TEST CONSTRUCTION AND QUESTION BANK BUILDING

Engr. Philip P. Carpina October 24, 2011

OBJECTIVES
1. To review the Rules of Test Construction; 2. To appreciate the importance of having a Question Bank; 3. To be able to build a Question Bank using ExamView.

OUTLINE
GENERAL RULES ESSAY MULTIPLE CHOICE TRUE OR FALSE SIMPLE RECALL MATCHING TYPE WORKSHOP ON QUESTION BANK

GENERAL RULES FOR TEST CONSTRUCTION

GENERAL RULES FOR TEST CONSTRUCTION Rule #1: Avoid replication of the textbook when writing exams, as this will simply encourage memorization and repetition of textbook passages. This will not allow you to know if your students can interpret, analyze or evaluate the questions.

GENERAL RULES FOR TEST CONSTRUCTION Rule #2: The test item should be aimed at a specific objective. Therefore, do not complicate it by making high demand on a variety of skills other than the one being assessed. If you are to assess a student s ability to apply a concept in Physics, do not present problems that involve unnecessarily complicated algebra.

GENERAL RULES FOR TEST CONSTRUCTION Rule #3: Begin writing well ahead of time when they will be used, and allow time for revision.

A good time to write the test items is at the time a given topic is being taught.

GENERAL RULES FOR TEST CONSTRUCTION Rule #4: Consider the difficulty level of the item in relation to the purpose of testing.

The Table of Specification (TOS) will be of great help here. TOS must be done before the test items and not after.

GENERAL RULES FOR TEST CONSTRUCTION Rule #5: Do not allow items to be interdependent. Each item is included in the test because it assesses a unique element of knowledge or skill. If the answer to one item is suggested by the content of another item, then the skill you will be measuring is the ability to see the relationship between the two items.

ESSAY VS. OBJECTIVE TEST

When to use the Essay Test

1. The group you will test is small; 2. You would like to encourage and reward the development of student s skill in written expression; 3. You are more confident in your proficiency as a critical reader; 4. Your time available for test preparation is shorter than your time available for checking.

When to use the Objective Test

1. The group you will test is large; 2. You are more confident in your ability to express objective test items; 3. There is more pressure for speedy reporting of scores than for speedy preparations; 4. Highly reliable test scores must be obtained as efficient as possible.

ESSAY TEST

Rules in Constructing Essay Questions

Rule #1: Don t begin an essay question with discussions when the question fails to provide a basis for or the limitation or the focus of the discussion.
Discuss the general body plan of animals. (poor)

Rules in Constructing Essay Questions

Rule #2: Don t ask for an expression of opinion when your intent is to measure student learning or the ability to present evidence or against. What do you think of the MKS system?

Rules in Constructing Essay Questions

Rule #3: Don t introduce essay questions with write all you know about , in your opinion , what do you think , and so on. Write all you know about this course. Include examples and illustration.

Rules in Constructing Essay Questions

Rule #4: Don t ask for comparison without clearly specifying the basis or bases on which the comparison will be made. Compare gases, liquids & solids.

Rules in Constructing Essay Questions

Rule #5: Use content which demand that the student use material covered rather than merely reproduce it. What are the characteristics of gases? (poor) Why are tires of vehicles filled with gas not liquid? (improved)

Rules in Constructing Essay Questions

Rule #6: When dealing controversial issue, ask for the presentation of evidence for or against and not the position itself. What is your position regarding the use of Filipino in teaching the sciences? (poor) How would you react to DepEd s order to use Filipino in teaching the sciences based on

Rules in Scoring Essay Questions

Rule #1: Score only one question at a time and try to score all responses to a particular question without interruption. This is basically to prevent halo effect from working (the tendency to be influenced in grading a second response by the quality of the response to the first item).

Rules in Scoring Essay Questions

Rule #2: Score the papers anonymously and score only the factor(s) you decided will be considered.

To minimize the element of subjectivity.

Rules in Scoring Essay Questions

Rule #3: Decide on the scoring system and use it consistently and score the papers yourself. If your basis is content then do not consider spelling, grammar, etc. Come up with a rubric for scoring. You should do it for many practical reasons.

Rules for Writing Multiple Choice Items

Rules for Writing Multiple Choice Items

Rule #1: The stem should contain the problem, the central issue of the item, or the frame of reference when selecting the correct response. It should be concise and easy to read and comprehend. The basic concept must be laid out directly. We should not leave the test-taker asking What does the teacher want me to do?

Example for Rule #1

Poor Cory Aquino was elected President of the Philippines in A. 1985 B. 1986 C. 1987 D. 1988 Improved Cory Aquino was elected President of the Philippines in the year A. 1985 B. 1986 C. 1987 D. 1988

Rules for Writing Multiple Choice Items

Rule #2: Arrange choices in chronological order, in a series of magnitude, alphabetically, etc. Putting order into the choices make it easy for the test-taker to go over them when looking for the answer.

Example for Rule #2

Poor I have found a creature with three pairs of jointed legs. It is most like a member of which of the following: A. Crustacea B. Arachnida C. Myriapoda D. Insecta Improved I have found a creature with three pairs of jointed legs. It is most like a member of which of the following: A. Arachnida B. Crustacea C. Insecta D. Myriapoda

Rules for Writing Multiple Choice Items

Rule #3: Make all distractors plausible and attractive response to the item. The distractors, if they are to be good should attract the unprepared student.

Example for Rule #3

Poor Who was the first man who set foot on the Moon? A. Armstrong B. Collins C. Aldrin D. Flores Improved Who was the first man who set foot on the Moon? A. Edwin Aldrin B. Michael Collins C. Neil Armstrong D. Yuri Gagarin

Rules for Writing Multiple Choice Items

Rule #4: Do not make the correct answer obvious by making it unnecessarily different from the rest of the choices. Since it is obvious, then the unprepared student will surely not miss it.

Example for Rule #4

Poor Oranges are good sources of vitamin A. A B. B C. C, if they are freshly sliced D. D Improved Freshly sliced oranges are good sources of vitamin A. A B. B C. C D. D

Rules for Writing Multiple Choice Items

Rule #5: All alternatives for a given item should be approximately homogenous in content, form, and grammatical structure. If your correct response is a particular year, all the other alternatives should be years; if name od person, the rest should be names of persons; if process, the rest should be processes, etc.

Example for Rule #5

Poor Which of the following is an insect? A. ant B. centipede C. earthworms D. spiders Improved Examples of insects are A. ants B. centipedes C. earthworms D. spiders

Rules for Writing Multiple Choice Items

Rule #6: The use of the alternative none of these or all of these may be useful, but they should be used only with care. If we use none of these or none of the above all choices must be clearly wrong.

Example for Rule #6

Poor The ratio of the circumference of a circle to the diameter is A. 1.31 B. 2.16 C. 3.14 D. None Improved The ratio of the circumference of a circle to the diameter is A. 1.31 B. 2.16 C. 3.13 D. None of these

Rules for Writing Multiple Choice Items

Rule #7: In a best answer type, make sure that one and only one is clearly the best answer.

Example for Rule #6

Poor The most serious health problem in the Philippines today is A. cancer B. the common cold C. heart disease D. mental illness Improved Of the following diseases, which hospitalizes the most common people at the present time? A. cancer B. the common cold C. heart disease D. mental illness

Rules for Writing Multiple Choice Items

Rule #8: Express the response to a multiplechoice test item so that grammatical consistency is maintained. Each response must be worked so that when you read it to complete the statement, it is grammatically correct with the stem.

Example for Rule #6

Poor If the north pole of one bar magnet is brought very near the south pole of another bar magnet, the poles will A. repel each other B. attract each other C. no effect D. an electric spark will be produced Improved If the north pole of one bar magnet is brought very near the south pole of another bar magnet, the poles will A. attract each other B. repel each other C. have no effect on each other D. produce an electric spark

Rules for Writing Multiple Choice Items

Rule #9: Avoid double negatives. This creates an artificial difficulty in the test. Rule #10: Make sure that the complete item is on the same page.

True-False Items

Variations of True-False Items

1. Underlining a word or clause in the statement. 2. Requiring examinees to correct false statements. 3. Basing true-false items on specific stimulus provided for the student.

Rules in Constructing True-False Items

Rule #1: Avoid specific determiners which are generally associated with a particular answer. all, always, never, no, none & nothing are generally considered as false statements. may, some, oftentimes, sometimes, frequently & generally are considered as true statements.

Rules in Constructing True-False Items

Rule #2: Avoid a disproportionate number of either true or false statements. Possible distribution: 60% False, 40% True Modification can also be done to increase validity.

Rules in Constructing True-False Items

Rule #3: Avoid the exact words of the textbook. The test becomes simply a determination of how familiar students are with standard statements in books. Let us strive to test for their understanding or for their application.

Rules in Constructing True-False Items

Rule #4: Avoid trick statements. These are usually statements that appear to be true but are really false because of the petty insertion of an inconspicuous word, phrase, or letter. e.g. In a normal curb, the range includes 100% of the cases. ** curve was changed to curb

Rules in Constructing True-False Items

Rule #5: Avoid double negatives, they are often confusing. If you cannot avoid the use of a negative word such as no , not , and others, underline the word to make sure that the students will not miss the word when they read the statement.

Rules in Constructing True-False Items

Rule #6: Avoid ambiguous statements, where one interpretation may be true and with another plausible interpretation may be false. T/F Science education in Philippine High Schools is still backward.

Rules in Constructing True-False Items

Rule #7: Avoid unfamiliar, figurative, or literary language. Avoid long statements, specially those involving complex sentences.

Remember you are not testing one s vocabulary.

Rules in Constructing True-False Items

Rule #8: Do not establish a pattern for the answers. Distribute them randomly. Rule #9: Do not have an exclusively true-false test. Rule #10: Inform if Correct minus Wrong will be applied.

Simple Recall Items

Rules in Constructing Simple Recall

Rule #1: Avoid indefinite statements.

Indefinite statements are open to several possible correct answers. This usually happen if the item is taken directly from the textbook.

Example for Rule #1

Poor The book entitled Measuring Educational Achievement was written by __________. Improved The name of the author of the book entitled Measuring Educational Achievement is __________.

Possible answers: Name of author or An Educator.

Rules in Constructing Simple Recall

Rule #2: Do not over-mutilate your statements.

An over-mutilated statement is worse than a skeleton. There is nothing that you can make out of it. Also, you yourself may not be able to answer it correctly if you were to take the test.

Example for Rule #2

Poor The _________ of a/an _________ is the _________ of its _________ and its _________. Improved The area of a rectangle is obtained by multiplying its ________ by its _________.

Rules in Constructing Simple Recall

Rule #3: Omit only the key words or phrases rather than the trivial ones.

Remember, we are not educating for trivialities.

Example for Rule #3

Poor A cognitive test in biology is valid if it __________ the extent to which students have developed their cognitive skills in biology. Answer: measures Improved When a cognitive test in biology gives you a more accurate measure of the student s cognitive skills in biology, then the test is characterized as __________.

Rules in Constructing Simple Recall

Rule #4: Make the blanks on uniform length and place them near the of the statement rather than at the beginning. Varying length of the blanks may give clue to the correct answer.

Rules in Constructing Simple Recall

Rule #5: Avoid the use of extraneous hints to help the student identify the correct answer.

Example for Rule #5

Poor The transfer of rocks and soil particles from place to another is called e_ _ _ _ _ _. Improved The transfer of rocks and soil particles from place to another is called __________.

Rules in Constructing Simple Recall

Rule #6: Avoid lifting directly from the textbook and avoid grammatical clues to the correct answer. Again, lifting directly from book does not test except to memorize word for word, the author s statements.

Example for Rule #6

Poor Albert Einstein was a __________ by profession. Improved Albert Einstein was a/an __________ by profession.

The Matching Type Test

The Matching Type Test

- A specialized form of multiple-choice item which occur in clusters. It must contain the following: 1. An introductory statement 2. A set of related stems called the premises, and 3. A list of alternates to be shared by all the premises in the cluster.

The Matching Type Test

Strength 1. It can effectively use to measure lower cognitive domain. 2. It can be scored rapidly, accurately and objectively even by individuals who are unqualified to teach in the subject area being tested. Weaknesses 1. Difficult to develop a MT to measure higher levels of cognitive domain. 2. It is often difficult to find enough important and homogenous ideas to form the premises of the item

Rules for the Introductory Statement

1. Set a general frame of reference for responding to the items of the cluster and must clearly indicate to the examinee how he is to proceed. 2. It must also tell the examinee where he will record his answers. 3. It must inform the examinee on whether or not an answer could be given more than once.

Example of an Introductory Statement

The statements under column A describe various types of clouds. For each statement, find the type of cloud in column B for which the statement is most appropriate and record your choice on the line preceding the question number. Do not use an answer more than once. Column A PREMISES Column B ALTERNATES

Rules for the Premise

1. It should be expressed clearly and concisely. 2. Errors of language should be avoided. 3. Homogeneity of premises should be strictly observed. 4. The number of premises in a cluster should rarely exceed six or seven. 5. The total cluster must appear on the same page of the test.

Rules for the Alternates

1. Each of the alternates must be grammatically appropriate to each premise of the cluster. 2. The number of alternates should be greater than the number of premises. Or that an alternate could be used more than once.

Several criticisms can be made of the following item. What are they?
Column I 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Equivalent forms Test Measurement Selection type validity Column II
a. Test characteristic which determines extent a test measures what it want to measure. b. Test type where answers are already provided. c. The assignment of numerals to traits. d. A process of determining test reliability. e. The act of having students respond to problems. f. A most complex cognitive skills.

BUILDING QUESTION BANK

What is a Question Bank

Question bank is a collection of questions produced by teachers over the years. Questions in the question banks are selected in such a way that they test students' comprehensive ability. Teachers can select questions from these question banks for setting up exam papers. They contain questions to know how well students grasp a certain skill. Types of questions available in question banks are of essay type and objective type.

Use of EXAMVIEW