Teacher made tests or Classroom tests in education.

1. TEACHER-MADE / CLASSROOM TESTS
STANLEY MAPANDA
Med Psychology

2. OBJECTIVES
1. Definitation of terms
2. Nature of tests
3. Types of tests
4. Characteristics of a good test
5. Designing and constructing
6. Purpose/ Implications of Teacher-made tests
7. Reference lists

3. Definition of Terms
• Assessment is an integrated process of gaining information about students’ learning
and making value judgments about their progress. Information about students’ progress can
be obtained from a variety of sources, including projects, portfolios, performances,
observations, and tests, (Alias, 2015).
• Biggs, and Tang, (2011) stated that testing is one of the means within the assessment
procedure which only measures the students’ attainment of course objectives and materials.
Testing is more concerned with the mechanical ways of measuring the structural and
grammatical knowledge of the students. Testing is only fulfilled through the end-of-
semester exams and is carried out via the conventional paper and- pencil means ( written
form).

4. Definition of terms conti...
• Classroom achievement tests are generally teacher-made tests, these tests are
constructed by teachers to test the amount of learning done by students, teacher-made
tests usually measure attainment in a single subject in a specific class or form or
grade as uttered by Crocker, and Algina, (2014).
• Teachers are empowered by institutional policies to assess the amount of learning
done after a stipulated period of instruction.
• .

5. Is there one form of assessment?
There are different forms of assessment, Kubiszyn, and Gary, (2013)
included:
• Formative assessment.
• Summative assessment.
• Self-assessment.
• Peer assessment.

6. Nature of Assessment (tests)
• Refers to observations which allow one to determine the degree to which students know
or are able to perform a given task. It involves all those activities (assigned by teachers
and performed by students) which provide information used as feedback so that
teaching may meet students’ needs (Nitko, 2010). It can also include teacher assessment,
feedback and feed-forward. Formative assessment includes:
Ø Informal assessment involving spontaneous unsystematic observations of students’
behaviors ( during a question and answer session or while the students are working
on an assignment or mathematical calculations)
ØFormal assessment involving pre-planned, systematic gathering of
data. Assessment of learning is formal assessment that involves assessing students in
order to certify their competence and fulfill accountability mandates (standardized
tests).

7. Nature of tests Conti...
• Assessment of learning is typically summative, that is, administered after
the instruction is completed, a final examination in an educational
psychology course.
• Summative assessments provide information about how well students
mastered the material, whether students are ready for the next unit, and
what grades should be given (Wright, 2017).

8. • Continuous assessment refers to the activities required by students during
the conduct of a course. It takes place within the normal teaching period and
contributes to the final assessment.
Less frequent but increasingly important forms are:
• Self-assessment occurs when an appraisal instrument is self-administered
for the specific purpose of providing performance feedback, diagnosis and
prescription recommendations rather than a pass/fail decision. Students
engage in a systematic review of their progress and achievement, usually for
the purpose of improvement. It may involve comparison with an exemplar,
success criteria, or other criteria. It may also involve critiquing one's own
work or a description of the achievement obtained.

9. • Peer assessment occurs when students judge one another's work on the
basis of reference criteria. This can occur using a range of strategies. The
peer assessment process needs to be taught and students need to be
supported by opportunities to practice it regularly in a supportive and
safe (classroom) environment.

10. Types of tests
• Placement test which aims to place new students to be posted in the
right class or level of language proficiency based on the result of their
language skills. Alias, (2015) indicates that, the test also indicates how
good the students are in their English or their prior knowledge of English
• Diagnostic test is a type of a test that is to know the students’
weaknesses or strength. It is also used to discover the students’ problems
in a course.

11. Types of tests conti...
• Progress/achievement test, such type of tests are designed to measure
the students’ language skills and to see their progress in relation to their
syllabus and the test is normally done during the course. Nitko, (2010)
suggests that final progress/achievement test, is done in the end of the
course, in this way is, the teacher measure the students’ progress of their
achievement of the course.
•

12. Conti...
• Proficiency test, is the test that is designed based on a certain courses for
example a course for getting a new job, admitting a foreign university. It
aims to measure the students’ knowledge and ability in language. And lastly,
• Aptitude test which is design to discover the students’ basic talent or
ability for example a test for learning a new language. It is hoped that by
understanding the types of tests, the teachers can create their own test and
select what appropriate test they can provide for their students.

13. Characteristics of a good test
• Reliability - refers to the consistency of measurement; that is, how consistent
test scores or other evaluation results are from one measurement to other.
• Validity - the test is considered valid when it measures what it intends to
measure.
• Practicality - the test is categorized as practical if it is easy to administer,
score, and be economical, and also the relationship between the sources such
as human resources, material resources, time and many others that is required
to develop, design, and use of the test. (Kubiszyn, and Gary, 2013)

14. Designing and constructing
• Developing a good test is like target shooting. Hitting the bull's eye requires
much attention and planning; you must focus on the target, select an
appropriate arrow, and take careful aim. In simple words, developing a
good test requires comprehensive planning.
• The planning stage provides a systematic framework that highlights major
activities that emphasizes test security and quality control procedures from
the onset. Hence, the planning stage is very crucial and should be given the
needful time and attention.

15. Designing and constructing conti...
• According to Crocker, and Algina, (2014). , the fundamental questions to
be addressed in this phase are:
1. What is the construct to be measured?
2. What is the population for which the test is intended?
3. Who are the test users and what are the intended interpretations and
uses of test scores?
4. What test content, cognitive demands, and format will support the
intended interpretations and uses?

16. Designing and constructing conti...
Constructing a table of specification
• The most widely used method in obtaining validity based on content
evidence is through the construction of a table of specifications. The
construction of a table of specification helps in improving the degree of
domain representation. It serves as a crucial guide for item development
and showcases the level of educational domain been assessed.
• The purpose of a table of specification is to identify the achievement
domains being measured and to ensure that a fair and representative
sample of questions appears on the test. It thereby provides the link
between teaching and testing Wright, (2017)..

17. Designing and constructing conti...
• In preparing a table of test specification, the test developer, in this case, the
teacher must first list all content taught in the unit/course; assign
corresponding numerical weighting to each topic; decide on the item format;
decide on the number of items to be constructed for each topic; decide on
the type of question under the different cognitive learning domain.
• In assigning a numerical weighting to each topic, the instructor must
consider how relevant the topic is and the volume of its content in terms of
teaching.

18. conti..
Sample of table of test
specification Instructional
Objective Contents
Knowle
dge
(25%)
Comprehensiv
e (10%)
Application
(25%)
Analysis
(15%)
Synthesis
(10%)
Evaluation
(15%)
Total
Water 2 1 1 6
Electrical Energy 1 1 2 1 5
Force & Pressure 1 1 1 4
Machines 2 3 1 1 1 8
Total 5 2 5 3 2 3 20
The table has knowledge 25%, comprehension 10%, Application 25%, Analysis 15%, Synthesis 10% and Evaluation
15%. The moment instructional objectives have been identified, a test blueprint is developed linking both the content
and behavioral objectives as shown in the table above. A table of specifications of this kind helps to ensure that the
test has content validity in terms of covering all the objectives of instruction.

19. Deciding on item format
• The decision on the ideal item format to used is influenced by several factors. Among
them include:
ØThe purpose of the test, content coverage, ease of scoring, the number of students to be tested,
ØThe skills to be tested, the difficulty level desired, the physical facilities available for reproducing
the test,
ØThe age of the students and the teacher's skill in writing the different types of items.
• The most recognized item format in classroom achievement testing is the essay and the
objective types.

20. Purpose/ Implications of Teacher-made tests
For almost all the people involved in the education process:
– The learner who wants to know how well s/he is doing, and also wants
the 'piece of paper for professional and education purposes,
– The teacher wants to know how the learner is progressing and whether
and how well s/he herself is succeeding in his job,
– The parents, who want to make sure that they’re getting their money’s
worth,
– Educational authorities and others who have some interest in the
learner's progress or his/her proficiency level,
– The potential employer who relies heavily on what tests tell him/her
about learner proficiency levels.

21. Because of its backwash effect.
• What does this mean? It is the effect that testing has on teaching. For better
or worse, tests and exams exert control over what goes on in classrooms.
This is because very many language classes are geared more or less directly
to the tests or examinations the learners will end up taking. Teachers must
often 'teach to' a test.
• Is the quality of tests important for teaching? Yes.
– If the test is a bad one (or the teacher is too narrow in his/her interpretation of it), the
result may be negative washback, where we can say that teaching suffers because of
the test coming at the end of the course.
– If the test is a good one, and its nature well understood by the teacher, the effect on the
teaching may be very positive. There will be positive backwash.

22. Statements about feedback:
• The fact that the teacher gives feedback on student performance implies a
power hierarchy: the teacher above, the student below.
• Assessment is potentially humiliating to the assessed person, Teachers should
give their students only positive feedback, in order to encourage, raise
confidence and promote feelings of success; negative feedback demoralizes.
• Giving plenty of praise and encouragement is important for the fostering of
good teacher-student relationships.
• Very frequent approval and praise lose their encouraging effect; and lack of
praise may then be interpreted as negative feedback.
• Teachers should not let students correct each other's work, as this is harmful to
their relationships.

23. Reference lists
• Alias, M., (2015). “Assessment of learning outcomes: Validity and reliability of classroom test,”
World Transactions on Engineering and Technology Education, vol. 4, no. 2, pp. 235-238.
• Biggs, J., & Tang, C., (2011). Teaching for quality learning at university (4th ed.). New York, USA:
McGraw Hill
• Crocker, L., & Algina, J., (2014). Introduction to classical and modern test theory. Ohio, USA:
Cengage Learning Pub.
• Kubiszyn, T., & Gary, B., (2013) Educational testing and measurement (7th ed.). USA: John Wiley &
Sons Inc
• Nitko, J. A., (2010). Educational assessment of students. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall
• Tom, K., & Gary, D. B., (2014) Educational testing and measurement: Classroom application and practice.
Hoboken, NJ: John Willey and Sons Inc.
• Wright, R. J. (2017). Educational assessment: Tests and measurements in the age of accountability. Sage
Publications.
• Young, V. M., & Kim, D. H. (2010). Using assessments for instructional improvement: A literature review.
Education Policy Analysis Archives, 18(19),