There are several types of objective items that can be used to test students' knowledge: matching tests, multiple choice tests, true/false tests, correct/incorrect tests, simple recall tests, best answer tests, completion tests, and classification tests. When constructing a test, teachers should identify the test objectives, decide which item types to use, prepare a table of specifications to ensure a balance of item difficulties, construct draft items, and perform an item analysis after a try-out with students. Essay items can also be used to test higher-order thinking and come in long response or limited response formats.

1. TYPES OF OBJECTIVE ITEMS
Matching Test
• It provides a way for learners to connect a word,
sentence or phrase in one column to a corresponding
word, sentence or phrase in a second column.
Multiple Choice Test
• It consist of a question or statement to which you
respond by selecting the best answer from among a
number of choices.

2. True False Tests
• Certain statements are given below. Against each
statement two words are mentioned.
Correct/Incorrect test
• Some sentences are given below. Against each are
mentioned two words that is correct and incorrect.
Underline the correct one.
Simple Recall Test
• A test of memory in which participants are presented
with stimuli and then, after a delay, are asked to
remember as many of the stimuli as possible.

3. Simple Recall Test
• A test of memory in which participants are presented with
stimuli and then, after a delay, are asked to remember as
many of the stimuli as possible.
Best Answer Test
• Always including the correct answer as one of the possible
answer choices.
Completion Test
• A type of test in which the participant is usually required to
supply a missing phrase, word, or letter in a written text.
Classification Test
• A test in which participants are required to sort objects,
people, events, or stimuli into specific categories.

4. PLANNING A TEST AND CONSTRUCTION
OF TABLE OF SPECIFICATIONS (TOS)
The important steps in planning for a test are:
1. Identifying test objectives/lesson outcomes
2. Deciding on the type of objective test to be
prepared
3. Preparing a Table of Specifications (TOS)
4. Constructing the draft test items
5. Try-out and validation

5. Identifying Test Objectives
• An objective test, must cover the various levels of Bloom’s
taxonomy.
Example:
• We want to construct a test on the topic “Subject Verb
Agreement in English” for a Grade V class. The following are
the typical objectives. The students must be able to:
1. KNOWLEDGE. Identify the subject and verb in a given
sentence.
2. COMPREHENSION. Determine the appropriate form of a
verb to be used given the subject matter.

6. 3. APPLICATION. Write sentences observing rules on
subject-verb agreement.
4. ANALYSIS. Breakdown a given sentence into its
subject and verb.
5. SYNTHESIS/EVALUATION. Formulate rules to be
followed regarding the subject-verb agreement.
Deciding on the Type of Objective Test
• The test objectives guide the kind of objective tests
that will be designed and constructed by the
teacher.

7. Preparing a Table of Specifications
• A Table of Specifications or TOS is a test map that
guides the teacher in constructing a test. The TOS
ensures that there is balance between items that
test lower level thinking skills and those which test
higher order thinking skills.
Constructing the Test Items
• The actual construction of the test items follows the
TOS. As a general rule, it is advised that the actual
number of items to be constructed in the draft
should be double the desired number of items.

8. Item Analysis and Try-out
• The test draft is tried out to a group of pupils or
students. The purpose of this try-out is to
determine the (a) item characteristics trough item
analysis, and characteristics of the test itself-
validity, reliability and practicality.

9. Matching Type and Supply Type Items
The matching type items may be considered as modified
multiple-choice type items where the choices
progressively reduce as one successfully matches the
items on the left with the items on the right.
Example: Match the items in column A with the items in column
B.
A B
_________1. Magellan a. First President of the Republic
_________2. Mabini b. National Hero
_________3. Rizal c. Discovered the Philippines
_________4. Lapu-Lapu d. Brain of Katiputian
_________5. Aguinaldo e. The great painter
f. Defended Limasawa island

10. • Supply type tests depend heavily on the way that the
stems are constructed. These tests allow for one and
only one answer and, hence, often test only the
students’ knowledge. It is , however, possible to
construct supply type of tests that will test higher
order thinking as the following example shows:
• Example: Write an appropriate synonym for each of
the following. Each blank corresponds to a letter:
Metamorphose: _ _ _ _ _ _
Flourish: _ _ _ _

11. • The appropriate synonym for the first is CHANGE with
six(6) letters while the appropriate synonym for the
second is GROW with four (4) letters. Notice that these
questions require not only mere recall of words but also
understanding of these words.

12. Essays
• Essay items are questions that require the student to
supply and develop the correct answer. This is different
from objective items in which the options are provided
and the student selects from among them. Essay items
focus upon higher level thinking in comparison to the
lower level thinking focus of objective items. There are
two common types of essay items and they are the
long response essay and the limited response essay.

13. Long Response Essay
• The long response essay is a complex essay of several or
more paragraphs that addresses a challenging question
that requires deep thinking. An example of a long
response essay item is below.
Compare and contrast Ancient Egypt and Ancient
Mesopotamia. Consider the geographic, economic,
social, and military approaches. Your response will be
graded upon accuracy, depth of thinking, organization,
and clarity.

14. Limited Response Essay
• Limited response essays items require a student to
recall information in an organized way in order to
address a specific problem. The length of the response
may be a paragraph or two and the answer does not
have the same depth as long response. One reason the
answers are shorter and simpler is because these types
of questions may only address one issue per item. Long
response essay items will deal with several issues in each
item. Below is an example of a limited response item.
Explain two differences between Ancient Egypt and
Ancient Mesopotamia.