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West Visayas State University

Janiuay Campus
(Formerly Janiuay Polytechnic College, Don Tiburcio A. Lutero Nat’l Comp.
High School,Janiuay Nat’l Comp. High School, Janiuay National
Vocational High School, Janiuay High School)
Janiuay, Iloilo, Philippines
*Trunkline: (063) (033) 317-1894
* Website: www.wvsu.edu.ph*Email Address: janiuay@wvsu.edu.ph

LEARNING MATERIALS IN EDUC. 208-ASSESSMENT OF LEARNING 1

BY: ASSO. PROF.EXALTACION B. MONJE
DR. MARIAN ARGIE M. DARADAR

Year and Section: BEEd II-A and II-B, BSEd II-A, II-B and II-C
Semester: Second Semester
School Year: 2020 – 2021

Guidelines to Students

1. Read the learning materials given to you or posted in your group chat (GC).
2. Work on the exercises/activities indicated at the end of the unit or chapter. Use long size bond
paper for your answer sheet.
3. Answers to the exercises/activities will be sent back through e-mail, messenger or google
classroom. These will serve as your output in this subject.
e-mail address: exalmonje@gmail.com
mariaandaradar@wvsu.edu.ph
4. For those who can’t submit their output through email or messenger, you placed it inside an
envelop properly sealed and labeled (with your name, name of your subject teacher, and name of
the subject) and submit to security guard on duty.
5. If you have queries/questions regarding the topic, just send message through messenger (GC or
private messenger) or call me in this cp number: 09306481618 -----Asso. Prof. Exaltacion Monje
09199950207------Dr. Marian Argie Daradar
6. Queries/questions regarding the topic will be entertained during your class schedule.

UNIT I. BASIC CONCEPTS IN ASSESSMENT

Objectives: At the end of the unit, the students must have:

1. explained and discussed the nature of assessment and its relevance to learners, teachers, parents
and stakeholders;
2. compared and contrast measurement, assessment, testing and evaluation;
3. explained the various roles/purposes of assessment to learners, teachers, parents, and other
stakeholders;
4. showed appreciation on the role of assessment in their teaching learning process.

Measurement- deals with quantitative description of data; refers to the process of quantifying an
individual’s achievement, personality and attitude by means of appropriate measuring instruments.
- deals with the systematic procedure of determining the quantity or extent of all the measurable
dimensions in the educative process

Types of measurement

1. objective (testing)-considered more stable since repeated measurement of the same

quantity/quality will produce more or less the same outcome
2. Subjective(perception)- the measurements differ from one assessor to the next

The issue that that test alone cannot measure the total development of an individual, makes it
imperative that the term “measurement” be changed to “assessment”.
The overall goal of assessment is to improve students’ learning and provide students, teachers and parents
with reliable information regarding students’ progress and extent of attainment of the expected learning
outcomes.

Assessment- a process of gathering and organizing quantitative or qualitative data into an interpretable
form to have basis for judgment or decision making. It is a prerequisite to evaluation. It provides the
information which enables evaluation to take place.

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 - the ongoing process of gathering evidences of students’ performance over a period of time to determine
learning and mastery of skills.

Evaluation-is a process of systematic interpretation, analysis, appraisal or judgment of the worth of

organized data as basis for decision-making. It involves judgment about the desirability of changes in
students.
- It also refers to the qualitative description of data; the process of attaching quality or value judgment to
the quantity obtained through the process of measurement and assessment.

Traditional Assessment– refers to the use of paper and pencil objective test

Alternative Assessment- refers to the use of methods other than pen-and –paper objective test which
includes performance tests, projects, portfolios, journals, and the like.

Authentic Assessment- an assessment method that stimulate true- to -life situations. This could be
objective test that reflect real-life situations or alternative methods that are parallel to what we experience in
real life.

Test - an instrument designed to measure any characteristic, quality, ability, knowledge or skill. It comprised
of items in the area it is designed to measure.

Purposes of Classroom Assessment

1. Assessment FOR Learning – this includes three types of assessment done before and during
instruction. These are placement, formative, and diagnostic.

a) Placement –this is done prior to or before instruction. Its purpose is to assess the needs of the
learners to have basis in planning for a relevant instruction. Teachers use this assessment to know
what their students are bringing into the learning situation. The results of this assessment place
students in specific learning groups to facilitate teaching and learning. Examples: Aptitude tests,
NCEE, NCAE, NEAT, pre-tests

b) Formative – this is done during instruction. This assessment is where teachers continuously
monitor the students’ level of attainment of the learning objectives. The results of this assessment
are communicated clearly and promptly to the students for them to know their strengths and
weaknesses and the progress of their learning.
-guides the teacher in his day to day teaching activity; the results are the basis of teachers’
decision to proceed to the next lesson or re-teach the lesson. Examples: Quizzes, daily recitation,
long test

c) Diagnostic – this is done during instruction and used to determine students’ recurring and
persistent difficulties. It searches for the underlying causes of students’ learning problems that do
not respond to first aid treatment. It helps formulate a plan for detailed remedial instruction.
-It is the basis of teachers on what to do next in the teaching-learning process.
- determine the gaps in learning or learning processes, hopefully to be able to bridge these gaps.

Example: Diagnostic test on the topic “sentence construction”, Diagnostic test in “performing the
four fundamental operations, addition to division”.

2. Assessment OF Learning – this is done after instruction. This is usually referred to as the summative
assessment. It is used to certify what students’ know and can do and the level of their proficiency or
competency. Its results reveal whether or not instructions have successfully achieved the curriculum
outcomes. The information from assessment of learning is usually expressed as marks or letter grades.
The results of which are communicated to the students, parents, and other stakeholders for decision
making. Example: summative tests, periodical tests, midterm/finals

3. Assessment AS Learning – this is done for teachers to understand and perform well their role of
assessing FOR and OF learning. It requires teachers to undergo training on how to assess learning and
be equipped with the competencies needed in performing their work as assessors.

Standards for Teacher Competence in Educational assessment of Students

(Developed by the American Federation of Teachers National, Council on Measurement in Education,
national Education Association)

Teachers should be skilled in:

1. choosing assessment methods appropriate for instructional decisions.

2. developing assessment methods appropriate for instructional decisions.
3. administering, scoring, and interpreting the results of both individual externally –produced and
teacher-produced assessment methods.

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 4. using assessment results when making decisions about individual students, planning teaching,
developing curriculum, and school improvement.
5. developing valid pupil grading procedures which use pupil assessments.
6. communicating assessment results to students, parents, other lay audiences and other
educators.
7. Recognizing unethical, illegal, and otherwise inappropriate assessment methods and uses of
assessment information.

ACTIVITY #1

(Use long size bond paper for your answer sheet)

A. Identify the assessment role/function (placement, formative, diagnostic or summative) illustrated

by each of the following.

1. Daily quizzes
2. Periodical test
3. National scholastic aptitude test
4. IQ test
5. District wide test
6. Licensure Examination for Teachers
7. Attitude test
8. Pre-test
9. College Admission Test
10. Unit test

B. Discussion

1. Compare and contrast measurement, assessment, and evaluation

2. What important points do you realize as you read the concepts? Why?
3. How important are the concepts for your chosen profession?
4. Why is there a need to assess students’ performance in the classroom?

UNIT II. PRINCIPLES OF HIGH QUALITY ASSESSMENT

Objectives: At the end of the unit, the students must have:

1. enumerated and discussed the principles of high quality assessment ;

2. matched learning outcomes with the appropriate assessment method;
3. constructed learning targets/objectives in the cognitive domain;
4. determined whether the assessment method is valid and reliable;
5. recommended actions to observe ethical standard in testing;
6. critiqued teacher-made test using the principles of high quality assessment;
7. practiced fairness in assessing student performances.

Principle 1. Clarity and Appropriateness of Learning Targets/Objectives

 Benjamin Bloom identified three domains of learning: These are cognitive, affective and psychomotor.

Cognitive(mental skills)- involves knowledge and the development of intellectual skills.

Affective – includes the manner in which we deal with things emotionally, such as feelings, values,
appreciation, enthusiasms, motivations and attitudes.

Psychomotor – includes physical movement, coordination, and use of the motor-skill areas.

The cognitive domain will be given more emphasis in this unit.

 Learning targets should be clearly stated, specific and center on what is truly important.
Learning targets need to be stated in behavioral terms or terms which denote something which can be
observed through the behavior of the students. Thus the objective “to understand the concept of
buoyancy” is not stated in a behavioral term. It is not clear how one measures “understanding”. On the
other hand, if we restate the target as “to determine the volume of water displaced by a given object
submerged”, then we can easily measure the extent to which the students understand “buoyancy”
Below is Bloom’s revised taxonomy of educational objectives/targets (Cognitive):

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 Figure 1.

Figure 2.

In figure 2 above, the revision is indicated by arrow heads.

Knowledge/Remember – recall facts and basic concepts

- Refers to acquisition of facts, concepts and theories. This level of skills forms the foundation of all other
cognitive objectives for without knowledge; it is not possible to move up to the next higher level of
thinking skills.
Comprehension/Understand – explain ideas or concepts. It is a step higher than mere acquisition of facts
and involves a cognition or awareness of the interrelationships of facts and concepts.

Application/Apply – use information in new situations

- Refers to the transfer of knowledge from one field of study to another or from one concept to another
concept in the same discipline.

Analysis/analyze – draw connections among ideas

- Refers to the breaking down of a concept or idea into its components and explaining the concept as a
composition of these concepts.
Evaluation/Evaluate – justify a stand or decision
- Refers to valuing and judging or putting the “worth” of a concept or principle.
Synthesis/Create – produce new or original work
- Refers to the opposite of analysis and entails putting together the components in order to summarize
the concept.

Below is a matrix consisting of cognitive level of skills and the corresponding verbs to be used in formulating
objectives/learning targets.

Category/Cognitive Skills Sample Illustrative Verbs

Knowledge/Remember defines; describes; enumerates; identifies; labels;
lists; matches; names; reads; records; selects; states;
views; writes
Comprehension/Understand classifies; cites; converts; describes; discusses;
estimates; explains; generalizes; gives examples;
illustrates; locates; restate (in own words);
summarizes; traces; understands; recognizes;
translates; paraphrases;
Application/Apply Acts; administers; applies; articulates; collects;

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 computes; constructs; contributes; controls;
demonstrates; solve; discovers; establishes; extends;
implements; instructs; participates; prepares;
produces; relates; transfers; uses; utilizes; operates;
sketches;
Analysis/Analyze Analyzes; breaks down; categorizes; compares;
correlates; differentiates; discriminates; distinguishes;
focuses; illustrates; infers; outlines; separates;
subdivides; organizes; examines
Evaluation/Evaluate Appraises; compares and contrasts; concludes;
criticizes; decides; interprets; judges; justifies; values;
supports; argues; weighs;
Synthesis/Create adapts; anticipates; collaborates;
formulates; devises; generates; hypothesizes;
integrates; modifies; negotiates; rearranges;
reconstructs; validates; revises; invents; develops;
incorporates; combines; creates; compiles; designs;
assembles; investigates; reorganizes

The following are examples of behavioral objectives in the cognitive domain:

Topic: Addition of Fractions

Objectives: At the end of the lesson/topic, the students must have:

a. defined similar and dissimilar fractions;-----------------------------------------Knowledge/Remember

b. discussed how to add a) similar fractions b) dissimilar fractions;------------Comprehension/Understand
c. added similar and dissimilar fractions;--------------------------------------------Application/Apply
d. differentiated similar fractions from dissimilar fractions;------------------------Analysis/analyze
e. judged the correctness of their answers to the problems;------------------Evaluation/Evaluate
f. formulated a rule in adding similar and dissimilar fractions;--------------------Synthesis/Create

Principle 2. Appropriateness of Methods

 Learning targets/objectives are measured by appropriate assessment methods.

Once the learning targets are clearly set, it is now necessary to determine an appropriate assessment
procedure.

The following are some assessment methods:

a. Written-Response Instruments – include objective tests (multiple choice, true-false, matching

type), essays. Objective tests are appropriate for assessing the various levels of hierarchy of
educational objectives. Multiple choice tests in particular can be constructed in such a way as to
test higher order thinking skills. Essays when properly planned, can test the student’s grasp of the
higher level cognitive skills particularly in the areas of application, analysis, evaluation and
synthesis.
b. Performance Test–this includes presentations, demonstrations, exhibitions, athletics..etc. One of
the most frequently used measurement instruments to measure performance is the checklist. The
performance checklist consists of a list of behaviors that make up a certain a certain type of
performance. It is used to determine whether or not an individual behaves in a certain way when
asked to complete a particular task. If a particular behavior is present when an individual is
observed, the teacher places a check mark opposite it on the list.

Example: Performance Checklist in Solving Mathematics Problem

Behavior

1. Identifies a given information/data__________

2. Identifies what is being asked___________
3. Uses variables to replace the unknown________
4. Formulates the equation___________
5. Performs algebraic operations_______
6. Obtains an answer________
7. Checks if the answer makes sense______

c. Oral Questioning – This includes oral examinations, conferences, and interviews. It is an

appropriate assessment method when the objective s are a) to assess the student’s stock
knowledge and b) to determine student’s ability to communicate ideas in coherent verbal
sentences.

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 d. Observation– this can be formal or informal. A tally sheet is used by teachers to record the
frequency of student behaviors, activities or remarks.
e. Self Reports – a self-checklist is used in this method. A self-checklist is a list of several
characteristics or activities presented to the subject of a study. The individuals are asked to study
the list and then to place a mark opposite the characteristics when they possess the given
characteristics. This helps diagnose or to appraise the performance of students from the point of
view of the students themselves.

Principle 3.Balance

 A balance assessment sets targets in all domains of learning (cognitive, affective and psychomotor) or
domains of intelligence (verbal-linguistic, logical-mathematical, bodily-kinesthetic, visual-spatial,
musical-rhythmic, intrapersonal-social, intrapersonal-introspection, physical world-natural, existential-
spiritual).
 A balanced assessment makes use of both traditional and alternative assessments.

Principle 4. Validity

 An assessment method/instrument should be valid.

Validity – is the degree to which the assessment instrument measures what it intends to measure. It
also refers to the usefulness of the instrument for a given purpose. It is the most important criterion of
a good assessment instrument.

Ways in Establishing Validity

1. Face Validity–refers to the outward appearance of the test. It is done by examining the physical
appearance of the instrument to make it readable and understandable. It is the lowest form of test
validity.
2. Content Validity –refers to the content and format of the instrument. This answers the following
questions: How appropriate is the content? How comprehensive? Does the instrument logically get
the intended variable or factor? How adequately does the sample of items or questions represent
the content to be assessed? It is done through a careful and critical examination of the objectives
of assessment to reflect the curricular objectives.
3. Criterion-Related Validity – the test item is judged against a specific criterion; the degree to
which the item measures a criterion. It is established statistically such that a set of scores revealed
by measuring instrument is correlated with the scores obtained in another external predictor or
measure. It has two purposes: concurrent and predictive.
a) Concurrent validity – describes the present status of the individual by correlating the set
of scores obtained from two measures given at a close interval. This can be established by
correlating the scores in the newly constructed test with the scores in another test with
already known validity. Ex. If the school wanted to determine whether the entrance test
constructed is valid or not, the scores in the newly constructed test can be correlated in the
scores in the previous entrance test which is already known to be valid.
b) Predictive validity – describes the future performance of an individual by correlating the
sets of scores obtained from two measures given at a longer time interval. The assessment
instrument must gather data that correlates with students ’previous performance in order to
predict future performance. Ex. Scores of students in an entrance examination can be
correlated with their grades in academic subjects at the end of a semester to determine
whether the entrance test constructed possess predictive validity.
4. Construct Validity – is established statistically by comparing psychological traits or factors that
theoretically influence scores in a test. Ex. The newly constructed measuring instrument possess
construct validity, if when administered to two groups of individuals (fast learners and slow
learners), the fast learners are expected to get higher scores than the slow learners. If the slow
learners get higher scores than the fast learners, then the instrument has a poor construct validity.

Principle 5. Reliability

 This refers to the consistency of scores obtained by the same person when retested using the same or
equivalent instrument. It is also a term that is synonymous with dependability or stability.
Reliability can be estimated in several ways as shown in the matrix below.

Method Type of Reliability Procedure Statistical Measure

Measure
1. Test-Retest Measure of Stability Give a test twice to the Pearson’s r
same learners with any
time interval between
tests from several
minute to several years
2. Equivalent Forms Measure of Equivalence Give parallel forms of Pearson’s r
test (Form A and Form

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 B) with close time
interval between forms
3. Test-retest with Measure of Stability Give parallel forms of Pearson’s r
Equivalent Forms and Equivalence tests (Form A and Form
B)with increased time
interval between forms.
4. Split Half Measure of Internal Give a test once to Pearson’s r and
Consistency obtain scores for Spearman Brown
equivalent halves of the Formula
test..ex. odd and even -
numbered items
5. Kuder-Richardson Measure of Internal Give the test once then Kuder-Richardson
Consistency correlate the proportion Formula 20 and 21
/percentage of the
students passing and
not passing a given
item.

Principle 6. Fairness

 A fair assessment provides all students with an equal opportunity to demonstrate achievement. The
key to fairness are as follows:

1. Students have knowledge of learning targets and assessment.

2. Students are given equal opportunity to learn.
3. Students possess the pre-requisite knowledge and skills.
4. Students are free from teacher stereotypes.
5. Students are free from biased assessment task and procedures.

Principle7. Practicality and Efficiency

When assessing learning, the information obtained should be worth the resources and time required to
obtain it. The factors to consider are as follows.
 Teacher Familiarity with the Method. The teacher should know the strengths and weaknesses of
the method and how to use it.
 Time required. Time includes construction and use of the instrument and the interpretation of results.
Other things being equal, it is desirable to use the shortest assessment time that provides valid and
reliable results.
 Complexity of the Administration. Directions and procedures for administrations are clear and that
little time and effort is needed.
 Ease of Scoring. Use scoring procedures appropriate to the method and purpose. The easier the
procedure, the more reliable assessment is.
 Ease of Interpretation. Interpretation is easier if there is a plan on how to use the results prior to
assessment.
 Cost. Other things being equal, the less expense used to gather data/information, the better.

Principle 8. Continuity

 Assessment takes place all phases of instruction. It could be done before, during, and after instruction.

Principle 9. Authenticity

Features of Authentic Assessment:

 Meaningful performance task

 Clear standards and public criteria
 Quality products and performance
 Positive interaction between the assessor and the assessee
 Emphasis on meta-cognition and self-evaluation
 Learning that transfer

Principle 10. Communication

 Assessment targets and standards should be communicated.

 Assessment results should be communicated to important users.
 Assessment results should be communicated to students through direct interaction or regular ongoing
feedback on their progress.

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Principle 11. Positive Consequences

 Assessment should have positive a positive consequence to students; that is, it should motivate them
to learn.
 Assessment should have positive consequence to teachers; that is, it should help them improve the
effectiveness of their instruction.

Principle 12. Ethics

 Teachers should free the students from harmful consequences of misuse or overuse of various
assessment procedures such as embarrassing and violating students’ right to confidentiality.
 Teachers should be guided by laws and policies that affect their classroom assessment.
 Administrators and teachers should understand that it is inappropriate to use standardized student
achievement to measure teaching effectiveness.

ACTIVITY #2

(Use long size bond paper for your answer sheet)

A. Classify the cognitive objectives below in terms of revised Bloom’s Taxonomy (remember,
understand, apply, analyze, evaluate, and create)

At the end of the lesson, the students must have:

1. identified the parts of a flower.

2. enumerated the characteristics of a good test.
3. used the concept of ratio and proportion in finding the height of a building.
4. named the past presidents of the Philippines.
5. summarized the salient features of a good essay.
6. constructed a group frequency distribution of the given set of data.
7. compared and contrasted measurement, assessment and evaluation.
8. composed a poem related to the topic.
9. interpreted the SPSS results.
10. discussed the guidelines in constructing a multiple choice type of test.

B. Discussion

1. Is it possible for a test to be reliable but not valid? Discuss.

2. Discuss the appropriateness of the following assessment methods:
a) Objective test
b) Essay test
c) Performance test
d) Oral questioning
e) Self reports
C. Select a topic (in any subject) appropriate for elementary or high school students then have it
photocopied. Construct/formulate two (2) learning targets/objectives for each cognitive level of
skills based in Bloom’s revised taxonomy. Submit your work together with the photocopy of the
topic.

UNIT III. DEVELOPMENT OF ASSESSMENT TOOLS

Objectives: At the end of the unit, the students must have:

1. Identified the different types of objective tests;

2. Planned a rest and constructed a table of specification;
3. Constructed and evaluated true-false, multiple choice, matching type, supply and essay test
items;
4. Cooperated with the members in accomplishing a group task.

Types of Tests

1. True-False
2. Multiple choice
3. Matching type
4. Filling the blanks
5. Essay

Development of objective tests requires careful planning and expertise in terms o f actual test construction.

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Planning a Test and Construction of Table of Specifications (TOS)

The important steps in planning a test are:

 Identifying test objectives

 Deciding on the type of objective test to be prepared
 Preparing a table of Specification (TOS)
 Construction of 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 (remember, understand, apply, analyze, evaluate, create). Each objective consists of a
statement of what is to be achieved and, preferably, by how many percent of the students.

Deciding on the type of objective test to be prepared. The test objectives dictate the kind of
objective test that will be designed and constructed by the teacher. For instance, for the first four (4) levels,
we may want to construct a multiple choice type of test while for the two (2) higher levels, we may opt to
give an essay or a modified essay test.

Preparing a table of specification (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 a balance between items that test lower level
thinking skills and those which test higher order thinking skills (or alternately, a balance between easy and
difficult items in the test.

Table 1. A Table Showing a Table of Specification (TOS)

TABLE OF SPECIFICATIONS (TOS)---Prototype

Course Number: SS 106 Course Title: Economics with TAR

Semester: Second School Year: 2018 - 2019
Term: __/__ Mid___ Final
Remember

Understand

Apply

Analyze

Evaluate

Create

(Hours)
Time Spent

No. of Items
Process
Content/Topic

Introduction to 11,15,16,17,18, 1,2,9, 8 22

Economics 19,24,53,54,55,
56.57,58,59,60 10,20,
21,23

Demand and 5,8,14, 4,6,7, 61,62,63 3,26, 34, 9 24

Supply 12,13, ,64. 65
29,38 22,25, 27,
28,39 30

National Income 33,35,36,40,41, 31,32, 43 66(5pts) 6 16

44 37,42

Economic 46,47,48,50,52 49 45, 3 8

Development 51

TOTAL 31 21 4 7 2 5 26 70

(Try to search examples of other format of a TOS)

The table above presents a sample/prototype of a table of specification (TOS) with columns for
content/topic, cognitive skills (there are six), time spent (in hours or minutes), number of items in each topic.
The other element that is not obviously noticed is the item placement. As you can see in the table, item
numbers 61, 62, 63 and 64 are placed in a content “Demand and Supply”; the cognitive skill is “application”.
This means that these items should be taken from the said content, and constructed such as they measure
how the examinee applies the concept in real life situation.

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 How to Compute for the Number of Items in Each Topic

1. Use the total number of items in the test and the time spent/allotment for each topic
2. Refer to the TOS above for an example:

There are 22 items for the content “Introduction to Economics”. It is determined by dividing time
spent for this subtopic (8) by the total number of time spent for the whole lesson, then multiply the
result by the total number of items in the test.

8
x 70 = 21.53 or 22 number of items to be constructed in the
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subtopic “Introduction to Economics”

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x 70 = 24.23 or 24 number of items to be constructed in the
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subtopic “ Demand and Supply”.

The same procedure will be applied for succeeding subtopics.

After developing a table of specification, the teacher should make a decision as to type of item formats
that will be constructed. The choice of the item format should be based on clearly stated objectives. If the
item requires the enumeration of important facts, then the test item format should be enumeration. There
are guidelines for constructing different test item formats. As soon as the table of specification is developed,
the teacher is ready for test construction.

Constructing the draft 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 double the desired number of
items. 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.

Try-out and validation. 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, practicality, etc.

Constructing a True-False Test

Binomial-choice tests are tests that have only two (2) options such as true or false, right or wrong, good or
better and soon. A modified true-false test can offset the effect of guessing by requiring the students to
explain their answer and to disregard a correct answer.

Guidelines in Constructing True-False Test

1. Do not give a hint in the body of question.

Ex. 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.

2. Avoid using the words “always”, “never”, “often” and other adverbs that tend to be either always true
or always false.
3. Avoid long sentences as these tend to be “true”. Keep sentences short.
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.
Ex. The principle of our school is Mr. Albert P. Pamadero.

The principal’s name may actually be correct but since the word is misspelled and the entire sentence
takes a different meaning, the answer would be false! This is an example of a tricky but utterly useless
item.
5. Avoid quoting verbatim from reference materials or textbooks. This practice sends wrong signal to the
students that it is necessary to memorize the textbook word for word and thus, acquisition of higher
level thinking skills are not given due importance.
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”, or
“always”. Moderately worded statements are more likely to be true than false. Statements with “many”,
“often”, “sometimes”, “generally”, “frequently”, or “some” should be avoided.
7. With true or false questions, avoid grossly disproportionate number of either true or false statements
or even patterns in the occurrence of true and false statements.

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Multiple Choice Test

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 not know the answer or are guessing but at the
same time, have no appeal to those who actually know the answer.

Guidelines in Constructing Multiple Choice Items

1. Do not use unfamiliar words, terms and phrases.

2. Do not use modifiers that are vague and whose meaning can differ from one person to the next such
as much, often, usually etc.
Ex. Much of the process of photosynthesis takes place in the ________.
a) Bark b) leaf c) stem d) roots
The qualifier “much” is vague and could have been replaced by more specific qualifiers like: "90% of the
photosynthesis process” or some similar phrase that would be more precise.
3. Avoid complex or awkward word arrangements. also avoid use of negatives in the stem as this may
add unnecessary comprehension difficulties.
4. Do not use negatives or double negatives as such statements tend to be confusing. It is best to use
simpler sentences that would require expertise in grammatical constructions.

Ex. Which of the following will not cause inflation in the Philippine economy? (Poor)
Which of the following will cause inflation in the Philippine economy? (Better)

5. Each item stem should be as short as possible; otherwise you risk testing for reading and
comprehension skills.
6. Distracters should be equally plausible and attractive.

Ex. The Filipino author who wrote the story “may Day’s Eve”, was______. (Poor)
a) Jose Garcia Villa b) Nick Joaquin c) Genoveva Edrosa d) Robert Frost e) Edgar Allan Poe

The distracters are not all Filipino authors, only the first three, the last two can be essentially
disregarded by the students since these are not Filipino authors. If the distracters had all been Filipino
authors, the value of the item would be greatly increased.

7. All multiple choice options should be grammatically consistent with the stem.
8. Avoid stems that reveal the answer to another item.
9. Avoid alternatives (options) that are synonymous with others or those that, include or overlap others.

Ex. what causes ice to transform from solid to liquid state? (Poor)
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, c. The last distracter would play no significant role
in increasing the value of the item.
10. Avoid use of unnecessary words or phrases, which are not relevant to the problem at hand.
11. Avoid presenting sequenced items in the same order as in the text.
12. Use the “None of the above” option only when the keyed answer is totally correct. When choice of the
“best” response is intended, “none of the above “is not appropriate.
13. The main stem of the test item may be constructed in question form, completion form (filling
the blank), or direction form.

Ex. Question Form:

Which is the same as four hundred seventy?
a) b) c) d)

Ex. Completion Form

Four hundred seventy is the same as_________.
a) b) c) d)
Ex. Direction Form
Add: 22
+ 43
a) b) c) d)
b)
In constructing a test the teacher should write a direction to guide students in answering the test. The
direction for a test should include how the students answer the test items and where they are going to write
their answers.

12
Example of a direction for a multiple choice type of test

Direction: Read the statements carefully and choose the correct answer from the given alternatives. Write
the letter of your choice on the space/blank provided before each item number.

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.

Guidelines in Constructing a Matching Type

1. Include only homogeneous material in each matching exercise. Do not mix such dissimilar items as
persons and places in a single exercise.
2. Put items on the left and number them, put options on the right and designate them by letters.
3. Place all the items and options for a matching exercise on a single page, if possible.
4. Limit a matching exercise to not more than 10-15 items.

Example:
Direction: Match the items in column A with the items in column B. Write the letter of your choice on the
space or blank provided before each item number.

Col. A col. 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 Katipunan
______5. Aguinaldo e) The great painter
f)Defended Limasawa island
Normally, column B will contain more items than column A to avoid guessing on the part of the students.
Matching type items, unfortunately, often test lower order thinking skills (knowledge/remember level) and are
enable to test higher order thinking skills such as application and judgment skills.
A variant of matching type items is the data sufficiency and comparison type of test illustrated below.

Example:
Direction: 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 is equal to the item on the right and D if the
relationship cannot be determined.

Col. A Col. 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

The data sufficiency test above can, if properly constructed, test higher order thinking skills.

Supply type Items (Filling the Blanks)or Completion Form

This type of test can also test 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. Supply type tests
depend heavily on the way the stems are constructed. These tests allow for one and only one answer. Provide
blanks that are of equal length.

Guidelines in Constructing Completion/ supply type

1. Avoid indefinite statements. A pupil has the right to know the type of response desired.
Ex. Jose Rizal was born in ________. (poor)
Jose Rizal was born in the year ________. (Better)
2. Avoid over mutilated statements. If too many key words are left out, it is impossible to know what
meaning was intended.
3. Avoid lifting statements directly from the text. This tests nothing more than rote memory.
4. Make the blanks of uniform length. If the blanks vary in length the pupil has a clue to the length of the
correct answer.
5. Try to choose statements in which there is only one correct response for the blank.
6. The required response should be a single word or brief phrase.

13
Example:
Direction: Read the statement carefully. Fill in the blank with the word that will make the statement correct.
Write your answer on the blank provided before each item number.

________________1.The study of life and living organisms is called______________.

________________2.The number 144 is the_______________ of 12.

Essays
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 requested to write one or more paragraphs on a specified topic.
Essay questions can be used to measure attainment of a variety of objectives. Below is the list of types of
abilities that can be measure by essay items:

1. Comparisons between two or more things

2. The development and defense of a opinion
3. Questions of cause and effect
4. Explanations of meanings
5. Summarizing of information
6. Analysis
7. Knowledge of relationship
8. Illustrations of rules, principles, procedures, and applications
9. Applications of rules, laws, and principles to new situations
10. Criticisms of the adequacy, relevance, or correctness of a concept, idea, or information
11. Formulation of new questions and problems
12. Reorganization of facts
13. Discriminations between objects, concepts, or events
14. Inferential thinking

Guidelines in Constructing a Good Essay Test

1. Give adequate time and thought to the preparation of essay questions.

2. The question should be written so that it will elicit the type of behavior you want to measure.
3. A well-constructed essay question should establish a framework within which the student operates.
4. Decide in advance what factors will be considered in evaluating an assay response.
5. Do not provide optional questions in an essay test.
6. Use a relatively large number of questions requiring short answers (about one-half page) rather
than just a few questions involving long answers.
7. Don’t start essay question with such words list, who, what, whether.
8. Adapt the length of responses and the complexity of the questions and answer to the maturity of
the student.
9. Use the novel type of question wherever feasible.
10. Prepare a scoring key.

ACTIVITY # 3

(Use long size bond paper for your answer sheet)

A. Write T if the statement is correct and F if otherwise. Write your answer on your answer sheet.

1. Test blue prints are necessary to ensure direction in the preparation of a test.
2. Learning targets or objectives can be measured by any test format.
3. Tricky questions are necessary to test pupils’ understanding.
4. Care must be taken in rewording faulty items.
5. A multiple choice type of test can measure various level of cognitive skill.
6. Constructing a draft test is the first step in planning a test.

B. Discussion

1. The table of specification is necessary in preparing a test. Why?

2. Enumerate and discuss the steps in planning a test.

C. Prepare a table of specification (TOS) for a 10 or 15- item test for the topic that you have selected
(refer to your answer in activity #2, letter C).

14
 D. Construct a 20-item test based on the TOS that you have prepared.
E. Construct 5-item test on the topic which you have selected (refer to your answer in activity #2,
letter C) using each type of test below. Observe the principles in constructing them.

1. Matching Type
2. True-False
3. Multiple Choice
4. Completion/Supply Type

UNIT IV. ADMINISTERING, ANALYZING AND IMPROVING THE TEST

Objectives: At the end of the topic, the students must have:

1. Discussed and applied the principles of assembling and administering test;

2. explained the importance of item analysis;
3. performed item analysis to improve the test;
4. discussed how to establish the validity of a test or instrument;
5. identified and explained the methods of estimating validity of a test.

Assembling the test

Test assembling – means recording test items; review test items; arrange test items
 Items should be arranged according to types
 Items should be arranged in order of difficulty
 Items of the same subject matter content maybe grouped together
How to assemble the test

1. Record items on index cards. File them in a item bank.

2. Double check all individual test item. Review the checklist for each item type
3. Double check the items as a set. Still follows the TOS? Enough items for desired
interpretations? Difficulty level appropriate? Items non-overlapping so don’t give clues?
4. Arrange items appropriately, which usually means:
 Keep all items of one type together
 Put lowest –level item types first
 Within item types, put easiest learning outcomes first.
5. Prepare directions
 How to allot time
 How to respond
 How and where to record answers
6. Reproduce the test
 Leave ample white space on every page
 Keep all parts of an item on the same page
 When not using a separate answer sheet, provide spaces for answering down one
side of the page
Administering the test

Guidelines:

1. Observe precision in giving instructions or clarification.

2. Avoid interruptions.
3. Avoid giving hints to students who ask about individual items. If the item is ambiguous it should be
clarified for the entire group.
4. Discourage cheating.

Analyzing Test results

Item Analysis – a statistical method used to determine the quality of a test by looking at each
individual item or question and determining if they are sound or effective.
- It helps identify individual item or question that are not good question and whether or not they
should be discarded, kept, or revised.
- It is used for selecting and rejecting the item on the basis their difficulty value and discriminating
power.
Item analysis procedure provides the following information:
1. The difficulty of the item
2. The discriminating power of the item
3. The effectiveness of each alternatives/options
Benefits derived from item analysis
1. It provides useful information for class discussion of the test.
2. It provides data which helps students improve their learning.
3. It provides insights and skills that lead to the preparation of better tests in the future.

15
 Qualitative Item Analysis - a non-numerical method for analyzing test item not employing
students’ responses but considering test objective, content validity and technical item quality.
– a process in which the teacher or expert carefully proofreads the test before it is
administered to check if there are typographical errors, to avoid grammatical clues that may lead
to giving away the correct answer , and to ensure that the level of reading materials is appropriate.

Quantitative Item Analysis – a numerical method for analyzing test item employing
students’ responses to the alternatives or options.
-evaluating items in terms of statistical properties such as item difficulty and item
discrimination.

Difficulty index – is a proportion of students who answered the item correctly. It indicates
whether the item is easy, of average difficulty or difficult.

Discrimination index – measure of the extent to which a test item discriminates or

Differentiates between students who do well on the overall test and those who do not
do well on the overall test.
-The extent to which the test item discriminates between the bright and poor students.

How to do item analysis (using the upper/lower 27% index method)

Steps:
1. Rank the scores of the students (arrange from highest to lowest or vice versa).
2. Compute 27% of the total number of students who took the test to determine the number
of students that belong to the upper/lower 27%.
Ex. Number of students who took the test (N) = 60
27% of 30 = 0.27 x 30 = 8.1 or 8
This means that there will be 8 students from the top and another 8 from the
bottom so only 16 test papers out of 60 will be analyzed.
3. Separate the test papers of upper 27% from the lower 27%.
4. Determine (tally) the number of students from the upper 27% who got the item right. Label
it (U). The same procedure will be applied to the lower 27%. Label it (L)
5. Compute for the difficulty and discrimination indices using the formula below:
𝑈+𝐿
Difficulty Index (DfI) = 𝑇
, where T = total no. of test paper to be analyzed ( upper 27% + lower27%)
For U and L (refer to step 4 for the meaning)

𝑼−𝑳
Discrimination Index (DsI) = 𝟏
𝑻
𝟐
6. Interpret the results using the scale below.

Scale for Interpreting Difficulty Index:

Range Interpretation Action

0.00 – 0.25 Difficult Revise or Discard

0.26 – 0.75 Right Difficulty Retain
0.76 – above Easy Revise or Discard

Scale for Interpreting Discrimination Index:

Range Interpretation Action

-1.0 - -0.56 can discriminate but item Discard

But item is questionable
-0.55 – 0.45 Non-discriminating item Revise
0.46 – 1.0 Discriminating item Include
Examples:

1. Given: N = 60 (total number of students in the class)

a) How many students belong to the upper or lower 27%?
Solution: 0.27 x 60 = 16.2 or 16 students(answer, rounded off to the nearest whole
no.)
b) What is the total number of test papers/students was analyzed (T)?
Solution: 16 students in the upper 27% + 16 students in the lower 27% = 32(answer)
c) If U = 14 and L = 2, and T = 32, compute for difficulty index and discrimination index.
𝑼+𝑳 𝟏𝟒+𝟐 𝟏𝟔
Solutions: DfI = 𝑻 = 𝟑𝟐 = 𝟑𝟐 = 0.5

16
 𝑼−𝑳 𝟏𝟒−𝟐 𝟏𝟐
DsI = 𝟏 = = = 0.75
𝑻 𝟏𝟔 𝟏𝟔
𝟐

2. Interpret the results.

Solution: For the difficulty index, since 0.5 lie/fall within the range 0.26 – 0.75 (refer to
the scale), hence the item has a right difficulty or average difficulty (answer)
Based on the discrimination index, 0.75 is within the range 0.46 – 1.0, therefore the item
is discriminating (answer).
3. Based on the interpretations what action will be taken about the item?
Solution: Since the item has aright difficulty, hence it should be retained (answer)
Since the item is discriminating, hence it should be included (answer)

Establishing Validity

Validity – the extent to which a test measures what it intends to measure

After performing the item analysis and revising the items which need revision, the next step is
to validate the instrument/test. The purpose of validation is to determine the characteristics of the
whole test itself namely, the validity and reliability of the test. Validation is the process of collecting
and analyzing evidence to support the meaningfulness and usefulness of the test.
There are three main types of evidence that may be collected: content- related evidence of
validity, criterion- related evidence and construct –related evidence of validity.
Content- related evidence of validity – refers to the content and format of the instrument/test.
How appropriate is the content? How comprehensive? Does it logically get at the intended variable?
How adequately does the sample of items or questions represent the content to be assessed?
Criterion-related evidence of validity – refers to the relationship between scores obtained using
The instrument and scores obtained using one or more other tests (often called the criterion). How
Strong is this relationship? How well do such scores estimate present or future performance of a
certain type?
Construct-related evidence of validity – refers to the nature of the psychological construct or
characteristic being measured by the test. How well does the measure of the construct explain
differences in the behavior of the individuals or their performance on a certain task.

How to Determine Content Validity

To determine content validity the teacher writes out the objectives of the test based on the table of
specifications and then gives these together with the test to at least two (2) experts along with the description
of the intended test
takers. The experts look at the objectives, read over the items in the test and placed a check mark in front of
each question or item that they feel does not measure one or more objectives. They also place a check mark
in front of each objective not assessed by any item in the test. These will be followed by some revisions until
the experts approve the test.
In order to obtain evidence of criterion-related validity, the teacher usually compares scores on the test
in question with the scores on some other independent test criterion which presumably has already high
validity. For example, if a test is designed to measure mathematics ability of the students and it correlates
highly with a standardized mathematics achievement test (external criterion), then we say we have a high
criterion-related evidence of validity. This type of criterion-related validity is known as the concurrent
validity. Another type of criterion-related validity is predictive validity wherein the test scores in the
instrument are correlated with scores on a later performance (criterion measure) of the students. For example,
the mathematics ability test constructed by the teacher may be correlated with their later performance in the
Division wide math achievement test.

Estimating Reliability

Reliability – refers to the consistency of the scores obtained – how consistent they are for each
individual from one administration of an instrument to another and from one set of items to another.

Validity and reliability are related concepts. If an instrument is unreliable, it cannot yield valid
outcomes. As reliability improves, validity may improve (or it may not). However, if an instrument is shown
scientifically to be valid then it is almost certain that it is also reliable.

Methods of estimating reliability of a test or instrument

1. Test-Retest – Give a test twice to the same learners with any time interval between tests
from several minutes to several years.
2. Equivalent Forms – Give parallel forms of test with close interval between forms.
3. Test-Retest with parallel forms – Give parallel forms of tests with increased time
interval between forms.

17
 4. Split Half – Give a test once to obtain scores for equivalent halves of the test (the odd and
even numbered items.)
5. Kuder –Richardson – Give the test once then correlate the proportion/percentage of the
students passing and not passing a given item.
The following table is a standard followed almost universally in educational test and measurement

Reliability value Interpretation

Above 0.90 Excellent reliability; at the level of the best standardized tests
0.81 – 0.90 Very good for a classroom test
0.71 – 0.80 Good for a classroom test. There are probably few items which could be
improved.
0.61 – 0.70 Somewhat low. This test needs to be supplemented by other measures
(e.g more tests) to determine grades. There are probably some items
which could be improved.
0.51 – 0.60 Suggests need for revision of a test, unless it is quite short (ten or fewer
items). The test definitely needs to be supplemented by other measures
(e.g. more tests) for grading.
0.50 and below Questionable reliability. This test could not contribute heavily to the
course grade and it needs revision

ACTIVITY #4

(Use long size bond paper for your answer sheet)

1. Given: N = 35. Complete the table below. Show your Solution.

Item U L Difficulty Discrimination Interpretation Action

no. Index Index
1. 7 2
2. 8 1
3. 5 4
4. 3 6
5. 9 0

2. Discuss how to establish the validity of a test or instrument.

3. How do you estimate reliability of a test using test-retest method?
4. What is the relationship between validity and reliability?
5. Is it possible for a test to be reliable and yet not valid? Illustrate/Give a situation that may
support your answer.

UNIT V. STATISTICAL TOOLS IN ASSESSMENT

Objectives:

At the end of the unit, the students must have:

1. summarized data using a frequency distribution table;
2. constructed a grouped frequency distribution of a set of data;
3. computed the measures of central tendency, measures of variability;
4. described the data gathered based on measures of central tendency and measures of
variability;
5. illustrated and find areas under the normal curve;
6. converted a raw score to standard score or vice versa;
7. computed correlation coefficient (r) to determine the degree of relationship between
variables.

Statistics plays a very important role in assessment. Statistical techniques allow us to describe the
performance of students and make proper scientific inferences about their performance.

Summarizing Data and Measures of Central Tendency

Methods/Ways of Presenting Data

1. Textual- data are presented through text or in paragraph form.

2. Tabular - data are presented in table/ rows & columns.
3. Graphical- data are presented in visual form with the use of graphs.
Array – arrangement of numerical values according to order of magnitude either ascending or
descending order
Frequency Distribution is a condensed version of array which gives not an individual observation
but the frequencies of observations.

18
–the tabular arrangement of data by classes or by categories together with their corresponding class
frequencies.

Examples of frequency distributions of data

1. Frequency Distribution of the Performance Evaluation Appraisal of 20 students

Categories frequency percent

High 7 35
Average 8 40
Low 5 25

Total N= 20 100

2. Grouped frequency distribution of the scores of 40 students

Class intervals Class boundaries Class marks/midpoints Frequency <cf >cf

20 - 29 19.5 – 29.5 24.5 10 10 40
30 – 39 29.5 – 39.5 34.5 14 24 30
40 – 49 39.5 – 49.5 44.5 9 33 16
50 – 59 49.5 – 59.5 54.5 7 40 7

In the table above, 20 – 29 and 30 – 39 are examples of class intervals. End numbers like 20 and 29 are
class limits, 20 is the lower
Limitand29 is the upper limit.19.5 - 29.5 and 29.5- 39.5 are called class boundaries, 19.5 is the lower
boundary and 29.5 is the upper boundary.
Class boundaries are more precise expressions of the class limits by at least 0.5 of their values.
Class width or class size is the difference between the upper and the lower class boundaries.
Class mark/Midpoint – the midpoint between the upper and lower class limit.

Construction of a Grouped Frequency Distribution. How to construct?

Steps:

1. Compute for the range. Highest value in the set ( HV) – lowest value (LV)
2. Determine the desired number of class intervals or categories. The ideal number of class intervals is
from 10 and15.
3. Determine the class interval size by dividing the range by the desired number of class intervals. The
class size is preferably an odd number.
4.Organize the class intervals either in descending or ascending order starting from a lower limit which, is
a) divisible by the class size or b) start with the lowest value in the set.

Example:

Below are the scores of 50 students in Assessment 1. Construct a grouped frequency distribution.

18 29 42 57 61 67 37 49 53 47
24 34 45 58 63 70 39 51 54 48
28 36 46 60 66 77 40 52 56 49
19 31 44 58 62 68 38 50 54 48
27 36 46 59 64 74 39 51 55 48

a) Range = 77-18 = 59
b) The ideal number of class intervals is 10-15. Divide the range by any number from 10-15 to find
the class size in letter c.
c) Class interval size (i) = 59/10 = 5.9 or 5 (the nearest odd number)
d) Organize the class intervals either in descending or ascending order. The lower limit of the lowest
class interval can be the value a)divisible by the class size or b) it can be the lowest value
in the set.

19
Below is the Frequency Distribution of the scores of 50 Students in Assessment 1

a) The lower limit of the lowest interval starts with the number divisible by the class interval
size( i). Refer to step no. 4-a above.

Class intervals Class boundaries Tally Frequency Midpoints <cf >cf

15-19 14.5-19.5 II 2 17 2 50
20-24 19.5-24.5 I 1 22 3 48
25-29 24.5-29.5 III 3 27 6 47
30-34 29.5-34.5 II 2 32 8 44
35-39 34.5-39.5 IIII-I 6 37 14 42
40-44 39.5-44.5 III 3 42 17 36
45-49 44.5-49.5 IIII-IIII 9 47 26 33
50-54 49.5-54.5 IIII-II 7 52 33 24
55-59 55.5-59.5 IIII-I 6 57 39 17
60-64 59.5-64.5 IIII 5 62 44 11
65-69 64.5-69.5 III 3 67 47 6
70-74 69.5-74.5 II 2 72 49 3
75-79 74.5-79.5 I 1 77 50 1

N= 50

b) The lower limit of the lowest class interval starts with the lowest value in the set (sample class
intervals and the corresponding class boundaries are shown). Refer to step no. 4-b above.

18-22 17.5-22.5
23-27 22.5-27.5
28-32 27.5-32.5
33-37 32.5-37.5
38-42 37.5-42.5
43-47 42.5-47.5
48-52 47.5-52.5
53-57 52.5-57.5
58-62 57.5-62.5
63-67 62.5-67.5
68-72 67.5-72.5
73-78 72.5-78.5

Study table-a above to answer the following questions:

1. What is the title of the table?

Answer: Frequency Distribution of the scores of 50 Students in Assessment 1
2. How many students got scores of 45-49? (Refer to the frequency corresponding to the class
interval 45-49)
Answer: There were 9 students who got scores of 45-49.
3. How many students got scores of 54 and below? (Refer to the value of less than cumulative
frequency (<cf) corresponding to the class interval 50-54).
Answer: There were 33 students who got scores of 54 and below.
4. What is the number of students who got scores of 50 and above? (refer to the value of greater
than cumulative frequency corresponding to the class interval 50-54)
Answer: There were 24 who got scores of 50 and above.

ACTIVITY # 5

(Use long size bond paper for your answer sheet)

A. Given below are the scores of 44 students in arithmetic test. Construct a grouped frequency distribution.
Use step number 4-b to organize your data.

8 3 18 13 23 8 19 13 6
18 18 12 8 17 11 3 16 5
12 17 4 22 6 8 13 8 3
22 30 19 26 8 8 12 21 15
8 7 18 11 10 22 9 21

Study the frequency distribution table that you have constructed and answer the following questions:

1. What is the title of the table?

2. Describe the set of data based on value of any
a) Frequency b) <cf c) >cf

20
Measures of Central Tendency
- are measures indicating the center of the set of data.
- they are typical representative values of the set of data.

1. Arithmetic mean or the average refers to the sum of all values/observations divided by the
number of values/observations.

Formulas:

a) Ungrouped data b) Grouped data

∑𝐱 ∑ 𝑓𝑀
𝐱̅ = , where x = observation ̅=
𝑥 , where f = frequency of the class interval,
𝐍 𝑁
N = no. of cases; M=midpoint of the interval

3. Median is a single value which divides the set of data into two equal parts such that half (50%) of
the values fall below it and half (50%) fall above it.

a) Ungrouped data formula

Case 1: if N is odd Case 2: If N is even

 N  1 N  N  2
~
x  th  th   th
 2  ~
x  2  2 
, where N = number of values in the sample
2
b) Grouped data formula

N 
  cf 
x  LB   2
~ i , where LB = lower class boundary of the median class; cf = cumulative frequency of
 f 
 
 
the class interval below the median class; f = frequency of the median class; N = number of values in the
sample; i = class interval size

4. Mode – the value which occurs most frequently in the given set of data; the value with the highest frequency

a) ungrouped data formula

Mode = value which occurs most frequently in the set of data

b) grouped data formula

Rough estimate of the mode can be represented by the midpoint of the modal class (class interval
with thehighest frequency).
 f  f 
xˆ  LB   mo 1 i , where LB = lower class boundary of the modal class; fmo= frequency of the
2   
 f mo
f 1
f 2
modal class; f1 = frequency of the class interval below the median class; f2 = frequency of the class interval
above the median class

Examples:

1. Find the mean, median, and mode of the scores of 9 students. The scores are:
53, 45, 59, 48, 54, 48, 51, 58, and 55.

Mean = Σx=53 + 45 + 59 + 48 + 54 + 48 + 51 + 58 + 55 = 471= 52.33 → the scores cluster around 52.33

N 9 9
Ranked scores: 45, 48, 48, 51, 53, 54 , 55, 58, 59

Median = (N+1)th = (9+1)th = 10th = 5th value in the ranked values

2 2 2

Median= 53→this means that 53 is the middlemost score. It divides the set of data into two parts such that
50% lie above 53 and another 50% lie below it.

Mode = 48 since 48 has the highest frequency or 48 is the most occurring score in the set

2. Below are the scores of 8 students in a 10-item test in Basic Statistics.

Scores: 6, 10, 8, 6, 8, 9, 7, 5. Compute for the mean median and mode.

Mean= Σx= 6 + 10 + 8 + 6 + 8 + 9 + 7 + 5 = 59 = 7. 38

21
 N 8 8
Ranked scores: 5, 6, 6, 7, 8, 8, 9, 10
N ( N  2) 8 (8  2)
th  th th  th
2 2 2 2 4th  5th 78 15
Median = = = = = = 7.5
2 2 2 2 2
Mode = 6 and 8 are most occurring score or the score with the highest frequency

3. Solve for the mean, median and mode of the scores of 50 students in assessment 1.

∑ 𝑓𝑀
C.I. f M fM <cf 𝑥̅ =
𝑁
N
15-19 2 17 34 2 𝑥̅ = 2410
20-24 1 22 22 3 50
25-29 3 27 81 6 𝑥̅ = 48.2 Mean score
30-34 2 32 64 8
35-39 6 37 222 14
40-44 3 42 126 17
Median 45-49 9 47 423 26
classs 50-54 7 52 364 33
interval 55-59 6 57 342 39
60-64 5 62 310 41
65-69 3 67 201 47
70-74 2 72 144 49
75-79 1 77 77 50

N = 50 ΣfM = 2,410

 To compute for the median of grouped data, first determine the median class by computing N/2,
then
 Under column <cf, select <cf greater than or equal to N/2.
 The median class is the class interval corresponding to <cf greater than or equal to N/2.

N 
  cf 
x  LB   2
~ i f = 9, cf= 17, LB = 44.5 , N/2 = 50/2 = 25
 f 
 
 
~  25  17 
x  44.5   5
 9 
~ 8
x  44.5   5
9
Mode
 f mo  f 1 
xˆ  LB   i xˆ  44.5   6 5
2    Given: LB = 44.5, fmo=9, f1=3, f2= 7, i=5
  8
 f mo f 1 f 2

 93 
xˆ  44.5   5 xˆ  48.25
 2(9)  3  7 

ACTIVITY #6

(Use long size bond paper for your answer sheet)

A. Below are scores of six students in a 20-item test in stat 101

Scores: 10, 12, 17, 7, 15 and 5

1. Find the mean, median and mode.

2. Describe the distribution of values based on each computed value.

B. The following are the scores of seven students in English 101: 7, 12, 17, 7, 15, 5 and 12

1. Find the mean, median and mode.

2. Describe the distribution of scores based on each computed value.

22
 C. Compute for the mean, median and mode of the data set below.

Age Distribution of People Living in a Certain Place

Class Intervals (Ages) f

40-44 3
35- 39 4
30-34 6
25-29 12
20-24 10
15-19 6
10-14 4
N = 45

Measures of Dispersion/Variability

– Describe the extent of scattering or spread of individual observations relative to the average or mean.
In this topic, all the measures of variability were introduced but we will give emphasis on the application of
the most stable and reliable measure which is the standard deviation.

Variance –the square of the standard deviation

∑(𝑥−𝑥̅ )2
𝑠2 =
𝑛−1

Standard deviation – is the positive square root of the distributions’ variance. It is also known as the
root- mean-square deviation. The variance and the standard deviation are the most stable and
reliable measure of variability.

a) Ungrouped data formula b) Grouped data formula

∑(𝑥−𝑥̅ )2 ∑ 𝑓𝑀 2
S=√ (sample standard deviation) 𝑠=√ − 𝑥̅ 2
𝑛−1 𝑁

∑(𝑥−𝑥̅ )2
𝜎=√ (population standard deviation
𝑛

Examples:

The scores of two groups of students in a 10-item test in Math are given below. Solve for the range,
mean deviation, standard deviation, variance and quartile deviation of each group.

Male: 2, 1, 5, 6, 10, 6
Female: 4, 5, 5, 6, 6, 4, 5

Solution: First construct a table as indicated below. Compute for the value of the mean by dividing 30 (sum
of all the values) by 6 (number of values) or use the formula,

∑𝐱
𝐱̅ = 𝐍

Male Scores x-𝐱

̅ (x-𝐱
̅)2

2 -3 9
1 -4 16 N=6
5 0 0
6 1 1
10 5 25
6 1 1

Σ│x-x│= 14 Σ(x-x)2 = 52

30
Mean(𝐱
̅)= 6
=5

s
 x  x  2

variance ( s2 ) = 10.4
n 1

23
 52
s
6 1
52
s
5
s  10.4
s = 3.22

Female Scores x-𝐱

̅ (x-𝐱
̅)2

4 -1 1
5 0 0
5 0 0
6 1 1
6 1 1
4 -1 1
5 0 0

Σ│x-𝐱
̅│=4 ̅)2 =4
Σ(x-𝐱
35
𝐱̅= 7 = 5 (mean)

s
 x  x  2

variance (s2) = 0.67

n 1
4
s
7 1
4
s
6
s  0.67
s = 0.82

Interpretation/Description of data based on the values of standard deviation in the example

above

 The standard deviation (s) of male students is 3.22 .This indicates that the scores of male deviate from
the mean at about 3.22 or approximately 3 points.
 The standard deviation of female students is 0.82. This indicates that female scores deviate from the
mean at about 0.82 or approximately 1 point.
 The standard deviation of males is greater than the standard deviation of the females. This indicates
that the scores of male are more variable than the scores of female.

ACTIVITY #7

(Use long size bond paper for your answer sheet)

A. Given the test scores of ten students in Math and Physics.

Math scores: 11, 10, 12, 10, 6, 3, 10, 7, 17, 14 Physics scores: 10, 8, 9, 12, 10, 7, 10, 9, 14, 11

1. Compute for standard deviation of each group of scores.

2. Describe each set of scores based on the value of standard deviation.
3. Compare the two sets of scores in terms of variability (based on the value of standard deviation).

Normal Distribution
- One of the continuous distributions used in the entire theory of Statistics. The graph is a bell-
shaped curve that extends indefinitely in both directions. This indicates that most of the values are
on the average, few are above and below the mean and very few are extremely high and extremely
low values. Examples of data that approximate a normal distribution: weights/ heights of a large
number of individuals, IQ (Intelligence Quotients) and scholastic achievements of students.
Pierre Laplace, Abraham de Moivre and Karl Friedrich Gauss were the first to investigate the
mathematical properties of this kind of continuous distribution curve and its theoretical basis.
-

The normal curve

24
Properties/Characteristics of Normal Distribution

1. It is symmetrical about the mean; a bell-shaped curve

2. The mean = median = mode
3. The tails or ends are asymptotic to the horizontal line
4. The total area is equal to 1 or 100%
5. The normal curve area may be subdivided into at least three standard scores, each to the left and to
the right of the vertical axis. Along the horizontal line, the distance from one integral standard score
to the next integral standard score is measured by the standard deviation.

Areas under the normal curve

*The area under the normal curve may represent several things like the probability of an event, the
percentile rank of a score or the percentage distribution of the whole population. P (a ≤ x ≤ 𝑏) =
area under the normal curve between x =a and x = b. This is read as “the probability that x is between a
and b is equal to the area between a and b.
We simply obtain areas under a normal curve by performing a simple change of scale called a
standard score or the z-score or simply the z-value.

Standard Normal Distribution

Standard score (z) –a kind of transformed score that relates a raw score to the mean and standard
deviation of a distribution. It tells us how many standard deviations the corresponding value lies above or
below the mean. The z- values o z-scores range: ….-3, -2, -1, 0 1, 2, 3……,The z-value of 2 (z = 2)
means that a raw score is two standard deviations above the mean. The z-score of -2 (z = -2) indicates
that the raw score is two standard deviation below the mean.

a) Formula to convert a raw score into a standard score

𝒙−𝐱̅
z=
𝒔 → (if based on a sample), where x = raw score; 𝐱= sample mean;
̅
s = standard deviation

𝒙−𝛍
z= → (if based on population), where𝝁 = population mean;
𝝈
𝝈 = population standard deviation

b) Formula to convert the raw score corresponding to a z-score

x = zs +𝐱̅ →if based on a sample

x = z 𝝈 +𝝁 →if based on population

How to convert a raw score to a z-score or vice versa

Examples:

1). On a final examination in Biostatistics the mean is 76 and standard deviation is 10.

a) Determine the standard score of a student when receiving the grade of 90.

Solution: Given: 𝐱̅ = 76; s = 10; find z

𝑥−𝐱̅ 90−76 14
z= = = = 1.4
𝑠 10 10

b) Find the grade corresponding to the standard score of 0.5.

Solution: Given: z = 0.5; s = 10; find x

25
 x = zs + 𝐱̅
x = 0.5(10) + 76
x = 5 + 76
x = 81

Examples of finding the area under a normal curve

Example 1.
Refer to the figure at the left. The area between z =-1 and
z = 1is approximately 0.6826 or 68.3%. The area
between z= -2 and z = 2 is approximately 0.9544 or
95.4%. Just still refer to the figure for the area between
other two z-scores.

Example 2.

The shaded area in figure 1 below represent z = 0.56. Please secure a copy (have a photocopy) of the
table of areas under the normal curve like the one indicated in figure 2 below. This table can help you
find the area, given the z-values or the z-value corresponding to the given area. Refer to the table,
what is the area when z = 0.56? The answer is 0.2123. It is the intersection of the row through z
=0.5 and the column headed by 0.06. Try to search for a copy of table of areas under the normal
Curve for your reference.

Fig.1
Fig.2

Example 3.

Another method to find the area between z =-1.5

and z = 1.25 is by adding the area of z =-1.5 (refer
to table) to the area z = 1.25.

Area z = -1.5 → 0.4332

+ Area z = 1.25 → 0.3944

0.8276 → this is now

the area between z = -1.5 and
z = 1.25

26
 Example.4 (figure at the left)

To find the area in example 4 above, use the area below z = 0 which is 0.5000 or 0.5. Subtract the area
z = -0.99 from the area below z = 0.

Solution: Area below z = 0 → 0.5000 (subtract)

-Area z = -0.99 → 0.3389

0.1611→the area below z = -0.99

ACTIVITY #8

A. Convert the following raw scores (x) to a z-score. Show your computation/solution.
Given: 𝐱̅= 30; s = 5; Find z corresponding to the raw scores below.

1) x = 37 2) x = 44 3) x =19

B. Convert the following z-scores to raw score.

Given: 𝐱̅= 60; s = 8; Find x corresponding to the z-scores below.

1) z= 2 2) z = -1.5 3) z = 2.5

C. Find the area under the normal curve as indicated below. Draw the normal curve and shade the
area indicated.
1. Between z = -2 and z = 2.5
2. Below z = -1.5
3. Above z = -2.5

D. Applications of Normal Distribution

*To determine the percentage of cases, proportion or probability in a normal distribution within
given limits.

* To find limits in any normal distribution which include a given percentage of cases.

Problem:

1. In a reading ability test, with a sample of 100 cases, the mean score is 40 and the standard
deviation is 4.
2.
Assuming normality,
a) What is the percentage of the cases that fall between the mean and a score of 46?
b) What is the probability that a score picked at random will be above a score 46?
c) What is the probability that a score will be below 46?
d) How many cases fall between scores of 42 and 48?
To answer problem letter D number 1(a-d), first convert the raw scores 42, 46, and 48 to a z-score.
Use the formula in conversion.

MEASURES OF RELATIONSHIPS (LINEAR CORRELATION)

Correlation – is a statistical tool to measure the association of two or more quantitative

variables. It shows the degree of relationships among variables.

Three degrees of correlation between variables:

27
 1. Perfect correlation (perfect positive or perfect negative) –the points in the scatter diagram
form a straight line either rising or falling to the right.
2. Some degree of correlation ( positive or direct and negative or indirect) – the points
form a band either rising or falling to the right As one variable increases the other also increases
as in the case of positive correlation or as one variable increases the other decreases as in the
case of negative correlation
3. No correlation (zero correlation) –indicates no relationship between two variables. The points
are all scattered in the coordinate plane

Scatter Plot or scatter diagram – the graph showing the relationship between two variables

1.Perfect Positive Correlation 2-a.Positive or Direct Correlation 2-b. Positive or DirectCorrelation

3. Perfect Negative 4-a. Negative or Inverse Correlation 4-b. Negative or inverse Correlation

5. Zero Correlation

Pearson Product moment Correlation coefficient (r) –indicates the degree of

relationship between variables.

Correlation coefficient (r) values range from -1 to +1 inclusive or -1 <r< +1.

The qualitative interpretation of the degree of linear relationship existing is shown in the following
range of values or scale:

r-value Interpretation

±1.00--------------------------perfect positive or perfect negative

± 0.91 − ±0.99-------------very high positive or very high negative correlation
± 0.71 - ± 0.90-------------high positive or high negative correlation
± 0.51 - ±0.71-------------moderately positive or moderately negative correlation
± 0.31 - ± 0.50-------------low positive or low negative correlation
± 0.01 - ±0.30-------------negligible positive or negligible negative correlation
0.0 ---------------------------no correlation

Formula in computing for the value of Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient
or Pearson’s r in short.

𝑵∑𝒙𝒚−∑𝒙∑𝒚
r=
√[𝑵∑𝒙𝟐−(∑𝒙)𝟐][𝑵∑𝒚𝟐−(∑𝒚)𝟐

Example:

Given:

x 3 5 6 8 9 11
y 2 3 4 6 5 8

Solution:

28
 1. Draw the scatter diagram (use 1 whole sheet of graphing paper).

12
11
10
9
8 *
7
6 *
5 *
4 *
3 *
2 *
1
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
0

2. Determine the kind of correlation based on the graph.

Answer: Positive or Direct since the points formed a band rising to the right .
3. Compute for the value correlation coefficient (r) using the formula.

Solution:

x y xy x2 y2
3 2 6 9 4
5 3 15 25 9
6 4 24 36 16 (∑x)2 =(42)2= 1,764
8 6 48 64 36 (∑y)2 = (28)2 = 784
9 5 45 81 25
11 8 88 121 64
∑x = 42 ∑y=28 ∑xy=226 ∑x2=336 ∑y2=154

𝑵∑𝒙𝒚−∑𝒙∑𝒚
r=
√[𝑵∑𝒙𝟐−(∑𝒙)𝟐][𝑵∑𝒚𝟐−(∑𝒚)𝟐

6(226)– 42(28)
r=
√[6(336)− 1.764][6(154)− 784]

1,356 – 1,176
r=
√[2,016− 1.764][924− 784]

180
r=
√[252][140]
180 180
r= = = 0.96→ answer
√35,280 187.83

4. Determine the degree of correlation/relationship between x and y based on r -value by

using the table for qualitative interpretation.
r = 0.96 → indicates that there is a very high positive correlation that exists
between x and y(answer)

ACTIVITY #9

A. Given:

x 1 3 4 6 8 9 11 14
y 1 2 4 4 5 7 8 9

1. Draw the scatter diagram (use 1 whole sheet of graphing paper)

2. Determine the kind of correlation based on the graph.
3. Compute for the value of correlation coefficient (r).
4. Determine the degree of correlation (refer to the scale for interpretation).

B. The following data show the results of a study indicating the number of accidents per
hundred thousand vehicle kilometers.

Road Width in feet (x) 75 52 60 33 22

Number of accidents (y) 40 84 55 92 90

For letter B, answer the same set of questions in A shown above (1-4)
UNIT VI. GRADING SYSTEM

29
Objectives: At the end of the topic the students must have:

1. distinguished between norm-referenced and criterion referenced grading system;

2. discussed factors that will be considered when choosing what will go into a student grade;
3. identified the type of grading system;
4. differentiated the type of grading systems;
5. discussed the Dep.Ed. K-12 grading system.

Assessment of student performance - is essentially knowing how the student is progressing in a

course and also how a teacher performs with respect to the teaching process. The first step in assessment is
testing, followed by a decision to grade the performance of the student. Grading is the next step after
testing. Grading systems had been evolved in different schools all over the world. Whatever the system of
grading adopted there is a need to convert raw scores values into the corresponding standard grading
system.

6.1 Norm-Referenced Grading System

Norm-referenced grading refers to a grading system where in student’s grade is placed in a relation
to the performance of a group. In this system a grade of 80 means that the student performed better than
or same as 80% of the class or group.

Example 1: Consider the following two sets of scores in an English class for two sections A and B of ten
students.

A=(30,40,50,55,60,65,70,75,80,85)

B= (60, 65, 70, 75, 80, 85, 90, 90, 95,100)

In section A the student who get a raw score of 75 would get a grade 0f 80% while in section B the grade
of 80% would correspond to a raw score of 90.If the same test was used for the two sections ,it would be “unfair”
system of grading. A wise student would opt to enrol in class A since it is easier to get a higher grades in that
class than in the other class(class B).

Example 2: A teacher may establish a grading policy whereby the top 15 percent of students will receive a mark
of excellent or outstanding which is a class of 100 enrolled students will be
15 persons. Grading Policy:

1.0 (Excellent) = Top 15% of class

1.25 (Good) = Next 15% of class

1.5 (Average, Fair) = Next 45% of Class

2.0 (Poor, Pass) = Next 15% of class

3.0 (Failure) = Bottom 10% of class

The underlying assumption in norm-referenced grading is that students have abilities (as reflected in
their raw scores) that obey the n0rmal distribution. The objective is to find out the best performers in this
group.

Example 3:I n a class of 100 students ,the mean score in a test is 70 with a standard deviation of 5. Construct
a norm-referenced grading table that would have seven-grade scales and such that students ‘scoring between
plus or minus one standard deviation from the mean receives an average grade.
Solution: The following intervals of raw scores to grade equivalents are computed:

Raw Score Grade Equivalent Percentage

Below 55 Fail 1%

55-60 Marginal 4%

61-65 Pass 11%

66-75 Average 68%

76-80 Above Average 11%

81-85 Very Good 4%

30
 Above 85 Excellent 1%

6.2 Criterion-Referenced Grading System

Criterion-Referenced grading system is based on a fixed criterion measure. There is a fixed target and
the student must achieve that target in order to obtain a passing grade in a course regardless of how the
other students in the class perform. The scale does not change regardless of the quality, or lack therefore, of
the student. For example, in a class of 100 students using the table below, no one might get a grade of
excellent if no one scores 98 above or 85 above depending on the criterion used.

There is no fixed percentage of students who are expected to get the various grades in the criterion-
referenced grading system.

1.0 (Excellent) = 98-100 or 85-100

1.25 (Good) = 88-97 or 80-84
2.0 (Fair) = 75-87 or 70-79
3.0 (Poor) = 65-74 or 60-69
5.0 (Failure) = below 65 or below 60

Criterion-referenced systems are often used in situations where the teachers are agreed on the
meaning of a “standard of performance” in a subject but the quality of the student is unknown or uneven;
where the work involves student driving factor such as needing to systematically reduce a pool of eligible
students.

Note that in criterion-referenced grading system, students can help a fellow student in a group work
without necessarily worrying about lowering his grade in that course. This is because the criterion-referenced
grading system does not require the mean (of the class) as basis for distributing grades among the students.
6.3 Four Questions in Grading

Marinila D. Svinicki (2007) of the center for Teaching Effectiveness of the University of Texas at
Austin poses four intriguing questions relative to a grading.

6.4 What will go into a Students Grade

The grading system an instructor selects, reflects his or her educational philosophy. There are no
right or wrong systems, only systems which accomplish different objectives. The following are questions
which an instructor may want to answer when choosing what will go into a student’s grade.

1. Should grades reflect absolute achievement level or achievement relatives to others in the same class?

2. Should Grades reflect achievement only or non academic components such as attitude, speed and
diligence?
Should grades report status achieved or amount of growth?

3. How can several grades on diverse skills combine to give a single mark?

6.5 Alternative Grading System

Pass –Fail Systems. Other colleges and universities, faculties, schools and institutions use pass-fail
grading systems in the Philippines, especially when the student work to be evaluated is highly subjective (as in
the fine arts and music) there are no generally accepted standard gradations (as with independent studies),or
the critical requirement is meeting a single satisfactory standard(as in some professional examinations and
practicum.

Non-Graded Evaluations. While not practiced in Philippine schools, and institutions, non-graded
evaluation do not assign numeric or letter grades as a matter of policy. This practice is usually based on a
belief that grades introduce an inappropriate and distracting element of competition into the learning process,
or that they are not as meaningful as measures of intellectual growth and development as are carefully
crafted faculty evaluation. Many faculty, schools and institution that follow a no-grade policy will, if requested,
produce grades or convert their student evaluation into formulae acceptable to authorities who require
traditional measures of performance.

6.6 Standardized Test Scoring

31
 Test standardization is a process by which teacher or researcher-made tests are
validated and item analyzed. After a thorough process of validation, the test characteristics are established.
These characteristics include: test validity, test reliability, test difficulty level and other characteristics as
previously discussed. Each standardized test uses its own mathematical scoring system derived by the
publisher and administrator, and these do not bear any relationship to academic grading systems.
Standardized test are psychometric instrument whose scoring systems are developed by norming the test
using national samples of test takers, centering the scoring formula to assure that the likely score distribution
describes a normal curve when graphed, and then using the resulting scoring system uniformly in a manner
resembling a criterion-referenced approach. If you are interested in understanding and interpreting the scoring
system of a specific standardized test, refer to the policies of the test’s producers.

6.7 Cumulative and Averaging Systems of Grading

In the Philippines, there are two types of grading systems used: the averaging and the commutative
grading systems. In the averaging system, the grade of a student on a particular grading period equals the
average of the grades obtained in the prior grading periods and the current grading period. In the cumulative
grading system, the grade of a student in a grading period equals his current grading period grade which is
assumed to have the cumulative effects of the previous grading periods. In which grading system, would
there be more fluctuations observed in the students’ grades? How do these systems relate with either norm
or criterion-referenced grading?

ACTIVITY #10

1. Define a norm-referenced grading. What are some of the issues that confront a

teacher using a norm-referenced grading system? Discuss.

b. The following final grades are obtained in a class of Grade VI pupils:

80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 82, 80, 81, 79, 77, 88, 83,

89, 90, 91, 90, 78, 79, 82, 91, 92, 90, 88, 85,

88, 87, 85, 88, 83, 82, 80, 79, 77, 76, 77, 78,

83, 89, 91, 90, 83, 88, 86, 83, 80

Using a norm-referenced grading with a seven-point scale, determine the scores that would get a
failing mark. What is general impression on this?

c. Define a criterion-referenced grading. What are some of the issues that confront
a teacher using a criterion-referenced grading system? Discuss.

DepEd K to 12 GRADING SYSTEM STEPS FOR COMPUTING GRADES

The K to 12 Basic Education Program uses a standards- and competency-based grading

system. These are found in the curriculum guides. All grades will be based on the weighted raw score of
the learners’ summative assessments. The minimum grade needed to pass a specific learning area is 60,
which is transmuted to 75 in the report card. The lowest mark that can appear on the report card is 60 for
Quarterly Grades and Final Grades.

For these guidelines, the Department will use a floor grade considered as the lowest possible
grade that will appear in a learner’s report card.

Learners from Grades 1 to 12 are graded on Written Work, Performance Tasks, and Quarterly
Assessment every quarter. These three are given specific percentage weights that vary according to the
nature of the learning area.

How is learner progress recorded and computed?

32
For Kindergarten

Guidelines specific to the assessment of Kindergarten learners will be issued in a different

memorandum or order. However, for Kindergarten, checklists and anecdotal records are used instead of
numerical grades. These are based on learning standards found in the Kindergarten curriculum guide. It is
important for teachers to keep a portfolio, which is a record or compilation of the learner’s output, such as
writing samples, accomplished activity sheets, and artwork. The portfolio can provide concrete evidence of
how much or how well the learner is able to accomplish the skills and competencies. Through checklists, the
teacher will be able to indicate whether or not the child is able to demonstrate knowledge and/or perform the
tasks expected of Kindergarten learners. Through anecdotal records or narrative reports, teachers will be able
to describe learners’ behaviour, attitude, and effort in school work.

For Grades 1 to 12

In a grading period, there is one Quarterly Assessment but there should be instances for students to
produce Written Work and to demonstrate what they know and can do through Performance Tasks. There is
no required number of Written Work and Performance Tasks, but these must be spread out over the quarter
and used to assess learners’ skills after each unit has been taught.

How to Compute for Final Grades and General Average in DepEd K to 12 Grading System The
following are the steps in computing for the Final Grades.

Step 1: Grades from all student work are added up.

This results in the total score for each component, namely Written Work, Performance Tasks, and
Quarterly Assessment.
Raw scores from each component have to be converted to a Percentage Score. This is to ensure that
values are parallel to each other.

Step 2: The sum for each component is converted to the Percentage Score.

To compute the Percentage Score (PS), divide the raw score by the highest possible score then
multiply the quotient by 100%. This is shown below:

Step 3: Percentage Scores are then converted to Weighted Scores to show the importance of
each component in promoting learning in the different subjects.

To do this, the Percentage Score is multiplied by the weight of the component found in Table 4 for
Grades 1 to 10 and Table 5 for Senior High School. The product is known as the Weighted Score (WS).

Table 4. Weight of the Components for Grades 1-10

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The grading system for Senior High School (SHS) follows a different set of weights for each
component. Table 5 presents the weights for the core and track subjects.

Table 5. Weight of the Components for SHS

Step 4: The sum of the Weighted Scores in each component is the Initial Grade. This Initial
Grade will be transmuted using the given transmutation table to get the Quarterly Grade (QG).

Step 5: The Quarterly Grade for each learning area is written in the report card of the student.

For a better understanding of how to record the summative assessments, Table 6 presents a sample class
record showing three learners for the first quarter of Grade 4 English. On the basis of this class record, Table
7 presents a step-by-step process on how to compute for the Quarterly Grade

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Table 6. Sample Class Record for English Grade 4 (First Quarter)

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Table 7. Steps for Computing Grades

 Steps for Computing Grades:


1. Get the total score for each component.
2. Divide the total raw score by the highest possible score then multiply the quotient by 100%.
3. Convert Percentage Scores to Weighted Scores. Multiply the Percentage Score by the weight of the
component indicated in Table 4 and Table 5.
4. Add the Weighted Scores of each component. The result will be the Initial Grade.
5. Transmute the Initial Grade using the Transmutation Table.

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For MAPEH, individual grades are given to each area, namely, Music, Arts, Physical Education,
and Health. The quarterly grade for MAPEH is the average of the quarterly grades in the four
areas.

How are grades computed at the end of the school year?

 For Kindergarten
There are no numerical grades in Kindergarten. Descriptions of the learners’ progress in the
various learning areas are represented using checklists and student portfolios. These are
presented to the parents at the end of each quarter for discussion. Additional guidelines on the
Kindergarten program will be issued.

 For Grades 1-10

The average of the Quarterly Grades (QG) produces the Final Grade.

The General Average is computed by dividing the sum of all final grades by the
total number of learning areas. Each learning area has equal weight.

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 The Final Grade in each learning area and the General Average are reported as
whole numbers. Table 8 shows an example of the Final Grades of the different learning
areas and General Average of a Grade 4 student.

Table 8. Final Grades and General Average

 For Grades 11 and 12

The two quarters determine the Final Grade in a semester. Table 9 shows an example in
Grade 11, second semester for the Accounting, Business, and Management (ABM) strand.

Table 9. Grade 11, 2nd Semester of ABM strand

How is the learner’s progress reported?

The summary of learner progress is shown quarterly to parents and guardians through
a parent-teacher conference, in which the report card is discussed. The grading scale, with its
corresponding descriptors, are in Table 10. Remarks are given at the end of the grade level.

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Table 10. Descriptors, Grading Scale, and Remarks

Using the sample class record in Table 6, LEARNER A received an Initial Grade of 84.86 in
English for the First Quarter, which, when transmuted to a grade of 90, is equivalent to
Outstanding. LEARNER B received a transmuted grade of 88, which is equivalent to Very
Satisfactory. LEARNER C received a grade of 71, which means that the learner Did Not Meet
Expectations in the First Quarter of Grade 4 English.
When a learner’s raw scores are consistently below expectations in Written Work and
Performance Tasks, the learner’s parents or guardians must be informed not later than the fifth week
of that quarter. This will enable them to help and guide their child to improve and prepare for the
Quarterly Assessment. A learner who receives a grade below 75 in any subject in a quarter must be
given intervention through remediation and extra lessons from the teacher/s of that subject.

How are learners promoted or retained at the end of the school year?
This section provides the bases for promoting a learner to the next grade level or for
retaining a learner in the same grade level. These decisions must be applied based on evidence and
judiciously.
A Final Grade of 75 or higher in all learning areas allows the student to be promoted to the
next grade level. Table 11 specifies the guidelines to be followed for learner promotion and
retention.
For Grades 1-10, a learner who Did Not Meet Expectations in at most two learning areas must
take remedial classes. Remedial classes are conducted after the Final Grades have been computed.
The learner must pass the remedial classes to be promoted to the next grade level. However,
teachers should ensure that learners receive remediation when they earn raw scores which are
consistently below expectations in Written Work and Performance Tasks by the fifth week of any
quarter. This will prevent a student from failing in any learning area at the end of the year.

For Grade 11-12, learners who fail a unit/set of competencies must be immediately given
remedial classes. They should pass the summative assessments during remediation to avoid a failing
grade in a learning area/subject. This will prevent students from having back subjects in Senior High
School (SHS). However, if the learner still fails remedial classes, s/he must retake the subject/s
failed during the summer or as a back subject. Guidance teachers/career advocates must provide
support to the SHS student for his/her choices in SHStracks.

Summative Assessments are also given during remedial classes. These are recorded,
computed, weighted, and transmuted in the same way as the Quarterly Grade. The equivalent of
the Final Grade for remedial classes is the Remedial Class Mark (RCM). The Final Grade at the end
of the school year and the Remedial Class Mark are averaged. This results in the
Recomputed Final Grade. If the Recomputed Final Grade is 75 or higher, the student is promoted to the next
grade level. However, students will be retained in the grade level if their Recomputed Final Grade is below
75.
The teacher of the remedial class issues the Certificate of Recomputed Final Grade, which is
noted by the school principal. This is submitted to the division office and must be attached to both Form
137 and School Form Number 5. Figure 1 below shows a sample certificate.
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Figure 1. Sample Certificate of Recomputed Final Grade

The learner can enrol in the next grade level for Grades 1-10 and in the next semester for Grades 11-
12 upon presentation of the Certificate of Recomputed Final Grade. This certificate can be verified in the
division offices as needed.
ACTIVITY #11

Given the raw scores of Grade 3 learner in Mathematics, solve for the quarterly grade using the
steps below:

1. Get the total score for each component.

2. Divide the total raw score by the highest possible score then multiply the quotient by 100%.
3. Convert Percentage Scores to Weighted Scores. Multiply the Percentage Score by the weight of the
component indicated in Table 4 and Table 5.
4. Add the Weighted Scores of each component. The result will be the Initial Grade.
5. Transmute the Initial Grade using the Transmutation Table.

A. Written Work Learner’s Raw Score Highest Score

1 20 25
2 18 20
3 22 25
4 23 25
5 21 25

Total

B. Performance Task Learner’s Raw Score Highest Score

1 12 15
2 18 20
3 16 20
4 18 20
5 14 15

Total

C. Quarterly Assessment Learner’s Raw Score Highest Score

45 50

Total

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References:

De Guzman, E. (2015). Assessment of Learning 1, Adriana publishing co. Inc.

De Guzman, R. (2007). Assessment of Learning 1. Lorimar Publishing Inc.
Macarandang, M.A. (2009). Assessment of Learning 1. Books Atbp. Publishing Corp.
Navarro, R. L.(2012). Assessment of learning Outcomes (Assessment 1). Lorimar Publishing Inc.
Rico, A.A. (2011). Assessment of Student’s Learning , A practical Approach. Anvil publishing, Inc.

Prepared by: Reviewed by:

EXALTACION B. MONJE, M.A.Ed. JOEY JANE C. TAYCO, Ph. D.

Subject Teacher Chair, Math and Science Department

MARIAN ARGIE M. DARADAR, Ph.D.

Subject Teacher
Approved by:

LENY A. QUINTILLA, Ed. D.

Dean of Instruction

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