This document summarizes a seminar on test construction presented to faculty of BNHS-Villa Maria Annex. It discusses the importance of creating valid and reliable tests to properly evaluate student learning. Guidelines are provided for developing different test item formats, including multiple choice, true/false, matching, and essay questions. The presentation emphasizes writing clear, unambiguous questions and avoiding common pitfalls in test design to ensure tests accurately measure student understanding of course material.

1. WELCOME
BNHS-Villa Maria Annex
In-Service Seminar
Oct. 21-24, 2014

2. TEST
CONSTRUCTION
The Art of Effective Evaluation
Coping with the K-12
Presented to the Faculty of
BNHS-Villa Maria Annex
Presented by:
Arnel O. Rivera
http://www.slideshare.net/ArnelSSI
Dilemma

3. EMPTY YOUR CUP
An Old Buddhist Tale

4.  Bruce Lee, the legendary
martial artist, once told a
story about a highly-educated
man who went
to a Zen teacher to ask
and acquire knowledge
about Zen.

5.  As the Zen teacher began
to explain things, the man
would frequently interrupt
with remarks like, "Oh,
yes, we have that too…”

6.  Finally the Zen teacher
stopped talking. He began
to serve tea. He poured
tea into the man’s cup.

7.  He poured tea into the cup
until it was full, and then
kept pouring until the cup
overflowed. "Enough!" the
man once more
interrupted, "No more can
go into the cup!"

8.  “Indeed, I see," answered the Zen teacher, "If
you do not first empty the cup, how can you
taste my cup of tea?"

9.  A full cup cannot accept
anything more. Similarly,
a person who believes
that he had learnt a lot
cannot learn anything
else & will stagnate
quickly and not move to
higher levels.

10. ATTITUDE DETERMINES YOUR ALTITUDE.
A SMALL CHANGE IN ATTITUDE MAKES BIG
DIFFERENCE

11. HOUSE RULES
• Put you cellphones in silent mode. No
texting of entertaining of calls.
• No multi-tasking. Concentrate on the
seminar.
• BAWAL ANG DEDMA!
Participate, Participate
and PARTICIPATE!

12. Why is there a need to study TEST
CONSTRUCTION?

13. For every problem there is a
solution. If you are not part of
the solution then you are part of
the PROBLEM.
Chinkee Tan
Chink Positive

14. 13% of students who got low
grades in exams are caused
by faulty test questions.
WORLDWATCH
The Philadelphia Trumpet
August 2005

15. Sample Test Question:

16. “The evaluation of pupils’
progress is a major aspect of
the teacher’s job.“
Evaluating Educational Outcomes
(Oriondo & Antonio)

17. Explain the message of the comic strip.

18. Our students were trained
to memorize information.
After they have memorized
facts, then what?

19. Old belief about teaching .....
Education is a process where the
notes of the teachers or the
contents in the books are
transfered to the notebooks of
the students, without
understanding them.
(Wiggins, 2009)

20. In your lesson plans, did you
ever bother to ask this
question:
• How do you know if
you have achieved
your desired result?

21. What is testing?
“A test is a sample of behavior, products, answers, or
performances from a particular domain” (Carrington, 1994)
“… it's a systematic method of eliciting performance which is intended
to be the basis for some sort of decision making" (Hughes, 1989).
“A test will predict performance levels, and the learner will somehow
reconstruct its parts in meaningful situations when necessary”
(McCann, 2000)
“ Testing is generally concerned with turning performance into
numbers.” (Baxter, 1997)
Guidelines for Test Construction

22. What are tests for?
Inform learners and teachers of the strengths and
weaknesses of the process
Motivate learners to review or consolidate specific material
Guide the planning/development of the ongoing teaching
Create a sense of accomplishment
Determine if the objectives
Encourage improvement
Guidelines for Test Construction
process
have been achieved

23. Encourage
improvement!

24. BARRIERS IN TEST CONSTRUCTION
Ms. Alanganin –
Mr. Highfalutin –
Ms. Madaldal –
Ms. Magulo –
Ms. Malabo –
Mr. Pulpol –
Ms. Foringer –
Ms. Colonial Mentality –
confusing statements
difficult vocabulary
excessive wordiness
complex sentence structure
unclear instructions
unclear illustrative materials
linguistically bound words
culturally bound words

25. 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

26. 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

27. “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)

28. 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)

29. General Steps in Test Construction
DRAFT
ORDER
TEST ANALYZE
SUBMISSION
PRODUCE A
T.O.S.

30. 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.

31. Sample TOS

32. KPUP Paradox
Knowledge – answers the question
what, where and when (ano, saan at
kailan)
Process – answers the question how?
(paano)
Understanding – answers the question
why (bakit)

33. Tips in Preparing the Table
of Specifications (TOS)
Don’t 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.
Weigh the appropriateness of the distribution
of checks against the students' level, the
importance of the test, the amount of time
available.

34. 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

35. 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, become confused or anxious.
2. Items should measure one’s knowledge of the
item context not their level of interest.
3. Write items to measure what students know,
not what they do not know. (Cohen & Wallack)

36. Multiple Choice Test

37. 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.

38. Anatomy of a Perfect
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

39. 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.

40. 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).

41. Multiple Choice Questions:
7. When using incomplete statements place
the blank space at the end.
8. When possible organize the responses.
9. Reduce wordiness.
10. When writing distracters, think of incorrect
responses that students might make.

42. 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.

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

44. 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.

45. 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

46. True or False

47. 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.

48. 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.

49. Examples:
Find the errors, and/or problems with the
following true-false tests.
____ 1. Repetition always strengthens the
tendency for a response to occur.
(Using "always" usually means the answer
is false.)

50. Examples:
_____ 2. The process of extinction is
seldom immediate but extends
over a number of trials.
(Words like "seldom" usually indicate a
true statement.)

51. 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.”

52. Matching Type

53. Parts of the Matching Type Test
(Vertical Type)
Column A
(Premise)
Column B
(Response)

54. Parts of the Matching Type Test
(Horizontal Type)
(Response)
(Premise)

55. What to Look for on
Matching Type Tests
The list of responses should be
relatively short.
Response options should be arranged
alphabetically or numerically.
Directions clearly indicate the basis for
matching.
 Can responses be used more than once?
 Where will you place your answer?
 Can students infer relationships or are
they based on real word logic?

56. What to Look for on
Matching Type Tests
Position of matches should be varied.
Avoid using patterns.
The choices of each matching set
should be on one page
There are more responses than
premises in a single set if responses
cannot be used more than once.

57. What to Look for on
Matching Type Tests
The premises are homogeneous as well
as the responses and are grouped as
one item.
 Example:
 Set A: Provinces in Region I
 Set B: Provinces in CAR
If responses can be used more than
once, it should be proportional to the
number of premises (3:5 or 4:10)

58. Examples:
Directions: Match the following.
1. Food A. Primary reinforcer
2. Psychoanalysis B. Sigmund Freud
3. B.F. Skinner C. Operant conditioning
4. Standard deviation D. Measure of variability
5. Schizophrenia E. Hallucinations

59. Examples:
Better: (Use homogenous material in matching items, and
if responses are not to be used more than once, include
more responses than stimuli.)
Match the theories in Column A with their proponents in
Column B. Write the letter of the correct answer.
Column A Column B
___ 1. Psychodynamic Theory A. Albert Bandura
___ 2. Trait Theory B. B.F. Skinner
___ 3. Behaviorism C. Carl Rogers
___ 4. Humanism D. Gordon Allport
___ 5. Social Learning Theory E. Karn Horney
F. Raymond Cattell
G. Sigmund Freud

60. Proposed Arrangement of Test Items
True or False
Multiple Choice
Matching Type
Sentence Completion
Others (RRT/Analogy/CST)
Essay

61. Things to Remember:
Making a good test takes time
Teachers have the obligation to
provide their students with the
best evaluation
Tests play an essential role in the
life of the students, parents,
teachers and other educators
Break any of the rules when
you have a good reason for
doing so! (emphasis mine)
(Mehrens, 1973)

62. POINTS TO PONDER…
A good lesson makes a good question
A good question makes a good content
A good content makes a good test
A good test makes a good grade
A good grade makes a good student
A good student makes a good COMMUNITY
Jesus Ochave Ph.D.
VP Research Planning & Development
Philippine Normal University

63. For questions , comments or if you want to
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