Are you the

kind of
teacher who
ask the
following
questions?
The poem The Raven ______

a. was written by Edgar Allan Poe

b. was written by Elizabeth
Browning
c. was written by Omar Khayyan
d. was written by Jose Garcia
Villa
Is it NOT true that Magellan
discovered the Philippines?
When did the People Power
Revolution take in the Philippines?
A. February 23, 1986
B. after the Snap Election
C. March 1, 1956
D. after Valentines Day in 1986
Who was the author of
the book quoted in
the footnote of
Chapter 1 of the
present textbook
If you answered
YES
to any of the
choices presented
then you have a
BIG
PROBLEM!
YOUR STUDENTS ARE
NOT LEARNING!!!!
13% of students who fail
in class are caused by
faulty test questions
WORLDWATCH
The Philadelphia Trumpet
August 2005
Itis estimated that 90% of all
test questions asked in the US
are of Low level -
knowledge and
comprehension
(Wilen, W.W., 1992)
Low level doesnt mean easy:
Write an essay explaining the decline and
fall of the Roman Empire incorporating at
least five of the seven causes discussed in
class from the writings of Gibbon and
Toynbee
High level doesnt mean hard:
Which movie did you like more, WALL-E or
Cars? Why?
The evaluation of pupils
progress is a major aspect of
the teachers job.
Evaluating Educational Outcomes
(Oriondo & Antonio)
Explain the message of the comic strip.
The Purpose of Testing
To provide a record for assigning
grades.
To provide a learning experience for
students.
To motivate students to learn.
To serve as a guide for further study.
To assess how well students are
achieving the stated goals of the
lesson.
To provide the instructor with an
opportunity to reinforce the
stated objectives and highlight
what is important for students to
remember.
Characteristics of Good Tests
Validity the extent to which the test
measures what it intends to measure
Reliability the consistency with
which a test measures what it is
supposed to measure
Usability the test can be
administered with ease, clarity and
uniformity
Other Things to Consider
Scorability easy to score
Interpretability test results can be
properly interpreted and is a major
basis in making sound educational
decisions
Economical the test can be reused
without compromising the validity and
reliability
To be able to prepare a good
test, one has to have a
mastery of the subject
matter, knowledge of the
pupils to be tested, skill in
verbal expression and the
use of the different test
format
Evaluating Educational Outcomes
(Oriondo & Antonio)
 5 Most Commonly used Test
Format
1. Multiple Choice
2. True or False
3. Matching Type
4. Fill-in the blanks (Sentence Completion)
5. Essay
Source: Turn-out of Test Questions in SSI (2003-2007)
General Steps in Test Construction
DRAFT
OUTLINE

ORDER

PRODUCE A TEST ANALYZE

T.O.S.

SUBMISSION
OUTLINE:
the unit learning objectives
the unit content or major
concepts to be covered by the
test

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Table of Specifications (TOS)
A two way chart that relates the
learning outcomes to the course
content
It enables the teacher to prepare a
test containing a representative
sample of student behavior in each
of the areas tested.
Tips in Preparing the Table of
Specifications (TOS)
Dont make it overly detailed.
It's best to identify major ideas and skills
rather than specific details.
Use a cognitive taxonomy that is most
appropriate to your discipline, including
non-specific skills like communication skills
or graphic skills or computational skills if
such are important to your evaluation of
the answer.
Tips in Preparing the Table of
Specifications (TOS)
Weigh the appropriateness of the
distribution of checks against the students'
level, the importance of the test, the
amount of time available.
MATCH the question level appropriate to
the level of thinking skills
 Tips in Preparing the Table of
Specifications (TOS)
Thefollowing array shows the most
common questions types used at various
cognitive levels.
Factual Knowledge Application Analysis and
Evaluation
Multiple Choice Multiple Choice Multiple Choice
True/False Short Answer Essay
Matching Type Problems
S. Completion Essay
Short Answer/RRT
Activity:

Prepare a short TOS using

the selection in your activity
sheet.

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DRAFT the questions covering
the content in the outline

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ORDER the selected questions
logically.
Place simpler items at the beginning to ease
students into the exam.
Group item types together under common
instructions.
If desirable, order the questions logically from a
content standpoint (e.g. chronologically or by
conceptual groups, etc.)

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Test
PUT the questions away for one or
two days before rereading them or
have someone else review them for
clarity.
TEST the questions by actually
taking the test.

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ANALYZE the items to give
you an idea whether the
questions were well-written or
poorly written as well as if there
were problems in understanding
instruction.
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General Rules in Writing Test Questions

Number test questions continuously.

Keep your test question in each test group
uniform.
Make your layout presentable.
Do not put too many test questions in one test
group.
T or F: 10 15 questions
Multiple Choice: max. of 30 questions
Matching type: 5 questions per test group
Others: 5 10 questions
Some additional guidelines to consider when
writing items are described below:
1. Avoid humorous items. Classroom testing is very
important and humorous items may cause
students to either not take the exam seriously or
become confused or anxious.
2. Items should measure only the construct of
interest, not ones knowledge of the item context.
3. Write items to measure what students know, not
what they do not know. (Cohen & Wallack)
Multiple Choice Test
What to Look for on
Multiple Choice Tests
When checking the stems for correctness:
Ensure that the stem asks a clear
question.
Reading level is appropriate to the
students
The stem is grammatically correct.
Negatively stated stems are discouraged.
 What to Look for on
Multiple Choice Tests
Example:
What is the effect of releasing a ball in positive
gravity?
a) It will fall down. correct
b) It will retain its mass. true but unrelated
c) It will rise. false but related
d) Its shape will change. false and unrelated
 Multiple Choice Questions:

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Use negatively stated stems sparingly
and when using negatives such as NOT,
underline or bold the print.
2. Use none of the above and all of the
above sparingly, and when you do use
them, don't always make them the right
answer.
3. Only one option should be correct or
clearly best.
 Multiple Choice Questions:

4. All options should be

homogenous and nearly equal in
length.
5. The stem (question) should
contain only one main idea.
6. Keep all options either singular
or plural.
7. Have four or five responses per
stem (question).
 Multiple Choice Questions:

7. When using incomplete statements

place the blank space at the end of
the stem versus the beginning.
8. When possible organize the
responses.
9. Reduce wordiness.
10. When writing distracters, think of
incorrect responses that students
might make.
 Examples:

1. Sheldon developed a highly controversial theory of

personality based on body type and temperament
of the individual. Which of the following is a
criticism of Sheldon's work?
a. He was influenced too much by the Freudian
psychoanalysis.
b. His rating of physique and temperament
were not independent.
c. He failed to use empirical approach.
d. His research sample was improperly selected.
 Examples:

Better: (Eliminate excessive

wording and irrelevant
information)
1. Which of the following is a
criticism of Sheldon's theory of
personality?
 Examples:

1. The receptors for the vestibular

sense are located
a. in the fovea.
b. in the brain.
c. in the middle ear.
d. in the inner ear.
 Examples:

Better: (Include in the stem any word(s)

that might otherwise be repeated in each
option.)
1. The receptors for the vestibular senses are
located in the _______.
a. fovea
b. brain
c. middle ear
d. inner ear
 Examples:

1. Which is not a major

technique for studying brain
function?
a. Accident and injury
b. Cutting and removing
c. Electrical stimulation
d. Direct phrenology
 Examples:

Better: (Use negatively stated

stems sparingly. When used,
underline and/or capitalize the
negative word.)
1. Which is NOT a major
technique for studying brain
function?
 Examples:

4. ________________ is the
least form of behavior
disorder.
a. Psychosis
b. Panic disorder
c. Neurasthenia
d. Neurosis
 Examples:

Better: (When using

incomplete statements
avoid beginning with the
blank space.)
1. The least severe form of
behavior disorder is
__________________.
 Examples:

1. The number of photoreceptors

in the retina of each human is
about
a. 115 million
b. 5 million
c. 65 million
d. 35 billion
 Examples:

Better: (When possible, present

alternatives in some logical
order.)
1. The number of photo receptors
in the retina of each human is
about
a. 5 million
b. 35 million
c. 65 million
d. 115 million
 Examples:

6. Latane and Darley's smoke-filled room

experiment suggested that people are less
likely to help in groups than alone,
because people
a. in groups talk to one another.
b. who are alone are more attentive.
c. in groups do not display pluralistic
ignorance.
d. in groups allow others to define the
situation as a non-emergency
 Examples:

Better: (All alternatives should be approximately

equal in length.)
6. Latane and Darley's smoke-filled room experiment
suggested that people are less likely to help in
groups than alone, because people in groups
a. talk to one another
b. are less attentive than people who are
alone
c. do not display pluralistic ignorance
d. allow other to define non-emergencies
Activity:

Prepare two multiple choice

questions based on the
selection in your activity
sheet.
True or False
What to Look for on
True/False Tests
Each statement is clearly true or clearly
false.
Trivial details should not make a statement
false.
Statements are written concisely without
more elaboration than necessary.
Statements are NOT quoted exactly from
text.
Tips in Making True/False Tests
Give emphasis on the use of
quantitative terms than qualitative
terms.
Avoid using of specific determiners
which usually gives a clue to the
answer.
False= all, always, never, every, none, only
True = generally, sometimes, usually,
maybe, often
Discourage the use of negative
statements.
Whenever a controversial
statement is used, the
authority should be quoted.
Discourage the use of pattern
for answers.
 Examples:

Find the errors, and/or problems

with the following true-false
____ 1. Repetition always strengthens the
tests.
tendency for a response to
occur.
(Using "always" usually means the
answer is false.)
_____ 2. The process of extinction is
seldom immediate but extends
over a number of trials.

(Words like "seldom" usually indicate a

true statement.)
 Examples:

_____ 3. The mean, median, and mode are

measures of central tendency,
whereas the standard deviation
and range are measures of
variability.

(Express a single idea in each statement.)

e.g.The mean and standard
deviation are measures of central
tendency.
Activity:

Prepare two true or false

questions based on the
selection in your activity
sheet.
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