Assessment of Student Learning 1

Module 5
Development of Varied Assessment Tools

LEARNING OUTCOME
• Construct paper-and pencil test in accordance with the guidelines in
test construction

Introduction

TYPES OF OBJECTIVE TESTS

We are concerned with developing objective tests for assessing the attainment of
educational objectives based on Bloom’s taxonomy in this Chapter. For this purpose, we restrict our
attention to the following types of objective tests: (a) true-false items, (b) multiple-choice type items,
(c) matching items, (d) enumeration and filling of blanks and (e) essays. The first four types of objective
tests are used to test the first four to five levels of the hierarchy of educational objectives while the
last (essay) is used for testing higher-order thinking skills.
The development of objective tests requires careful planning and expertise in terms of
actual test construction. The more seasoned teachers can produce true-false items that can test even
higher-order thinking skills and not just rote memory learning. Essays are easier to construct than the
other types of objective tests but the difficulty with which objective grades are derived from essay
examinations often discourage teachers from using this particular form of examination in actual
practice.

PLANNING A TEST AND CONSTRUCTION OF TABLE OF SPECIFICATIONS (TOS)

The important steps in planning for a test are:

• Identifying test objectives

• Deciding on the type of objective test to be prepared
• Preparing a Table of Specifications (TOS)
• Constructing the draft test items
• Try-out and validation

Identifying Test Objectives

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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 and, preferably, by how
many percent of the students.

Example. We want to construct a test on the topic: “Subject-Verb Agreement in English” for a Grade V
class. The following are typical objectives:

Knowledge. The students must be able to identify the subject and the verb in a given sentence.

Comprehension. The students must be able to determine the appropriate form of a verb to be used
given the subject of a sentence.

Application. The students must be able to write sentences observing rules on subject-verb agreement.

Analysis. The students must be able to break down a given sentence into its subject and predicate.

Synthesis/Evaluation. The students must be able to formulate rules to be followed regarding the
subject-verb agreement.

DECIDING ON THE TYPE OF OBJECTIVE TEST

The test objectives guide the kind of objective tests that will be designed and constructed by the
teacher. For instance, for the first four (4) levels, we may want to construct a multiple-choice type of
test while for application and judgment, we may opt to give an essay test or a modified essay test.

Preparing a Table of Specifications (TOS)

A table of specifications or TOS is a test map that guides the teacher in constructing a test. The TOS
ensures that there is balance between items that test lower level thinking skills and those which test
higher order thinking skills ( or alternatively, a balance between easy and difficult items) in the test.
The simplest TOS consists of four (4) columns: (a) level of objective to be tested, (b) statement of
objective, (c) item numbers where such an objective is being tested, and (d) Number of items and
percentage out of the total for that particular objective. A prototype table is shown below:

Table of Specifications Prototype

LEVEL OBJECTIVE ITEM NUMBERS NO. %

1. Knowledge Identify subject-verb 1,3,5,7,9 5 14.29%
2. Comprehension Form appropriate verb forms 2,4,6,8,10 5 14.29%
3. Application Write sentences observing 11,13,15,17,25 5 14.29%
rules on subject-verb
agreement
4. Analysis Determine subject and 12, 18, 20, 21,23 5 14.29%
predicate
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5. Evaluation Evaluate whether or not a 14, 16, 19, 22, 24 5 14.29%

sentence observes rules on
subject-verb agreement
6. Synthesis Formulate rules on Part II 10 pts 28.57%
agreement
Total 35 100%

In the table of specifications we see that there are five items that deal with knowledge and
these items are items 1,3,5,7,9. Similarly, from the same table we see that five items represent analysis,
namely: 12, 18, 20, 21, 23. The first four levels of Bloom’s taxonomy are equally represented in the test
while application (tested through essay) is weighted equivalent to ten (10) points or double the weight
given to any of the first four levels. The table of specifications guides the teacher in formulating the
test. As we can see, the TOS also ensures that each of the objectives in the hierarchy of educational
objectives is well represented in the test. As such, the resulting test that will be constructed by the
teacher will be more or less comprehensive. Without the table of specifications, the tendency for the
test maker is to focus too much on facts and concepts at the knowledge level.

CONSTRUCTING THE TEST ITEMS

The actual construction of the test items follows the TOS. As a general rule, it is advised that
the actual number of items to be constructed in the draft should be double the desired number of
items, For instance, if there are five (5) knowledge level items to be included in the final test form, then
at least ten (10) knowledge level items should be included in the draft. The subsequent test try-out and
item analysis will most likely eliminate many of the constructed items in the draft (either they are too
difficult, too easy or non-discriminatory), hence, it will be necessary to construct more items than will
actually be included in the final test form.

Most often, however, the try-out is not done due to lack of time.

Item analysis and try-out

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

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 so on. A student who knows nothing of the content of the examination would have 50%
chance of getting the correct answer by sheer guess work. Although correction-for-guessing formulas
exist, it is best that the, teacher ensures that a true-false item is able to discriminate properly between
those who know and those who are just guessing. A modified true-false test can offset the effect of
guessing by requiring students to explain their answer and to disregard a correct answer if the
explanation is incorrect. Here are some rules of thumb in constructing true-false items.

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Rule 1: Do not give a hint (inadvertently) in the body of the question.

Example: The Philippines gained its independence in 1898 and therefore celebrated its centennial year
in 2000. ______

Obviously, the answer is FALSE because 100 years from 1898 is not 2000 but 1998.

Rule 2: Avoid using the words “always”, “never” “often” and other adverbs that tend to be either
always true or always false.

Example: Christmas always falls on a Sunday because it is a Sabbath day.

Statements that use the word “always” are almost always false. A test-wise student can easily guess
his way through a test like these and get high scores even if he does not know anything about the test.

Rule 3: Avoid long sentences as these tend to be “true”. Keep sentences short.

Example: Tests need to be valid, reliable and useful, although, it would require a great amount of time
and effort to ensure that tests possess these test characteristics. _______

Notice that the statement is true. However, we are also not sure which part of the sentence is deemed
true by the student. It is just fortunate that in this case, all parts of the sentence are true and hence,
the entire sentence is true. The following example illustrates what can go wrong in long sentences:

Example: Tests need to be valid, reliable and useful since it takes very little amount of time, money and
effort to construct tests with these characteristics.

The first part of the sentence is true but the second part is debatable and may, in fact, be false. Thus,
a “true” response is correct and also, a “false” response is correct.

Rule 4. Avoid trick statements with some minor misleading word or spelling anomaly, misplaced
phrases, etc. A wise student who does not know the subject matter may detect this strategy and thus
get the answer correctly.

Example: True or False. The Principle of our school is Mr. Albert P. Panadero.

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.

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

Rule 6. Avoid specific determiners or give-away qualifiers. Students quickly learn that strongly
worded statements are more likely to be false than true, for example, statements with “never” “no”
“all” or “always.” Moderately worded statements are more likely to be true than false. Statements
with “many” “often” “sometimes” “generally” ‘frequently” or “some” should be avoided.

Rule 7. With true or false questions, avoid a grossly disproportionate number of either true or false
statements or even patterns in the occurrence of true and false statements.

1. T 6. F 1. T 6. F
2. F 7. F 2. F 7. T
3. F 8. F or 3. T 8. F
4. F 9. F 4. F 9. T
5. F 10. F 5. T 10. F
For ease of correction, teachers sometime create a pattern of True or False answers. Students will
sense it and may arrive at a correct answer not because he/she really knows the answer but because
he/she senses the pattern.

CONSTRUCTING MULTIPLE CHOICE TESTS

A generalization of the true-false test, the multiple-choice type of test offers the student with
more than two (2) options per item to choose from. Each item in a multiple-choice test consists of two
parts: (a) the stem, and (b) the options. In the set of options, there is a “correct” or “best” option while
all the others are considered “distracters”. The distracters are chosen in such a way that they are
attractive to those who do not know the answer or are guessing but at the same time, have no appeal
to those who actually know the answer. It is this feature of multiple-choice type tests that allow the
teacher to test higher-order thinking skills even if the options are clearly stated. As in true-false items,
there are certain rules of thumb to be followed in constructing multiple-choice tests.

Guidelines in constructing Multiple Choice Items

Rule 1: Do not use unfamiliar words, terms and phrases. The ability of the item to discriminate or its
level of difficulty should stem from the subject matter rather than from the wording of the question.
Example: What would be the system reliability of a computer system whose slave and peripherals are
connected in parallel circuits and each one has a known time to failure probability of 0.05?
A student completely unfamiliar with the terms “slave” and “peripherals”may not be able to answer
correctly even if he knew the subject matter of reliability.

Rule 2: Do not use modifiers that are vague and whose meanings can differ from one person to the
next such as: much, often, usually, etc.

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Example: Much of the process of photosynthesis takes place in the:

a. bark
b. leaf
c. stem

The qualifier “much” is vague and could have been replaced by more specific qualifiers like:” 90% of
the photosynthetic process” or some similar phrase that would be more precise.

Rule 3: Avoid complex or awkward word arrangements. Also, avoid use of negatives in the stem
as this may add unnecessary comprehension difficulties.

Example:

(Poor) As President of the Republic of the Philippines, Corazon Cojuangco Aquino would stand next to
which President of the Philippine Republic subsequent to the 1986 EDSA Revolution?

(Better) Who was the President of the Philippines after Corazon C. Aquino?

Rule 5: Do not use negatives or double negatives as such statements tend to be confusing. It is best
to use simpler sentences rather than sentences that would require expertise in grammatical
construction.

Example:

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

(Better) Which of the following will cause inflation in the Philippine economy?

(Poor) What does the statement “Development patterns acquired during the formative years are NOT
Unchangeable” imply?
A.
B.
C.
D.

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

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

Rule 6: Distracters should be equally plausible and attractive.

Example: The short story: May Day’s Eve, was written by which Filipino author?
a. Jose Garcia Villa
b. Nick Joaquin
c. Genoveva Edrosa Matute
d. Robert Frost
e. Edgar Allan Poe

If distracters had all been Filipino authors, the value of the item would be greatly increased. In this
particular instance, only the first three carry the burden of the entire item since the last two can be
essentially disregarded by the students.

Rule 7: All multiple choice options should be grammatically consistent with the stem.

Rule 8: The length, explicitness, or degree of technicality of alternatives should not be the
determinants of the correctness of the answer. The following is an example of this rule:

Example: If the three angles of two triangles are congruent, then the triangles are:
a. congruent whenever one of the sides of the triangles are congruent
b. similar
c. equiangular and therefore. must also be congruent
d. equilateral if they are equiangular

The correct choice, “b,” may be obvious from its length and explicitness alone. The other choices are
long and tend to explain why they must be the correct choices forcing the students to think that they
are, in fact, not the correct answers!

Rule 9: Avoid stems that reveal the answer to another item.

Rule 10: Avoid alternatives that are synonymous with others or those that, include or overlap others.

Example: What causes ice to transform from solid state to liquid state’?
a. Change in temperature
b. Changes in pressure
c. Change in the chemical composition
d. Change in heat levels

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The options a and d are essentially the same. Thus, a student who spots these identical choices would
right away narrow down the field of choices to a, b, and c. The last distracter would play no significant
role in increasing the value of the item.

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

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

Rule 13: Avoid use of unnecessary words or phrases, which are not relevant to the problem at hand
(unless such discriminating ability is the primary intent of the evaluation). The items value is
particularly damaged if the unnecessary material is designed to distract or mislead. Such items test
the student’s reading comprehension rather than knowledge of the subject matter.

Example: The side opposite the thirty degree angle in a right triangle is equal to half the length of the
hypotenuse. If the sine of a 30-degree is 0.5 and its hypotenuse is 5, what is the length of the side
opposite the 30-degree angle?
a. 2.5
b. 3.5
c. 5.5
d. 1.5

The sine of a 30-degree angle is really quite unnecessary since the first sentence already gives the
method for finding the length of the side opposite the thirty-degree angle. This is a case of a teacher
who wants to make sure that no student in his class gets the wrong answer!

Rule 14: Avoid use of non-relevant sources of difficulty such as requiring a complex calculation when
only knowledge of a principle is being tested.

Note in the previous example, knowledge of the sine of the 30-degree angle would have led some
students to use the sine formula for calculation even if a simpler approach would have sufficed.

Rule 15: Avoid extreme specificity requirements in responses.

Rule 16: Include as much of the item as possible in the stem. This allows for less repetition and
shorter choice options.

Rule 17: 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, since the
implication has already been made that the correct response may be partially inaccurate.

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Rule 18: Note that the use of “all of the above” may allow credit for partial knowledge. In a multiple
option item, (allowing only one option choice) if a student only knew that two (2) options were
correct, he could then deduce the correctness of “all of the above”. This assumes you are allowed
only one correct choice.

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

Rule 20: The difficulty of a multiple choice item may be controlled by varying the homogeneity or
degree of similarity of responses. The more homogeneous, the more difficult the item.

Example:

(Less Homogeneous) Thailand is located in:

a. Southeast Asia
b. Eastern Europe
c. South America
d. East Africa
e. Central America

(More Homogeneous) Thailand is located next to:

a. Laos and Kampuchea
b. India and China
c. China and Malaya
d. Laos and China
e. India and Malaya

CONSTRUCTING MATCHING TYPE AND SUPPLY TYPE ITEMS

The matching type items may be considered as modified multiple-choice type items where the choices
progressively reduce as one successfully matches the items on the left with the items on the right.

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

A B

_________1. First President of the Republic a. Magellan

_________2. National Hero b. Mabini
_________3. Discovered the Philippines c. Rizal
_________4. Brain of Katipunan d. Lapu-Lapu
_________5. The great painter e. Aguinaldo
_________6. Defended Limasawa Island f. Juan Luna
g. Antonio Luna

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Normally, column B will contain more items than column A to prevent guessing on the part of
the students. Matching type items, unfortunately, often test lower order thinking skills (knowledge
level) and are unable to test higher order thinking skills such as application and judgement skills

As with multiple-choice items, there has only been a small amount of empirical research on the
characteristics of matching items and how they affect validity or reliability. In addition to research
findings, there is also a common set of recommendations found in classroom assessment textbooks. A
few of the critical guidelines from both these types of data (Frey, Petersen, Edwards, Pedrotti, &
Peyton, 2003; Haladyna & Downing, 1989a, 1989b; Haladyna, Downing & Rodriguez, 2002) are
presented below.

Guideline 1.

There should be more answer options than stems.

As with many item-writing rules, the idea is to generate as many plausible answer options as possible,
so students must have the knowledge to get the question correct.

Guideline 2.

Answer options should be available more than once.

As with Guideline 1, this increases the number of functional distractors and increases the validity of
the items. With this guideline, it is important that the instructions for the matching section indicate
that answer options may be used more than once or not at all, so all students are aware of the rule.

Guideline 3.

Directions should include basis for match.

A brief instruction identifying the category of stems and answer options (e.g. leaders and nations,
species and phylum) helps students to focus on what constitutes a match, so they can concentrate on
choosing the correct answer.

Guideline 4.

Number of answer options should be < 7 for elementary age.

It is believed that younger students have a difficult time sorting through more than just a few answer
options. While some students may be able to handle many answer options, other students will have
less of that characteristic. The ability to process and evaluate many possibilities is likely not the
measurement objective of the assessment.

Guideline 5.

Number of answer options should be < 17 for secondary age.

It is believed that older students can handle longer matching sections with many answer options, but
too many options can slow down even the quickest of test-takers (especially when Guidelines 1 and 2
are followed). A well-made classroom assessment should not be exhausting for students.
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Guideline 6.

Matching stems should be on the left and answer options on the right.
Students are used to reading from left to right, and the process of matching two concepts together is
similar to the construction and comprehension processes which occur when reading sentences.

How can the use of quality matching items benefit your students, including those with special
needs? Like multiple-choice items, a section of matching items on a test can cover a large amount of
material in a relatively brief period of time. In fact, matching items are even more efficient than
multiple-choice items because each stem acts as a separate multiple-choice item with all the answer
options as possible answers. Functionally, a matching section containing ten stems operates as ten
multiple-choice items. When well-written, all the wrong answer options act as distractors. Guessing is
difficult, perhaps the most difficult of any objective test format. Because matching items allow for many
items in a short space and make guessing difficult, the validity and reliability of classroom tests are
improved, and that helps all students to be assessed fairly and accurately.

A variant of the matching type items is the data sufficiency and comparison type of test illustrated
below:

Example: Write G if the item on the left is greater than the item on the right; L if the item on the left is
less than the item on the right; E if the item on the left equals the item on the right and D if the
relationship cannot be determined.

A B

1. Square root of 9 ______ a. -3

2. Square root 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. Each item
goes beyond simple recall of facts and, in fact, requires the students to make decisions.

Supply Type or Constructed-Response Type

Another useful device for testing lower-order thinking skills is the supply type of tests. Like the
multiple-choice test, the items in this kind of test consist of a stem and a blank where the students
would write the correct answer.

Example: The study of life and living organisms is called ____________.

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Supply type tests depend heavily on the way that the stems are constructed. These tests allow for one
and only one answer and, hence, often test only the students’ knowledge.

Completion Type of Test

It is , however, possible to construct supply type of tests that will test higher order thinking as
the following example shows:

Example: Write an appropriate synonym for each of the following. Each blank corresponds to a letter:

Metamorphose: _ _ _ _ _ _
Flourish: _ _ _ _

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

Guidelines in the Formulating of a Completion Type of Test

1. Give the student a reasonable basis for the responses desired. Avoid indefinite statements.
Example: Wrong: Carolus Linnaeus was born in _________.
Right: Carolus Linnaeus was born in the year _________.
• Avoid over mutilated statements.
EXAMPLE: Wrong: ______________ was the first to view ______________under the
___________.
Right: _______________was the first to view bacteria under the microscope.
2. Avoid giving the student unwarranted clues to the desired response.
There are several ways in which clues are often carelessly given. The following suggestions may
help prevent common errors in constructing completion test.
a. Avoid lifting statements directly from the book.
b. Omit only key words or phrases rather than trivial details.
c. Whenever possible avoid a and an immediately before the blank.
EXAMPLE: Wrong: An ________ cell is composed of nucleus.
Right: ________ cell is composed of nucleus.
d. Do not indicate of the expected answer by varying the length of blanks.
EXAMPLES:
1.___________ is where synthesis of protein occurs.
2._______________ is the powerhouse of the cell.
3.__________________ guards the entry and exit of materials in a cell
e. Guard against the possibility that one item or part of the test may suggest the correct
response to another item.
f. Avoid giving grammatical clues to the answer expected.
EXAMPLE: The authors of the modern cell theory were _________.
Improved: Modern Cell theory was theorized by _________.
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3. Arrange the test so as to facilitate scoring.

a. Allow one point for each blank correctly filled. Avoid fractional credits or unequal weighing
of items in a test.
b. Select the items to which only one correct response is possible.
c. Arrange the items as far as possible so that the students responses are in a column at the
right of the sentences.
Illustration
1. The father of educational measurement is ____________. 1. Thorndike
2. The country noted as first leader of abnormal 2. France
psychology is ____________. 3. Mental Age
3. Intelligence quotient is obtained by dividing the ____________ 4. Germany
by chronological age. 5. Ebbinghaus
4. The country wherein first psychological laboratory was
Established is ____________.
5. A German psychologist who was the founder of quantitative study
Of memory is ____________.
Sample Items for Completion Test
Direction: Fill in the blank the correct word or phrase. Write your answer at the right column blank.
1. The Philippine national hero is ______________. 1. Jose Rizal
2. The Philippine national fish is ______________. 2. Milkfish
3. The Philippine national flower is ______________. 3. Sampaguita
4. The Philippine national fruit is ______________. 4. Mango
5. The Philippine national leaf is ______________. 5. Anahaw

CONSTRUCTING ESSAY TESTS

Essays, classified as non-objective tests, allow for the assessment of higher-order thinking skills. Such
tests require students to organize their thoughts on a subject matter in coherent sentences in order to
inform an audience. In essay tests, students are required to write one or more paragraphs on a specific
topic.

Essay questions can be used to measure the attainment of a variety of objectives. Stecklein (1955) has
listed 14 types of abilities that can be measured by essay items:

1. Comparisons between two or more things

2. The development and defense of an opinion
3. Questions of cause and effect
4. Explanations of meanings
5. Summarizing of information in a designated area
6. Analysis

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7. Knowledge of relationships
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
Types of Essay
Restricted Essay
It is also referred to as short focused response. Examples are asking students to
“write an example,” “list three reasons,” or compare and contrast two techniques.”

Sample Short Response Question

(10th Grade Reading)

How are the scrub and the mockingbird different? Support your answer
with details and information from the article.

Non-restricted/Extended Essay
Extended responses can be much longer and complex than short responses, but
students are encouraged to remain focused and organized.

Sample Extended Response Question

(5th Grade Science)

Robert is designing a demonstration to display at his school’s science fair.

He will show how changing the position of a fulcrum on a lever changes the
amount of force needed to lift an object. To do this, Robert will use a piece of
wood for a lever and a block of wood to act as a fulcrum. He plans to move the
fulcrum to different places on the lever to see how its placement affects the
force needed to lift an object.
Part A Identify at least two other actions that would make Robert’s
demonstration better.
Part B Explain why each action would improve the demonstration.

Note that all these involve the higher-level skills mentioned in Bloom’s Taxonomy.
The following are rules of thumb which facilitate the scoring of essays:
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Rule 1: Phrase the direction in such a way that students are guided on the key concepts to be
included.

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

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

Rule 4: Decide on your essay grading system prior to getting the essays of your students.

Rule 5: Evaluate all of the students’ answers to one question before proceeding to the next
question.
Scoring or grading essay tests question by question, rather than student by student, makes it
possible to maintain a more uniform standard for judging the answers to each question. This
procedure also helps offset the halo effect in grading. When all of the answers on one paper
are read together, the grader’s impression of the paper as a whole is apt to influence the grades
he assigns to the individual answers. Grading question by question, of course. prevents the
formation of this overall impression of a student’s paper. Each answer is more apt to be judged
on its own merits when it is read and compared with other answers to the same question. than
when it is read and compared with other answers by the same student.

Rule 6: Evaluate answers to essay questions without knowing the identity of the writer. This
is another attempt is control personal bias during scoring. Answers to essay questions should
be evaluated in terms of what is written, not it terms of what is known about the writers from
other contacts with them. The best way to prevent our prior knowledge from influencing our
judgment is to evaluate each answer without knowing the identity of the writer. This can be
done by having the students write their names on the back of the paper or by using code
numbers in place of names.

Rule 7: Whenever possible, have two or more persons grade each answer. The best way to
check on the reliability of the scoring of essay answers is to obtain two or more independent
judgments. Although this may not be a feasible practice for routine classroom testing, it might
be done periodically with a fellow teacher (one who is equally competent in the area). Obtaining
two or more independent ratings becomes especially vital where the results are to be used for
important and irreversible decisions, such as in the selection of students for further training or
for special awards. Here the pooled ratings of several competent persons may be needed to
attain level of reliability that is commensurate with the significance of the decision being made.
Some teachers use the cumulative criteria i.e. adding the weights given to each criterion,
as basis for grading while others use the reverse. In the latter method, each student begins with
a score of 100. Points are then deducted every time a teacher encounters a mistake or when a
criterion is missed by the student in his essay.

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Rule 8. Do not provide optional questions. It is difficult to construct questions of equal

difficulty and so teacher cannot have valid comparison of students’ achievement.

Rule 9. Provide information about the value/weight of the question and how it will be scored.

Rule 10. Emphasize higher level thinking skills.

Learning Activities
Learning Activity 1.
A. Give non-examples of each of the following rules in construction of true-false test. Improve on
the non-examples for them to become good examples of tests.
1. Avoid using the words “always”, “never” “often” and other adverbs that tend to be either
always true or always false.
2. Do not give a hint (inadvertently) in the body of the question.
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.
5. Avoid specific determiners or give-away qualifiers.
B. Give non-examples of each of the following rules in construction of multiple-choice test.
Improve on the non-examples for them to become good examples of tests.
1. Avoid stems that reveal the answer to another item.
2. Distracters should be equally plausible and attractive.
3. Do not use unfamiliar words, terms and phrases.
4. All multiple choice options should be grammatically consistent with the stem.
5. Having compound response choices may purposefully increase difficulty of an item.
Learning Activity 2
A. Choose learning competencies from the K to 12 Curriculum Guide. Construct a 10-item test in
line with your field/major, using the following type of test.
1. Matching Type
2. Completion
3. Supply Type
B. In a 100-item test, what types of objective tests will you include? Justify your answer.
C. In the sample essay “Plant Photosynthesis” given in this section, why would you give zero (0)
score to the student writing this essay? Justify your answer.
Example: Write an essay on the topic: “Plant Photosynthesis” using the ff. key words
and phrases: chlorophyll, sunlight, water, carbon dioxide, oxygen, by- product, stomata.

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Assessment of Student Learning 1

Plant Photosynthesis
Nature has its own way of ensuring the balance between food producers and
consumers. Plants are considered producers of food for animals. Plants produce food
for animals through a process called “photosynthesis”. It is a complex process that
combines various natural elements on earth into the final product which animals can
consume in order to survive. Naturally, we all need to protect plants so that we will
continue to have food on our table. We should discourage burning of grasses, cutting
of trees and illegal logging. I f the leaves of plants are destroyed, they cannot perform
photosynthesis and animals will also perish.

D. Make a sample Table of Specification for 1st Quarterly Assessment. (You can choose any subjects
in Junior High School). Refer to the Curriculum Guide (CG) or the Most Essential Learning
Competencies (MELC) for the different topics.
NOTE: Write all your answers in a short bondpaper for compilation. (ALL ANSWERS MUST BE
HANDWRITTEN)
Web Links
https://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/portal/nesa/k-10/understanding-the-
curriculum/assessment/approaches
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.2304/plat.2003.3.2.97

References
Navarro, R.L., Santos, R.G., & Corpuz, B.B. (2017). Assessment of Learning 1
Calmorin, L.P. (2011). Assessment of Student Learning 1

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