Republic of the Philippines

Pangasinan State University

San Carlos Campus
San Carlos City, Pangasinan

Assessment and Evaluation in Social Sciences

BSE Social Studies

2nd Semester AY 2020-2021

______________________________________________________________________________
_________

Discussant

Date: March 12, 2021

I. Topic: Planning test and Construction of Table of Specification

II. Objectives:

a. Understand the significance of test preparation.

b. Construct your own table of specification.

c. Examine the table of specification for designing.

III. Overview

Planning a test is significant because it identifies goals or lesson outcomes, determines the type
of objective test that will be planned, provides general guidelines, and advises on the number of
items to be built. The table of specifications (TOS) is a guide for ensuring that a test or
evaluation tests the material and thinking skills that it claims to evaluate. It will therefore
provide response content and build validity proof when used appropriately.

IV. Discussion

We have 5 important steps in planning for a test, and this are:

1. Identifying test objectives/lesson outcomes

2. Deciding on the type of objective test to be prepared

3. Preparing a Table of Specifications (TOS)

4. Constructing the draft test items

5. Try –out and validation

So now let us tackle first the:

Identifying Test Objectives

An objective test, if it is to be comprehensive, must cover the various levels of Bloom’s

taxonomy. Each objective consists of a statement of what is to be achieved preferably by the
students.The following are typical objectives: knowledge/remembering,
comprehension/understanding,application/applying,analysis/analyzing,evaluation/evaluating,
synthesis/synthesizing.

Deciding on the Type of Objective Test

The test objectives guide the kind of objective tests that will be designed and constructed by
theteacher.

Preparing a Table of Specifications

A Table of Specifications or TOS is a test map that guides the teacher in constructing a test.
TheTOS ensures that there is balance between items that test lower level thinking skills and
those whichtest higher order thinking skills ( or alternatively, a balance between easy and
difficult items) in the test.

Constructing the Test Items

The actual construction of the test items follows the TOS. As a general rule, it is advised that
theactual number of items to be constructed in the draft should be double the desired number
of items. Forinstance, if there are five (5) knowledge level items to be included in the final test
form, then at least ten(10) knowledge level item should be included in the draft.

Item Analysis and Try-out

The test draft is tried out to a group of pupils or students. The purpose of this try-out is
todetermine the (a) item characteristics trough item analysis, and (b) characteristics of the test
itself-validity, reliability and practicality.

Table of Specification

A document called terms of specifications (TOS) helps you plan out your exam. You can also call
the document, table of specifications. It will make your test creation process more
methodological and organized. Creating a solid terms of specification will increase the likelihood
of you creating a test that is valid and reliable.

So how do you create a table of specifications?

Step 1- Determine the coverage of your exam

The first rule in making exams and therefore in making a document called table of specification
is to make sure the coverage of your exam is something that you have satisfactorily taught in
class. Select the topics that you wish to test in the exam. It is possible that you will not be able
to cover all these topics as it might create a test that is too long and will not be realistic for your
students in the given time. So select only the most important topics.

Step 2- Determine your testing objectives for each topic area

In this step, you will need to be familiar with bloom’s taxonomy of thinking skills. Bloom has
identified the hierarchy of learning objectives, from the lower thinking skills of knowledge and
comprehension to the higher thinking skills of evaluation and synthesis. Bloom’s Taxonomy has
six categories: (starting from lower level to highest) - (1) Knowledge, (2) Comprehension, (3)
Application, (4) Analysis, (5) Synthesis and (6) Evaluation.

Step 3- Determine the duration for each content area

The next step in making the table of specifications is to write down how long you spent teaching
a particular topic. This is important because it will determine how many points you should
devote for each topic. Logically, the longer time you spent on teaching a material, then the more
questions should be devoted for that area.

Step 4- Determine the Test Types for each objective

Now that you have created your table of specifications for your test by aligning your objectives
to bloom’s taxonomy, it’s time to determine the test types that will accomplish your testing
objectives. For example, knowledge questions can be accomplished easily through multiple
choice questions or matching type exams.

Step 5- Polish your terms of specification

After your initial draft of the table of specifications, it’s time to polish it. Make sure that you
have covered in your terms of specification the important topics that you wish to test. The
number of items for your test should be sufficient for the time allotted for the test. You should
seek your academic coordinator and have them comment on your table of specification. They
will be able to give good feedback on how you can improve or modify it.

( Example of planning a test )

( Example of TOS )

Note: You may provide pictures, tables or graphic organizers

V. Insights/Key Takeaways
Planning a test is a step-by-step guide to completing the testing. It is a document that lays out
the strategy for ensuring that a product or system has been established in accordance with its
specifications and requirements. Planning a test is a document that guides you through the
testing process as you work on your project. It guides your testing strategy and lays out the
testing procedures to follow. It forces us to face the challenges that lie ahead and to
concentrate our thoughts on critical issues. It contains all of the answers to any questions we
might have during the testing process. A Table of Specifications is used to define the
achievement domains that are being evaluated and to ensure that the test contains a fair and
accurate result of questions. Teachers can't assess every topic or goal, and they can't ask every
question they want.A Table of Specifications enables the instructor to create a test that focuses
on the most important areas and measures them accordingly. A Table of Specifications gives the
instructor proof that a test is content correct, meaning it covers all that should be covered.

VI. References:

https://www.scribd.com/document/430744820/Planning-a-Test-and-Construction-of-Table-of-
Specifications

http://jenaisle-candidthoughts.blogspot.com/2012/02/how-to-create-table-of-
specification.html?m=1

http://jenaisle-candidthoughts.blogspot.com/2015/05/sample-table-of-specifications-tos-
for.html?m=1