Distinguishing and Constructing Various Paper –and-Pencil-

Tests

“All students can learn and succeed, but not all on the same day, in the same
way.”
- Anonymous

LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of this module, you should be able to:

a. construct a Table of Specifications; and
b. construct paper-and-pencil tests in accordance with the guidelines in test construction.

PRETEST

Direction: Read the statement and options carefully and encircle the letter of your answer.
1. Which does not belong to the group?
a. enumeration
b. true-false
c. multiple choice
d. matching type
2. What type of test must a teacher use if she wants to test the students' ability to organize ideas?
a. multiple-choice type
b. short answer
c. essay
d. completion type of test
3. In the parlance of test construction, what does TOS mean?
a. Test of Specifics
b. Term of Specifications
c. Table of Specifications
d. Table of Specifics
4. What is the first step in planning an achievement test?
a. Select the type of test items to use.
b. Decide the length of the test.
c. Build a table of specification.
d. Define the instructional objectives.
5. It is a test map that guides the teacher in constructing a test and ensures the balance between items that
test lower level thinking skills and those which measures higher order thinking skills.
a.paper-and-pencil test
b.TOS
c.discrimination index
d.syllabus

CONTENT
In this Chapter, we are concerned with developing paper-and-pencil tests for assessing the
attainment of educational objectives based on Bloom’s taxonomy. Paper-and-pencil test can either be
selected response or constructed-response types. Selected response type includes a) true-false items, b)
multiple-choice type items and c) matching type. Constructed-response type of test includes a) enumeration,
b) completion and c) essays.

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 The construction of valid test items begins with a Table of Specifications.
Planning a Test and Construction of Table of Specifications
The important steps in planning for a test are:
 Identifying test objectives/lesson outcomes
 Deciding on the type of objective test to be prepared
 Preparing a Table of Specifications (TOS)
 Constructing the draft test items
 Try-out and validation
Identifying Test Objectives. An objective test, if it is to be comprehensive, must cover the
various levels of Bloom’s taxonomy. Each objective consists of a statement of what is to be achieved
preferably by the students.
Example. We want to construct a test on the topic: “Subject-Verb Agreement in English” for a
Grade V class. The following are typical objectives.
Knowledge/Remembering. The students must be able to identify the subject and the verb in a
given sentence.
Comprehension/Understanding. The students must be able to determine the appropriate form of
a verb to be used given the subject of a sentence.
Application/Applying. The students must be able to write sentences observing rules on
subject-verb agreement.
Analysis/Analyzing. The students must be able to break down a given sentence into its subject
and predicate.
Evaluation/Evaluating. The students must be able to evaluate whether or not a sentence
observes rules on subject-verb agreement.
Synthesis/Creating – The students must be able to formulate rules to be followed regarding
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. This means aligning the test with the lesson objective/
outcome. For instance, for the first four (4) levels, we may want to construct a multiple-choice type of
test while for application and judgment, we may opt to give an essay test or a modified essay test. At all
times, the test to be formulated must be aligned with the learning outcome. This is the principle of
constructive alignment.
Preparing a table of specifications (TOS). 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 (or alternatively, a balance between
easy and difficult items) in the test. The simplest TOS consists of four (4) columns: a) level of objective to
be tested, b) statement of objective, c) item numbers where such an objective is being tested and
d) number of items and percentage out of the total for that particular objective. A prototype table is shown
below:
Table of Specifications Prototype
LEVEL OBJECTIVE ITEM NUMBERS NO. %
1. Recalling Identify the subject and the verb in the given sentence. 1,3,5,7,9 5 14.29%
2. Understanding Determine the appropriate form of a verb to be used given 2,4,6,8,10 5 14.29%
the subject of the sentence.
3. Applying Write sentences observing rules on subject-verb 11,13,15,17,19 5 14.29%
agreement.
4.Analysing Break down a given sentence into its subject and predicate 12,15,18,21,23 5 14.29%
5.Evaluating Evaluate whether or not a sentence observes rules on 13,16,19,22,24 5 14.29%
subject-verb agreement
6.Creating Formulate rules on subject –verb agreement Part II 10pts 28.57%
Total 35 100%

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 In the Table of Specifications, we see that there are five items that deal with knowledge and these
items are items 1,3,5,7,9. Similarly, from the same table we see that five items represent analysis, namely:
11,15,18, 21,23. The first five levels of Bloom’s taxonomy are equally represented in the test while synthesis
(tested through essay) is weighted equivalent to ten (10) points or double the weight given to any of the first
four levels. The Table of Specifications guides the teacher in formulating the test. As we can see, the TOS
also ensures that each of the objectives in the hierarchy of educational objectives is well represented in the
test. As such, the resulting test that will be constructed by the teacher will be more or less comprehensive.
Without the Table of Specifications, the tendency for the test maker is to focus too much on facts and
concepts at the recall level. Constructing test items based on a TOS ensures alignment of learning outcomes
and assessment tasks.
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. For instance, if there are five (5) recall level items to be included in the final test form, then
at least ten (10) recall level items should be included in the draft. The subsequent test try-out and item
analysis will most likely eliminate many of the constructed items in the draft (either they are too difficult, too
easy or non-discriminatory), hence it will be necessary to construct more items than will actually be included
in the final test form.
Most often, however, the try-out is not done due to lack of time.
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 through item analysis, and b) characteristics of the test
itself – validity, reliability and practicality.
TYPES OF PAPER-AND-PENCIL TEST
Development of paper-and-pencil tests requires careful planning and expertise in terms of actual test
construction. The more seasoned teachers can produce true-false items that can test even higher order
thinking skills and not just rote memory learning. Essays are easier to construct than the other types of
objective test but the difficulty with which objective grades are derived from essay examinations often
discourage teachers from using this particular form of examination in actual practice.

A. Constructing Selected-Response Type

1. True-False Test
Binomial-choice or alternate response tests are tests that have only two (2) options such as
true or false, right or wrong, yes or no, good or better, check (4) or cross out (6) and so on. A student who
knows nothing of the content of the examination would have 50% chance of getting the correct answer by
sheer guess work. Although correction-for-guessing formulas exist, it is best that the teacher ensures that a
true-false item is able to discriminate properly between those who know and those who are just guessing. A
modified true-false test can offset the effect of guessing by requiring students to explain their answer and to
disregard a correct answer if the explanation is incorrect. Here are some rules of thumb in constructing
true-false items.
Guidelines for Constructing Alternate-Response Test
Rule 1. Do not give a hint (inadvertently) in the body of the question.
Example. The Philippines gained its independence in 1898 and therefore celebrated its centennial
year in 2000 _________.
Obviously, the answer is FALSE because 100 years from 1898 is not 2000 but 1998.

Rule 2. Avoid using the words “always”, “never”, “often” and other words that tend to be either
always true or always false.
Example. Christmas always falls on a Sunday because it is a Sabbath day. ______.
Statements that use the word “always” are almost always false. A test-wise student can easily guess
his way through a test like these and get high scores even if he does not know anything about the
test.

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 Rule 3. Avoid long sentences as these tend to be “true”. Keep sentences short.
Example: Tests need to be valid, reliable and useful, although, it would require a great amount of
time and effort to ensure that tests possess these test characteristics. ________
Notice that the statement is true. However, we are also not sure which part of the sentence is
deemed true by the student. It is fortunate that in this case, all parts of the sentence are true and,
hence, the entire sentence is true. The following example illustrates what can go wrong in long
sentences:
Example: Tests need to be valid, reliable and useful since it takes very little amount of time, money
and effort to construct tests with these characteristics. ________
The first part of the sentence is true but the second part is debatable and may, in fact, be
false, Thus, a “true” response is correct and, also, a “false” response is correct.

Rule 4. Avoid trick statements with some minor misleading word or spelling anomaly, misplaced
phrases, etc. A wise student who does not know the subject matter may detect this strategy
and thus get the answer correctly.
Example: The Raven was written by Edgar Allen Poe.
Allen is misspelled and the answer would be false! This is an example of a tricky but utterly
useless item.

Rule 5. Avoid quoting verbatim from reference materials or textbooks. This practice sends the wrong
signal to the students that it is necessary to memorize the textbook word for word and, thus,
acquisition of higher level thinking skills is not given due importance.

Rule 6. Avoid specific determiners or give-away qualifiers. Students quickly learn that strongly
worded statements are more likely to be false than true, for example, statements with “never”,
“no”, “all” or “always”. Moderately worded statements are more likely to be true than false.
Statements that are moderately worded use “many”, “often”, “sometimes”, “generally”,
“frequently”, or “some” usually should be avoided. e.g. Executives usually suffer from
hyperacidity. The statement tends to be correct. The word “usually” leads to the answer.

Rule 7. With true or false questions, avoid a grossly disproportionate number of either true or false
statements or even patterns in the occurrence of true and false statements.
1. T 6. F 1. T 6. F
2. F 7. F 2. F 7. T
3. F 8. F or 3. T 8. F
4. F 9. F 4. F 9. T
5. F 10. F 5. T 10. F
For ease of correction, teachers sometime create a pattern of True or False answers. Students
will sense it and may arrive at a correct answer not because he/she really knows the answer but
because he/she senses the pattern.

Rule 8. Avoid double negatives. This makes test item unclear and definitely will confuse the student.
e.g. The changes that take place in early childhood are NOT unchangeable. The test item simply
means “The changes in early childhood are changeable.”

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 2. Multiple Choice Tests
The multiple choice type of test offers the student with more than two (2) options per item to
choose from. Each item in a multiple choice test consists of two parts: (a) the stem and (b) the options. In the
set of options, there is a “correct” or “best” option while all the others are considered “distracters”. The
distracters are chosen in such a way that they are attractive to those who do not know the answer or who are
guessing but at the same time, have no appeal to those who actually know the answer. It is this feature of
multiple choice type tests that allows the teacher to test higher order thinking skills even if the options are
clearly stated. As in true-false items, there are certain rules of thumb to be followed in constructing multiple
choice tests.
Guidelines for Constructing Multiple Choice Items
1. Do not use unfamiliar words, terms and phrase. The ability of the item to discriminate or its level
of difficulty should stem from the subject matter rather than from the wording of the question.
Example: What would be the system reliability of a computer system whose slave and peripherals
are connected in parallel circuits and each one has a known time to failure probability of 0.05?
A student completely unfamiliar with the terms “slave” and “peripherals” may not be able to
answer correctly even if he knew the subject matter of reliability.

2. Do not use modifiers that are vague and whose meanings can differ from one person to the next
such as: much, often, usually, etc.
Example: Much of the process of photosynthesis takes place in the:
a. bark
b. leaf
c. stem
The qualifier “much” is vague and could have been replaced by more specific qualifiers like:
“90% of the photosynthetic process” or some similar phrase that would be more precise. Be
quantitative.

3. Avoid complex or awkward word arrangements. Also, avoid use of negatives in the stem as this
may add unnecessary comprehension difficulties.
Example:
(Poor) As President of the Republic of the Philippines, Corazon Cojuangco Aquino would stand next
to which President of the Philippine Republic subsequent to the 1986 EDSA Revolution?
(Better) Who was the President of the Philippines after Corazon C. Aquino?

4) Do not use negatives or double negatives as such statements tend to be confusing. It is best to
use simpler sentences rather than sentences that would require expertise in grammatical
construction.
Example:
(Poor) Which of the following will not cause inflation in the Philippine economy?
(Better) Which of the following will cause inflation in the Philippine economy?
Poor: What does the statement “Development patterns acquired during the formative years are
NOT unchangeable” imply?
A.
B.
C.
D.

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 Better: What does the statement “Development patterns acquired during the formative years are
changeable” imply?
A.
B.
C.
D.

5) Each item stem should be as short as possible; otherwise you risk testing more for reading and
comprehension skills.

6) Distracters should be equally plausible and attractive.

Example:
The short story: May Day’s Eve, was written by which Filipino author?
a.Jose Garcia Villa
b.Nick Joaquin
c.Genoveva Edrosa Matute
d.Robert Frost
e.Edgar Allan Poe
If distracters had all been Filipino authors, the value of the item would be greatly increased.
In this particular instance, only the first three carry the burden of the entire item since the last two
can be essentially disregarded by the students.

7) All multiple choice options should be grammatically consistent with the stem.
Example:
As compared to the autos of the 1960s, autos in the 1980s ______.
a.traveling slower
b.bigger interiors
c.to use less fuel
d.contain more safety measures
Options A, B, and C are obviously wrong for the language smart because when
added to the stem sentence is grammatically wrong. D is the only option which when
connected to the stem retains the grammatical accuracy of the sentence, thus obviously is
the correct answer.

8) The length, explicitness, or degree of technicality of alternatives should not be the

determinants of the correctness of the answer. The following is an example of this rule:
Example:
If the three angles of two triangles are congruent, then the triangles are:
a.congruent whenever one of the sides of the triangles are congruent
b.similar
c.equiangular and/therefore, must also be congruent
d.equilateral if they are equiangular
The correct choice, “b” may be obvious from its length and explicitness alone. The other
choices are long and tend to explain why they must be the correct choices forcing the
students to think that they are, in fact, not the correct answers.

9) Avoid stems that reveal the answer to another item.

Example:
a. Who will most strongly disagree with the progressivist who claims that the child should be

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 taught only that which interests him and if he is not interested, wait till the child gets
interested?
A. Essentialist C. Progressivist
B. Empiricist D. Rationalist
b. Which group will most strongly focus its teaching on the interest of the child?
A. Progressivist C. Perennialist
B. Essentialist D. Reconstructionist
One may arrive at a correct answer (letter b) by looking at item “a” that gives answer to “b”.
10) Avoid alternatives that are synonymous with others or those that include or overlap others.
Example:
What causes ice to transform from solid state to liquid state?
a. Change in temperature
b. Changes in pressure
c. Change in the chemical composition
d. Change in heat levels
The options “a” and “d” are essentially the same. Thus, a student who spots these identical
choices would right away narrow down the field of choices to a, b and c. The last distracter would
play no significant role in increasing the value of the item.
If this happens then the item has two answers, which is not acceptable.

11) Avoid presenting sequenced items in the same order as in the text.

12) Avoid use of assumed qualifiers that many examinees may not be aware of.

13) Avoid use of unnecessary words or phrases which are not relevant to the problem at hand
(unless such discriminating ability is the primary intent of the evaluation). The item’s value is
particularly damaged if the unnecessary material is designed to distract or mislead. Such items test
the student’s reading comprehension rather than knowledge of the subject matter.
Example:
The side opposite the thirty-degree angle in a right triangle is equal to half the length of the
hypotenuse. If the sine of a 30-degree is 0.5 and its hypotenuse is 5, what is the length of the side
opposite the 30-degree angle.
a. 2.5 b. 3.5
c. 5.5 d. 1.5
The sine of a 30-degree angle is really quite unnecessary since the first sentence already gives
the method for finding the length of the side opposite the thirty-degree angle. This is a case of a
teacher who wants to make sure that no student in his class gets the wrong answer!

14) Avoid use of non-relevant sources of difficulty such as requiring a complex calculation when only
knowledge of a principle is being tested.
Note in the previous example, knowledge of the sine of the 30-degree angle would have led
some students to use the sine formula for calculation even if a simpler approach would have
sufficed.

15) Pack the question in the stem. Here is an example of a question which has no question. Avoid it
by all means.
Example:
The Roman Empire ________________.

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 a. had no central government
b. had no definite territory
c. had no heroes
d. had no common religion

16) Use the “None of the above” option only when the keyed answer is total correct. When
choice of the “best” response is intended, “none of the above” is not appropriate, since the
implication has already been made that the correct response may be partially incorrect.

17) Note that use of “all of the above” may allow credit for partial knowledge. In a multiple option
item, (allowing only one option choice) if a student only knew that two (2) options were correct,
he could then deduce the correctness of “all of the above.” This assumes you are allowed only
one correct choice.
18) Better still use “none of the above” and “all of the above” sparingly but best not to use them
at all.

19)Having compound response choices may purposefully increase difficulty of an item.

The difficulty in a multiple choice item may be controlled by varying the homogeneity or
degree of similarity of responses. The more homogenous, the more difficult the item because they
all look like the correct answer.
Example:
(Less Homogenous) (More Homogenous)
Thailand is located in: Thailand is located next to:
a. Southeast Asia a. Laos and Kampuchea
b. Eastern Europe b. India and China
c. South America c. China and Malaya
d. East Africa d. Laos and China
e. Central America e. India and Malaya

3. Matching Type
Matching Type test items provides a way for learners to connect to a word, sentence or
phrase in one column to a corresponding word, sentence or phrase in a second column. The items in the
first column are called premises and the answers in the second column are the responses. There are ways
or procedures for us to obey in order to make a matching type of test. Directions should provide a clear
basis for matching. It must include 4-10 items in each list. It is also really important that you include
approximately 3 extra items from which you will select the answers. Matching type of question are at their
best when you need to assess the knowledge gained from a course that features a lot of dates, names,
places and events. As a rule, with matching type of questions, learners get partial credit for answers that
are only partially correct. The good thing about this type of questions is that students have least chance of
guessing the correct answer compared to other question types. As you can all observe matching questions
will serve you fine in tests that cover large amounts of material. Just a few well-constructed matching
questions will adequately test the understanding of a single topic, or even a number of topics at once. They
are also remarkably easy to construct: in essence, all you need to do is pick the key facts and create lists.
You all just have to remember some practices to construct matching type question. You just have to keep
questions short and straight forward and make sure that no items in the right column can be matched to
more than one item in the left one. When constructing answers, try to keep them interconnected by theme
and the manner of presentation.

Guidelines for Constructing Matching Type of Test

Here are some guidelines to observe in the formulation of good matching type of test.

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 1. Match homogeneous not heterogeneous item.
If you want your student to match the authors with their literary works, in one column will be authors and
in the second column must be literary works. Don’t insert nationality for instance with names of authors. That
will not be a good item since it is obviously wrong.
Example of homogenous items: the items are all about the Filipino heroes, nothing more.

Perfect Matching Type

Example: Match the items in column A with the items in Column B.

A B
____1. First President of the Republic a. Magellan
____2. National Hero b. Mabini
____3. Discovered the Philippines c. Rizal
____4. Brain of Katipunan d. Lapu-lapu
____5. The great painter e. Aguinaldo
____6. Defended Limasawa island f. Juan Luna
g. Antonio Luna
2. The stem (longer in construction than the options) must be in the first column while the options
(usually shorter) must be in the second column.
3. The options must be more in number than the stems to prevent the students from arriving at the
answer by mere process of elimination.
4. To help the examine find the answer easier, arrange the options alphabetically or
chronologically, whichever is applicable.
5. Like any other test, the direction of the test must be given. The examinees must know exactly
what to do.

Those guidelines are really important for us to give clearer questions for the learners. So that their
knowledge and skills can be measured.
Matching type items, unfortunately, often test lower order thinking skills (knowledge level) and are
unable to test higher order thinking skills such as application and judgement skills.
Another type of matching type of test is the imperfect type.
Below is an example of an imperfect matching type of test. Imperfect because an answer may be
repeated and so like an unfaithful husband or wife can pair with one other than his/her lawful wife, husband.
In column 1 are works and writings in American literature and in Column 2 are their authors. Write the
letter of the author which corresponds to his work on the blank provided before each author. In some cases,
an answer may be repeated.

Imperfect Matching Type of Test

Column A Column B
1. The Alhambra A. Cooper
2. The Pioneers B. Dana
3. The Guardian Angel C. Emerson
4. Two Years Before the Mast D. Holmes
5. Moby Dick E. Irving
6. The World in a Man of War F. James
7. The Last of the Mohicans G. Melville
8. The American Scholar H. Mark Twains (Clemens)
9. The Autocrat of the Breakfast Table I. Wharton
10. Tom Sawyer

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 If you intend to make use of this imperfect type of matching test, make sure you indicate so in the
“Direction” to caution the students who usually think that an answer may not be repeated.

Note:
There are two types of Matching type test.
Perfect Matching type - an answer may not be repeated. Unable to test higher order thinking skills
such as application and judgement skills.
Imperfect matching type – an answer may be repeated and so like an unfaithful husband or wife can
pair with one other than his/her lawful wife, husband.

B. Constructing Supply Type or Constructed Response Type.

- Another useful device for testing lower order thinking skills.
- Like the multiple choice test, the items in this kind of test consist of a stem and a blank where the
students would write the correct answer.
Example: The study of the smallest units of language is called _______.
Supply type test depend heavily on the way the stems are constructed. These test allow for one and only
one answer and hence, often test only the students recall of knowledge.
1. Completion Type of Test
This type of test measures higher order thinking skills.
Example: Write an appropriate synonym for each of the following. Each blank corresponds to a letter:
Metamorphose: _ _ _ _ _ _
Flourish: _ _ _ _
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.
Another example of a completion type of text that measures higher-order thinking skill is given below:

Example: Write G if the item on the left is greater than the item on the right; L if the item on the left is less
than the item on the right; E if the item on the left equals the item on the right and D if the relationship cannot
be determined.
A B
1. square root of 9 _________ a. -3
2. square of 25 _________ b. 615
3. 36 inches _________ c. 3 meters
4. 4 feet _________ d. 48 inches
5. 1 kilogram _________ e. 1 pound
Guidelines for The Formulation of a Completion Type of Test
The following guidelines can help you formulate a completion type of test, the fill in the blank type.

1. Avoid overmutilated sentences like this test item. Give enough clue to student.
Example: The_____ produced by the ______ is used by the green _____ to change
the _______ and ______ into ______ . This process is called ________.
2. Avoid open-ended item. There should be only one acceptable answer. This item is
open- ended, hence no good test item.
Example: Ernest Hemingway wrote ______.
3. The blank should be at the end or near the end of the sentence. The question must first
be asked before an answer is expected. Like the matching type of test, the stem must be in
the first column.
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 4. Ask question on more significant item not on trivial matter.
Example: Jose Rizal was born on June __, 1861.
5.The length of the blanks must not suggest the answer. So better to make the blanks
uniform in size.
Example: A part of speech that names persons, places or things is ____________.
A word used to connect clauses or sentences or to coordinate words in the same
clause is called _________________.

2. Essays
-classified as non-objective tests, allow for the assessment of higher order thinking skills. Such tests
require students to organize their thoughts on a subject matter in coherent sentences in order to inform an
audience. In essay tests, students are required to write one or more paragraphs on a specific topic.
Essay question
- can be used to measure attainment of a variety of objectives
1. Comparing
-Describe the similarities and differences between...
-Compare the following methods...
2. Relating cause and Effect
-What are the major causes of...
-What would be the most likely effects of…
3. Justifying
-Which of the following alternatives would you favor and why?
-Explain why you agree or disagree with the following statement.
4. Summarizing
-State the points included in...
-Briefly summarize the contents...
5. Generalizing
-Formulate several valid generalizations from the following data.
-State a set of principles that can explain the following events.
6. Inferring
-In the light of the facts presented, what is most likely to happen when...
-How would Senator X be most likely to react to the bomb explosion after the bar examination last
September?
7. Classifying
-Group the following items according to...
-What do the following items have in common?
8. Applying
-Using the principles of ______ as guide, describe how you would solve the following problem
situation.
-Describe a situation that illustrates the principles of ______
9. Analyzing
-Describe the reasoning errors in the following paragraphs
-List and describe the main characteristics of...
10. Evaluating
-Describe the strength and weakness of the following...
- Using the criteria developed in class, write an evaluation of …
11. Creating
- Make up a story describing what would happen if …
- Design a plan to prove that …
- Write a well-organized report that shows …

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 Types of Essay
1. Restricted Essay
Referred to as "short focused Response".
Example:
Asking students to "write an example", "list three reasons" or "Compare and contrast two techniques".
Sample Short Response Question
(10th Grade Reading)
How are the scrub jay and the mockingbird different?
Support your answer with details and information from the article.

2. Non-restricted/Extended Essay
Extended responses can be much longer and complex than short responses, but students are
encouraged to remain focused and organized.
Sample Extended Response Question
(5th Grade Science)
Robert is designing a demonstration to display at his school’s science fair.
He will show how changing the position of a fulcrum on a lever changes the amount
of force needed to lift an object. To do this, Robert will use a piece of wood for a
lever and a block of wood to act as a fulcrum. He plans to move the fulcrum to
different places on the lever to see how its placement affects the force needed to lift
an object.
Part – A Identify at least two other actions that would make Robert’s demonstration
better.
Part – B Explain why each action would improve the demonstration.

(Source: https://fcit.usf.edu./assessment/constructed/constructb.html)

Note that all these involve the higher-level skills mentioned in Bloom’s Taxonomy.

GUIDELINES FOR THE FORMULATION AND SCORING OF ESSAY TESTS

Rule 1: Phrase the direction in such a way that students are guided on the key concepts to be
included. Specify how the students should respond.
Example
Using details and information from the article (Hundred Islands), summarize the main points of the
article. For a complete and correct response, consider these points:
-its history (10pts)
-its interesting features (10pts)
-why it is a landmark (5 pts)
Non-example
Using details and information from the article (Hundred Islands) summarize the main points of the
article.
Source: https://fcit.usf.edu/assessment/constructed/constructb.html

Rule 2: Inform the students on the criteria to be used for grading their essays. This rule allows the
students to focus on relevant and substantive materials rather than on peripheral and unnecessary
facts and bits of information.
Example: Write an essay on the topic: “Plant Photosynthesis” using the keywords indicated. You will be
graded according to the following criteria: (a) coherence, (b) accuracy of statements, (c) use of keywords,
(d) clarity and (e) extra points for innovative presentation of ideas.

Rule 3: Put a time limit on the essay test.

Rule 4: Decide on your essay grading system prior to getting the essays of your students.
Rule 5: Evaluate all the students' answers to one question before proceeding to the next question.
Scoring or grading essay tests question by question, rather than student by student, makes it

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possible to maintain a more uniform standard for judging the answers to each question. This procedure also
helps offset the halo effect in grading. When all of the answers on one paper are read together, the grader’s
impression of the paper as a whole is apt to influence the grades he assigns to the individual answers.
Grading question by question, of course, prevents the formation of this overall impression of a student’s
paper. Each answer is more apt to be judged on its own merits when it is read and compared with other
answers to the same question, than when it is read and compared with other answers by the same student.
Rule 6: Evaluate answers to essay questions without knowing the identity of the writer.
This is another attempt to control personal bias during scoring. Answers to essay questions should
be evaluated in terms of what is written, not in terms of what is known about the writers from other contacts
with them. The best way to prevent our prior knowledge from influencing our judgment is to evaluate each
answer without knowing the identity of the writer. This can be done by having the students write their names
on the back of the paper or by using code numbers in place of names.
Rule 7: Whenever possible, have two or more persons grade each answer.
The best way to check on the reliability of the scoring of essay answers is to obtain two or more inde-
pendent judgments. Although this may not be a feasible practice for routine classroom testing, it might be
done periodically with a fellow teacher (one who is equally competent in the area). Obtaining two or more
independent ratings becomes especially vital where the results are to be used for important and irreversible
decisions, such as in the selection of students for further training or for special awards. Here the pooled
ratings of several competent persons may be needed to attain level of reliability that is commensurate with
the significance of the decision being made.
Some teachers use the cumulative criteria, i.e adding the weights given to each criterion, as basis for
grading while others use the reverse. In the latter method, each student begins with a score of 100. Points
are then deducted every time a teacher encounters a mistake or when a criterion is missed by the student in
his essay.
Rule 8: Do not provide optional questions.
It is difficult to construct questions of equal difficulty and so teacher cannot have valid comparison of
students’ achievement.
Rule 9: Provide Information about the value/weight of the question and how it will be scored.
Rule 10: Emphasize higher level thinking skills.

Example:
Scientists have found that oceans can influence the temperature of nearby landmasses. Coastal
landmasses tend to have more moderate temperatures in summer and winter than inland landmasses of the
same latitude.
Non Example:
Considering the influence of ocean temperatures, explain why inland temperatures vary in summer
and winter to a greater degree than coastal temperatures. List three coastal land masses.

LEARNING ACTIVITY

A. Direction: Using the graphic organizer below as a guide, summarize the lesson taught in this module.

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 B. Direction: Choose your topic of interest and construct a table of specifications about it . You may
research for another examples of table of specifications as a pattern or use the prototype below.

Topic: ___________________________________________
Table of Specifications Prototype
LEVEL OBJECTIVE ITEM NUMBERS NO. %
1. Recalling
2. Understanding
3. Applying
4.Analysing
5.Evaluating
6.Creating
Total 10 100%

C. Direction: Based on the constructed table of specification, construct paper-and-pencil tests in

accordance with the guidelines in test construction. Include the answer key. (You may use
another sheet of paper if necessary.)

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 ASSESSMENT

Direction: Read the statement and options carefully and encircle the letter of your answer.
1. Which does not belong to the group?
a. enumeration
b. true-false
c. multiple choice
d. matching type
2. What type of test must a teacher use if she wants to test the students' ability to organize ideas?
a. multiple-choice type
b. short answer
c. essay
d. completion type of test
3. In the parlance of test construction, what does TOS mean?
a. Test of Specifics
b. Term of Specifications
c. Table of Specifications
d. Table of Specifics
4. What is the first step in planning an achievement test?
a. Select the type of test items to use.
b. Decide the length of the test.
c. Build a table of specification.
d. Define the instructional objectives.
5. It is a test map that guides the teacher in constructing a test and ensures the balance between items that
test lower level thinking skills and those which measures higher order thinking skills.
a.paper-and-pencil test
b.TOS
c.discrimination index
d.syllabus

REFERENCES

Books
 Navarro, R. Santos, R. and Corpuz, B. (2019). Assessment of Learning 1 4th Ed. Lorimar Publishing,
Inc: Quezon City
 Navarro, R. Santos, R. and Corpuz, B. (2012). Assessment of Learning Outcomes 2nd Ed. Lorimar
Publishing, Inc: Quezon City
 Gabuyo, Y. (2012). Assessment of Learning 1 Textbook and Reviewer, Rex Book Store, Inc.: Manila
 Buendicho, F. (2010). Assessment of Student Learning 1. Rex Book Store, Inc.: Manila
 Calmorin, L. (2011). Assessment of Student Learning 1. Rex Book Store, Inc.: Manila

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 RUBRICS
Creation of Table of Specifications
Criteria Excellent (5) Fair ( 3) Poor ( 1)
Adequacy The table of specification The table of specification has The table of specification
include all necessary some important parts missing can’t be used to construct
information for the effective such as the item number. good test questions.
construction of a paper-and-
pencil test.
Balance The table of specification Most of the item are testing All of the item numbers
showcases balance between the lower order thinking skills are designated in the
the different levels of cognitive (LOTS) lower order thinking skills
domain. (LOTS)
Accuracy The table of specification The table of specification The objectives made are
manifests accuracy since includes some objectives that not specific, measurable,
SMART learning objectives need revision . attainable, relevant and
are present. time bound.

Creation of Table of Specifications

Criteria Excellent (5) Fair ( 3) Poor ( 1)
Adequacy The table of specification include The table of specification has The table of specification
all necessary information for the some important parts missing can’t be used to construct
effective construction of a paper- such as the item number. good test questions.
and-pencil test.
Balance The table of specification Most of the item are testing the All of the item numbers
showcases balance between the lower order thinking skills are designated in the
different levels of cognitive (LOTS) lower order thinking skills
domain. (LOTS)
Accuracy The table of specification The table of specification The objectives made are
manifests accuracy since includes some objectives that not specific, measurable,
SMART learning objectives are need revision . attainable, relevant and
present. time bound.

ANSWER KEY

Pretest
1. A 2. C 3. C 4. D 5. B

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