The document provides information about effective testing in 3 main areas: 1. It defines what a test is and discusses the different uses of tests for various stakeholders like teachers, students, parents and administrators. 2. It describes the different types of tests categorized by mode of response, administration, scoring, and what is being measured. 3. It outlines the key steps in effective test preparation for both teachers in constructing good tests and students in preparing for exams. This includes considering validity, reliability, appropriateness and other factors.

1. Module 3
Keys to Effective Testing

2. Lesson 1
Test and Their Uses in Educational
Assessment

3. Test defined
• A test is a systematic procedure for measuring
an individual’s behavior (Brown, 1991). This
definition implies that it has to be developed
following specific guidelines. It is a formal and
systematic way of gathering information about
learners’ behavior, usually through paper-and-
pencil procedure (Airisan, 1989).

4. Uses of Test
Tests serve a lot of function for school
administrators, supervisors, teachers, and
parents, as well .
(Arends, 1994; Escarilla & Gonzales, 1990).

5. Uses of Test
School administrators
utilize test results for making decisions
regarding the promotion or retention of
students; improvement or enrichment of the
curriculum; and conduct of staff development
programs for teachers.

6. Uses of Test
Supervisors
use test results in discovering learning areas
needing special attention and identifying
teachers’ weaknesses and learning
competencies not mastered by the students.

7. Uses of Test
Teachers,
on the other hand, utilize tests for numerous
purposes. Through testing, teachers are able
to― gather information about the
effectiveness of instruction; give feedback to
students about their progress; and assign
grades.

8. Uses of Test
Parents,
too, derive benefits from test administered to
their children. Through test scores, they are
able to determine how well their sons and
daughters are faring in school and how well
the school is doing its share in educating their
children.

9. Types of Tests
As to mode of response:
Oral test- it is a test wherein the test taker gives his
answer orally.
Written tests- it is a test where answers to questions
are written by test taker.
Performance test- it is one in which the test taker
creates an answer or a product that demonstrates
his knowledge or skill, as in cooking and baking.

10. Types of Tests
As to ease of quantification of response:
Objective test- it is a paper and pencil test wherein
students’ answers can be compared and quantified
to yield a numerical score.
Subjective test- it is a paper-and-pencil test which is
not easily quantified as students are given the
freedom to write their answer to a question, such as
an essay test.

11. Types of Tests
As to mode of administration:
Individual test- it is a test administered to one
student at a time.
Group test- it is one administered to a group of
students simultaneously.

12. Types of Tests
As to test constructor:
Standardized test- it is a test prepared by an
expert or specialist.
Unstandardized test- it is one prepared by
teachers for use in the classroom, with no
established norms for scoring and
interpretation of results.

13. Types of Tests
As to mode of interpreting results:
Norm-referenced test- it is a test that evaluates a
student’s performance by comparing it to the
performance of a group students on the same test.
Criterion-referenced test- it is a test that measures a
student’s performance against an agreed upon or
pre-established level of performance.

14. Types of Tests
As to nature of the answer:
• Personality test- it is a test designed for assessing some
aspects of an individual’s personality.
• Intelligence test- it is a test that measures the mental
ability of an individual.
• Aptitude test- it is test designed for the purpose of
predicting the likelihood of an individual’s success in a
learning area or field of endeavor.
• Achievement test- it is a test given to students to
determine what a student has learned from formal
instruction in school.
• Summative test- it is a test given at the end of instruction
to determine students’ learning and assign grades.

15. Types of Tests
As to nature of the answer:
• Diagnostic test- it is a test administered to students to
identify their specific strengths and weaknesses in past and
present learning.
• Formative test- it is a test given to improve teaching and
learning while it is going on.
• Socio-metric test- it is a test used in discovering learners’
likes and dislikes, preferences, and their social acceptance,
as well as social relationships existing in a group.
• Trade test- it is a test designed to measure an individual’s
skill or competence in an occupation or vocation.

16. Lesson 2
Generals steps in preparation of test

17. Step 1
Take clear, detailed notes in class and review
your notes every night. A nightly review will
help reinforce the concepts you learned that
day and allow you to identify any areas that
are causing you problems well before the test.

18. Step 2
Set aside a specific time for studying each day.
Choose a quiet place and allot a certain
amount of time for each subject.

19. Step 3
Get up and take a break from time to time. If
you are too tired or bored, you'll never follow
through with studying. If you have trouble
concentrating, arrange your study schedule in
several shorter time periods rather than one
long study session

20. Step 4
Attempt to master the most important or
difficult concepts first. Those will be the area’s
most likely to be covered by the test and
should occupy a significant percentage of your
study time.

21. Step 5
Take notes as you read though chapters in your
textbook. Writing down information can help
you retain it better and can make it easier to
review key facts.

22. Step 6
Work with a classmate and quiz each other on
the material. If you can't find anyone to work
with, develop your own review questions.

23. Step 7
Listen closely when your professor or teacher
tells you that certain subject matter will be on
the test. It probably will be and it will be a
good idea to make sure that you understand
that information completely.

24. Step 8
Practice for the test. If you know from past
experience that your teacher likes to include
essay questions on the test, write out a few
essay answers pertaining to the main concepts
of the chapter. Chances are that one of those
concepts will be covered on the test.

25. Step 9
Maintain a positive attitude on the day of the
test. Remind yourself that you are well-
prepared, confident and ready to face the
challenges that the test presents.

26. Lesson 3
The Key to Effective Testing

27. The Key to Effective Testing
Objectives
The specific statements of the aim of the
instruction; it should express what the
students should be able to do or know as a
result of taking the course; the objectives
should indicate the cognitive level, affective
level and psychomotor level of expected
performance.

28. The Key to Effective Testing
Instruction
It consists all the elements of the curriculum
designed to teach the subject including the
lesson plans, study guide, and reading and
homework assignment, the instruction should
corresponds directly to the objectives.

29. The Key to Effective Testing
Assessment
The process of gathering, describing or
quantifying information about the
performance of the learner; testing
components of the subject; weight given to
the different subject matter areas.

30. The Key to Effective Testing
Evaluation
Examining the performance of students and
comparing and judging its quality.
Determining whether or not the learner has
met the objectives of the lesson and the
extent of understanding.

31. Lesson 4
Factors to Consider when
Constructing a Good Test

32. Validity
Validity is the degree to which the test
measures what is intended to measure the
usefulness of the test for a given purpose. A
valid test is always reliable.

33. Reliability
Reliability refers to the consistency of score
obtained by the same person when retested
using the same instrument.

34. Administrability
Administrability the test should directed
uniformly to all students so that the scores
obtained will not vary due to factors other
than differences of the students’ knowledge
and skills. There should a clear provision for
instruction for the students, proctors and even
the one who will check the test.

35. Scorability
Scorability the test should be easy to score,
directions for scoring is clear, provide the
answer sheet and the answer key.

36. Appropriateness
Appropriateness the test item that the
teachers construct must assess the exact
performances called for in the learning
objectives. The test item should require the
same performance of the student as specified
in the learning objectives.

37. Adequacy
Adequacy the test should contain a wide
sampling of items to determine the
educational outcomes or abilities so that the
resulting scores are representatives of the
total performance in the areas measured.

38. Fairness
Fairness the test should not be biased to the
examinees. It should not be offensive to any
examinees subgroups. A test can only be good
if it is also fair to all test takers.

39. Objectivity
Objectivity represents the agreement of two or
more raters or a test administrator concerning
the score of a student. If the two raters who
assess the same student on same test cannot
agree on score, the test lacks objectivity and
the score of neither judge is valid, thus, lack of
objectivity reduces test validity in the same
way that lack reliability influence validity.

40. Lesson 5
Uses and Classification of Test

41. Productive Uses of Tests
Learning Analysis:
Test are used to identify the reasons or causes
why students do not learn and the solutions
to help them learn.

42. Productive Uses of Tests
Improvement of Curriculum:
Poor performance in a test may indicate that the
teacher is not explaining the material
effectively, the textbook is not clear, the
students are not properly taught.

43. Productive Uses of Tests
Selection:
When enrolment opportunity or any other
opportunity is limited, a test can be used to
screen those who are more qualified.

44. Productive Uses of Tests
Research:
Tests can be feedback tools to find effective
methods of teaching and learn more about
students, their interests, goals and
achievements.

45. Productive Uses of Tests
Evaluation of Learning Program:
Tests should evaluate the effectiveness of each
element in a learning program.

46. Unproductive Uses of Tests
Grading:
Tests should not be used as the only
determinants in grading student.

47. Unproductive Uses of Tests
Labeling:
It is often a serious disservice to label a student,
even if the label is positive.

48. Unproductive Uses of Tests
Threatening:
Tests lose their validity when used as disciplinary
measures.

49. Unproductive Uses of Tests
Unannounced Testing:
Surprise Test are generally not recommended.

50. Unproductive Uses of Tests
Allocating Funds:
Some schools exploit tests to solicit for funding.

51. Classification of Tests
Administration
a. Individual- given orally and requires the
examinees’ constant attention since the
manner of answering may be as important as
the score.
b. Group- for measuring cognitive skills to
measure achievement. Most tests in schools
are considered group tests where different
test takers can take the tests as a group.

52. Classification of Tests
Scoring
a. Objective- independent scores agree on the
number of points the answer should receive.
b. Subjective- answers can be scored through
various ways. These are then the given
different values by scores, the essays and
performance tests.

53. Classification of Tests
Sort of Response being emphasized
a. Power- allows examinees a generous time
limit to be able to answer every item. The
questions are difficult and this difficulty is
what is emphasized.
b. Speed- with severely limited time constraints
but the items are easy and only a few
examinees are expected to make errors.

54. Classification of Tests
Types of Response the Examinees must make
a. Performance- requires students to perform a
task. This is usually administered individually
so that the examiner can count the errors and
measure the time the examinee has
performed in each task.
b. Paper and pencil- examinees are asked to
write on paper.

55. Classification of Tests
What is measured
a. Sample- limited representative test designed
to measure the total behaviour of the
examinee, although no test an exhaustively
measure all the knowledge of an individual.
b. Sign test- diagnostic test designed to obtain
diagnostic signs to suggest that some form of
remediation is needed.

56. Classification of Tests
Nature of the Groups being compared
a. Teacher-made-test- for use within the
classroom and contains the subject being
taught by the same teacher who constructed
the test.
b. Standardized test- constructed by test
specialist working with curriculum experts and
teachers.

57. Lesson 6
Table of Specification

58. Table of Specifications
The writing of test items should be
accompanied with a carefully prepared set of
test specifications. The function of the
specifications is to describe the achievement
domain being measured and to provide
guidelines for obtaining a representative
sample of test tasks.

59. A Table of Specifications is:
• a plan to help teachers decide the subject matter in which
to test.
• the teacher’s blueprint in constructing a test for classroom
use.
• a test map that guides the teacher, TOS ensures that there
is a balance between items that test lower level thinking
skills and those with higher order thinking skills in the test.
• TOS acts in the same way as concept map to analyze
content areas.
• a two-way chart which describes the topics to be covered
by a test and the number or points which will be associated
with each topic / written in a grid or matrix.

60. The simplest TOS consist of four
columns:
(a) level of objective to be tested
(b) statement of objective
(c) item numbers where such an objective is
being tested
(d) number of items and percentage out of the
total for that particular objective

61. Steps in Preparing TOS
• List down the topics covered for inclusion in
the test.
• Determine the objectives (Bloom’s Taxonomy)
to be assessed by the test.
• Determine the percentage allocation of the
test items for each topic.

62. Guidelines in Writing Test Items
• Avoid wording that is ambiguous and
confusing.
• Use appropriate vocabulary and sentence
structure.
• Keep questions short and to the point.
• Write items that have one correct answer.
• Do not provide clues to the answer.

63. References:
http://www.ehow.com/how_4913690_steps-preparing-test.html
How to Prepare for Final Exams | eHow.comhttp://www.ehow.com/how_4510068_prepare-final-
exams.html#ixzz1soKW0g
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