
7. Give the steps in planning for a test.____________________________________________
8. Forming appropriate verb forms. _______________________________________________
9. Compare and contrast things using the adjective. _____________________________
10. Identify a valid and invalid argument. _________________________________________
Test Question Draft
Test IV. Construct a simple TOS and state below the TOS what kind of objective Tests
You are going to apply.

No.
Item
LEVEL OBJECTIVE Of %
number
points
REMEMBER
UNDERSTAND
APPLY
ANALYZE
EVALUATE
CREATE
Total
THANK YOU!