EDU 533: Assessment in Learning 1

Students’ Module #10

Name: _________________________________________________________________ Class number: _______

Section: ____________ Schedule: ________________________________________ Date: ________________

Lesson title: Planning Written Tests Materials:

Lesson Objectives: reference elementary/secondary
At the end of this module, I can: textbook for each student
1. set appropriate instructional objectives for a written test; and
2. prepare a table of specifications for a written test. References:

Productivity Tip:
Set your deadlines. This strategy will help to avoid leaving your study to the last minute, normalize deadlines
and maximize student productivity. Just like effective time management, juggling deadlines is a common
requirement for many senior jobs.

A. LESSON PREVIEW/REVIEW
1) Introduction (2 mins)
At the end of this module, you should be able to demonstrate your knowledge and skills in preparing a
Table of Specifications (TOS) reflective of appropriate instructional objectives.

2) Activity 1: What I Know Chart, part 1 (3 mins)

What do you know about this lesson? Share them on the What I Know chart.

What I Know Questions: What I Learned (Activity 4)

1. What are Table of
Specifications?

2. How do I prepare TOS?

3. How do I write objectives?

This document is the property of PHINMA EDUCATION

 EDU 533: Assessment in Learning 1
Students’ Module #10

Name: _________________________________________________________________ Class number: _______

Section: ____________ Schedule: ________________________________________ Date: ________________

B.MAIN LESSON
1) Activity 2: Content Notes (13 mins) Highlight important information as you go through the text.

Defining objectives for assessment. In designing a well-planned written test, first and foremost you should be
able to identify the intended learning outcome in a course where a written test is an appropriate method to use.
These learning outcomes are knowledge, skills, attitudes and values that every student should develop
throughout the course. Clear articulation of learning outcomes is a primary consideration in lesson planning
because it serves as the basis for evaluating the effectiveness of the teaching learning process determined
through testing or assessment. Learning objectives or outcomes are measurable statements that articulate at the
beginning of the course, what students should know and be able to do or value as a result of taking the course.
These learning goals provide the rationale for the curriculum and instruction. They provide teachers the focus
and direction on how the course should be handled, particularly in terms of course content, instruction and
assessment. On the other hand, they provide the students with reasons and motivation to study and persevere.
They give students the opportunities to be aware of what they need to do to be successful in the course, take
control and ownership of their progress, and focus on what they should be learning. Setting objectives for
assessment is the process of establishing direction to guide both the teacher in teaching and the student in
learning.

Objectives for testing. In developing written tests, the cognitive behaviors of learning outcomes are usually
targeted. For cognitive domain, it is important to identify the levels of behavior expected from the students.
Traditionally, Bloom’s Taxonomy was used to classify learning objectives based on the levels of complexity and
specificity of the cognitive behaviors.
With knowledge at the base (lower-
order thinking skill) the categories
progress to comprehension,
application, analysis, synthesis and
evaluation. However, Anderson and
Krathwohl came up with a revised
taxonomy, in which the nouns used to
represent the levels of cognitive
behavior were replaced by verbs, and
the synthesis and evaluation were
switched.
In developing the cognitive domain of
instructional objectives, key verbs can
be used.

This document is the property of PHINMA EDUCATION

 EDU 533: Assessment in Learning 1
Students’ Module #10

Name: _________________________________________________________________ Class number: _______

Section: ____________ Schedule: ________________________________________ Date: ________________

Table of Specifications (TOS) sometimes called a test blueprint, is a tool used by teachers to design a test. It is
a table that maps out the test objectives, content, or topics covered by the test; the levels of cognitive behavior
to be measured; the distribution of items; and the test format. It helps ensure that the course’s intended learning
outcomes, assessments and instructions are aligned.

Generally a TOS is prepared before a test is created. However, it is ideal to prepare one even before the start of
instruction. Teachers need to create a TOS for every test that they intend to develop. The test TOS is important
because it does the following:
● ensures that the instructional objectives and what the test captures match
● ensures that the test developer will not overlook details that are considered essential to a good test
● makes developing a test easier and more efficient
● ensures that the test will sample all important content areas and processes
● is useful in planning and organizing
● offers opportunity for teachers and students to clarify achievement expectations

Steps in developing TOS include:

1. Determine the objectives of the test. In general, objectives are identified at the start when the teacher
creates the syllabus. There are 3 types of objectives
a. cognitive- designed to increase an individual’s knowledge, understanding, and awareness
b. affective-aim to change an individual’s attitude towards something desirable
c. psychomotor- designed to build physical or motor skills

In planning for assessment, choose only the objectives that can be best captured by a written test.
Some cognitive objectives are not meant for written tests such as measuring a students fluency
skills, more so assessing psychomotor skills like a student’s balance or speed. These types of
measurements should be done through performance-based assessments
more specifically

2. Determine the coverage of the test. Only topics or concepts that have been covered in class and are
relevant should be included in the test.

3. Calculate the weight for each topic. The weight assigned per topic in the test is based on the relevance
and time spent to cover each topic during the discussion. The percentage of time for a topic in a test is
determined by dividing the time spent for that topic during instruction by the total amount of time
spent for all topics covered in the test. See example on the next page.
4. Determine the number of items for the whole test. Consider the amount of time to be used by the
students should be considered. As a general rule, students are given 30-60 seconds for each item in test

This document is the property of PHINMA EDUCATION

 EDU 533: Assessment in Learning 1
Students’ Module #10

Name: _________________________________________________________________ Class number: _______

Section: ____________ Schedule: ________________________________________ Date: ________________

formats with choices. For a 1-hour class, this means that the test should not exceed 60 items. However,
because you need to give time for the paper distribution, and giving instructions, the number of items
should be less (around 50items)

5. Determine the number of items per topic. Here, weights per item should be considered.

Topic # of Time Spent % of Time # of items

Sessions (mins) (weight)

A. Skeletal System 0.5 30 10 5

B. Muscular System 1.5 90 30 15

C. Circulatory System 1.0 60 20 10

D. Respiratory System 0.5 60 10 5

E. Reproductive System 0.5 30 10 5

F. XXX 0.5 30 10 5

G. YYY 0.5 30 10 5

TOTAL 5 sessions 300mins 100% 50 items

Formats of TOS
1. One-way TOS maps out the topics, test objectives, number of hours spent and format, number, and
placement of items. This is easy to develop because it works around the objectives without considering
the different levels of cognitive behaviors. However, this cannot ensure that all levels of cognitive
behaviors that should have been developed by the course are covered in the test.

2. Two-way TOS reflects content, time spent, number of items, levels of cognitive behavior targeted per
test content based on the theory behind cognitive testing. For example, the common framework for
testing at present in the DepEd Classroom Assessment Policy is the Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy (DepED
2015). One advantage of the format is that it allows one to see the levels of cognitive skills and
dimensions of knowledge that are emphasized by the test. It also shows the framework of assessment
used in the development of the test. This is more complex than the one-way format.

This document is the property of PHINMA EDUCATION

 EDU 533: Assessment in Learning 1
Students’ Module #10

Name: _________________________________________________________________ Class number: _______

Section: ____________ Schedule: ________________________________________ Date: ________________

Content Time # & % of KD* Level of Cognitive Behavior, Item Format, # and Placement of Items
Spent items
Remember Understand Apply Analize Evaluate Create

XXX 0.5 5 (10%) F 1.3 (#1-3)

C 1.2 (#4-5)

YYY 1.5 15 (30%) F 1.2 (#6-7)

C 1.2(#8-9) 1.2 (#10-

11)

p 1.2 (12- 1.2 (14-15)

13)

M 1.3 (16-17) 11.1 (41) 11.1 (42)

SCORING 1PT PER ITEM 2PTS PER ITEM 3PTS PER ITEM

OVERALL 5 50 (100%) 20 20 10
TOTAL

Legend: KD-Knowledge Dimension (Factual, Conceptual, Procedural, Metacognitive)

3. Three-way TOS This type of TOS reflects the features of one-way and two-way TOS. One advantage of
this format is that it challenges the test writer to classify objectives based on the theory behind
assessment. It also shows the variability of thinking skills targeted by the test. It takes much longer time
to develop this type of TOS. See the format below:
Content Learning Time # of Level of Cognitive Behavior, Item Format, # and Placement of Items
Objective
Spent Items
Remember Understand Apply Analize Evaluate Create

XXX xxx .5hrs 5 (10%) #1-3 (F) #4-5 (C)

Scoring - - - 1 point per item 2 pts per item 5 points per item

Overall 50
TOtal (100%)

This document is the property of PHINMA EDUCATION

 EDU 533: Assessment in Learning 1
Students’ Module #10

Name: _________________________________________________________________ Class number: _______

Section: ____________ Schedule: ________________________________________ Date: ________________

2) Activity 3: Skill-building Activities (with answer key) (18 mins + 2 mins checking)
Going back to the objectives of this module, you are expected to design your own TOS reflective of the outcomes
appropriate for testing. This is your time to do your task. You may need a basic education book, subject of your
choice (preferably related to your specialization.)

Task #1 Select the right assessment objectives for a written test for one quarter competencies in the K-12
curriculum of any subject area and level of your choice. Use the template below as your guide. You may use
another sheet of paper to write down or encode then print for submission.

Grade Level Subject Area

Quarter Covered Domains Covered

Content Standards

Performance Standards

Competencies Selected

Code Statement of Topic Test Format Targeted

Competency

3) Activity 4: What I Know Chart, part 2 (2 mins)

You may pause and go back to the first page to complete What I Learned column

4) Activity 5: Check for Understanding (5 mins)

Task 2 (continuation)
Design a table of specifications (TOS) for a written test covering the competencies selected in Task 1
where you know testing is the appropriate method. Use the one-way TOS for this activity. You may use
another sheet of paper or encode using spreadsheets then print for submission.

Rubrics for tasks 1& 2 are on the Key to Corrections

This document is the property of PHINMA EDUCATION

 EDU 533: Assessment in Learning 1
Students’ Module #10

Name: _________________________________________________________________ Class number: _______

Section: ____________ Schedule: ________________________________________ Date: ________________

C. LESSON WRAP-UP
1) Activity 6: Thinking about Learning (5 mins)
Remember to write and/ask for clarifications from your teacher.
________________________________________________________________________________________________

When finished, mark module 10.

FAQs
Question: Can teachers skip the preparation of TOS? Why?
A: Anybody can skip the preparation of TOS but this may reduce the purpose to parallel the learning targets
with the assessment targets. Other factors such as time management, proper assessment planning are also
compromised.
KEY TO CORRECTIONS
Activities 3 and 5 may require more time than usual.
Activity 3 rubrics for selecting test objectives
Criteria Indicators 3 2 1 Evaluator’s Rating

Beyond the Meeting the Below the self pee teac

Standards standards standards r her

Complete-ness the ff are given: the needed The needed Some of the
of informa- tion A. grade level information from A- information needed
B. subject area G are given from A-G are information
C. quarter targeted given from A-G are
D. domains covered given
E. content standards
F. performance standards
G. competencies for testing

Acceptability of A. the competencies chosen are better All A-C are satisfied All A-C are Some
work assessed using a given test PLUS the format of satisfied indicators of
B. the format of the test chosen is the work is neat A-C are not
appropriate, given the cognitive behavior satisfied
represented by the competency
C. the work is free from any error like
spelling and grammar

This document is the property of PHINMA EDUCATION