The Initial Steps in Developing a Classroom Test

Deciding What to Test and How to Test It

Preparing Instructional Objectives

What types of learning outcomes do you expect from your teaching knowledgeunderstandings- applications-thinking skillsperformance skills-attitudes?.. Clearly, defining the intended learning outcomes is the first step in good teaching- it is also essential in the evaluation of pupil learning Sound evaluation requires relating the evaluation procedures as directly as possible to the intended learning outcomes.

INSTRUCTIONAL OBJECTIVES

Provide direction for the instructional process (by clarifying the intended learning outcomes

Convey instructional intent to others ( pupils, parents, other school personnel, the public)

Provide a basis for evaluating pupil learning ( by describing the performance to be measured)

A Three-Stage Model of Classroom Measurement

Content Validity

Stage 1 Instructional Objectives

Stage 2 Instructional Activities

Stage 3 Tests

Test items must validly measure the instructional objectives

Why Objectives? Why not just write test items?

Where do goals come from?

Needs and wants of the society
School board Superintendent

School Administration
Teachers

The funneling of societal wants into objectives

The needs and wants of society

Are shared with superintendent through the school board and Are translated into educational goals by program coordinators, and goals are then Translated into school, classroom , and student objectives by principals and teachers
Copyright Allyn & Bacon 2006

Goals and Objectives

Goals Definition. Broad statements of very general educational outcomes that: do not include specific levels of performance. tend to change infrequently and in response to societal pressure Examples: Become a good citizen Be competent in basic skills areas Be creative Learn problem solving Appreciate art Demonstrate high-level thinking skills

Goals and Objectives

Educational Goal
General aim or purpose of education that is stated as broad, long-range outcome to work toward. Goals are used primarily in policy making and general program planning Example: Demonstrate proficiency in the basic skills in reading, writing, and arithmetic

Goals and Objectives

General educational program objectives
Definition. More narrowly defined statements ot educational outcomes that: apply to educational programs may be formulated on an annual basis Are developed by program coordinators, principals, and other school administrators General Instructional Objectives An intended outcome of instruction that has been stated in general enough terms to encompass a set of specific learning outcomes Example: Comprehends the meaning a written material
Copyright Allyn & Bacon 2006

Instructional Objectives
Specific statements of a learner behavior or outcomes that are expected to be exhibited by students after completing a unit of instruction. A unit of instruction may, for example, mean: a six-week lesson on Kapampangan culture a class period on subtracting with borrowing Example: By Friday, the students will be able to recite the names of the months in order
Copyright Allyn & Bacon 2006

Specific Learning Outcome

An intended outcome of instruction that has been stated in terms of specific and observable pupil performance(e.g. Identifies details that are explicitly stated in a passage). S set of specific learning outcomes describes a sample of the types of performance that learners will be able to exhibit when they have achieved a general instructional objective( also called specific objectives, performance objectives, behavioral objectives and measurable objectives)

Copyright Allyn & Bacon 2006

Pupil Performance Any measureable or observable pupil response in the cognitive, affective or psychomotor area that is a result of learning

Copyright Allyn & Bacon 2006

Educational Objectives

The identification and statement of educational objectives is the first step in developing tests. Educational objectives are simply educational goals; that is what you hope the students will learn or accomplish.
Educational objectives are also referred to as instructional or learning objectives.

Characteristics of Educational Objectives

Scope refers to how broad or narrow an objective is. There are limitations associated with objectives at either end of this continuum and in practice it is probably best to strike a balance between the two extremes.

Characteristics of Educational Objectives

Domain refers to the type of ability or characteristic being measured (i.e., cognitive, affective, or psychomotor domain). Blooms Taxonomy provides a useful way of describing the complexity of a cognitive objective by classifying it into one of six hierarchical categories ranging from the most simple to the most complex.

Blooms Taxonomy
A taxonomy of cognitive objectives developed by Bloom, Englehart, Furst, Hill and Krathwohl ( 1956) is commonly referred to as Booms taxonomy. This taxonomy provides a useful way of describing the complexity of an objective by classifying it into one of the six hierarchical categories ranging from the most simple to the most complex.

Bloom's Taxonomy of Educational Objectives

Level Knowledge Comprehension Application Analysis Description
Rote-memory, learning facts.

Example
Name each state capital.

Summarize, interpret, or explain material Use general rules and principles to solve new problems. Reduction of concepts into parts and explain the relationship of parts to the whole.

Summarize the use of symbols on a map. Write directions for traveling by numbered roads using a map.

Describe maps in terms of function and form.

Synthesis

Creation of new ideas or results

from existing concepts.

Construct a map of a
hypothetical country with given characteristics.

Evaluation

Judgment of value or worth.

Evaluate the usefulness of a map to enable travel from one place to another.

Characteristics of Educational Objectives

Format typically refers to the use of a behavioral versus nonbehavioral format. Behavioral objectives specify activities that are observable and measurable. Nonbehavioral objectives specify activities that are unobservable and not directly measurable.

Writing Educational Objectives

Write objectives that cover a broad spectrum of abilities. When feasible, identify behaviors that are observable and directly measurable. State any special conditions. When appropriate, specify an outcome criterion.

Table of Specifications (or Test Blueprint)

The method of ensuring congruence between classroom instruction and test content is the development and application of a table of specifications, which is also referred to as a test blueprint.

Test Blueprint for a Unit on Subtraction without Borrowing

Content Outline
( Objectives) 1. The student will discriminate the subtraction sign from the addition sign. 2. The student will discriminate addition problems from subtraction problems 3. The student will discriminate correctly solved subtraction problems from incorrectly solved subtraction problems. 4. The student will correctly solve singledigit subtraction problems. 5. The student will correctly solve subtraction problems with two-digit minuend and single digit subtrahend. 6. The student will correctly solve doubledigit subtraction problems TOTAL PERCENTAGE 3 12% 4 16% Knowledge 1 2 4

Categories
Comprehension Application Total 1 2 4 Percentage 4% 8% 16%

6 6

6 6

24% 24%

6 18 72%

6 25

24%

100%

Based on Content Areas (Number of Items) Level of Objective Content Areas Knowledg Comprehension Applicatio Analysis Synthesi Evaluation e n s Total

Scales of Measurement Measures of Central Tendency

3 Measures of Variability 3 Correlation & Regression 2

Based on Content Areas (Percentages) Level of Objective Content Areas Scales of Measurement Measures of Central Tendency Measures of Variability 10% Correlation & Regression 6.7% 10% 6.7% 6.7% 30% 10% 10% 30%
Knowledge Comprehension Application Analysis Synthesis Evaluation

Total

6.7%

6.7%

6.7%

20%

10%

10%

20%