SHEPHERDSVILLE COLLEGE

“Excellence in Truth in the Service of God and Country”

Talojongon, Tigaon, Camarines Sur
PROF ED 5 – ASSESSMENT IN LEARNING

HARRISON Q. PLAZA DR. EPIFANIO SAN GASPAR

TCP Student Instructor

MODULE 3. DEVELOPMENT OF ASSESSMENT TOOLS: KNOWLEDGE AND REASONING

STUDENTS ASSESSMENT QUESTIONNAIRE

A. Give an example to illustrate the following rules of thumb in the construction of a true-false
test:

1. Avoid giving hints 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.

2. Avoid using the word “always”, “never” and other such adverbs which tend to be always true or always
false.

Example:

- Christmas always falls on 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.

3. Avoid sentences which tend to be true. Keep sentences short.

Example:

- Tests need to be valid, reliable and useful, although it would require great amount of time, and effort
to ensure that tests possess these test characteristics.
Notice that the statement is true. However, we also not sure which part of the sentence is deemed
true by the student. It is just fortunate that in this case, all part of the sentence are true and hence,
the entire sentence is true. The following examples 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.

4. Avoid a systematic pattern for true and false statements.

Example:

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

The Principal’s name may be actually correct but since the word is misspelled and the entire sentence
take a different meaning, the answer would be false! This is an example of tricky but utterly useless
item.

5. Avoid ambiguous sentences which can be interpreted as true and at the same time false.

Example:

- The Sherman Anti-Trust Act, passed in 1870, declared combinations in restraint of trade illegal.
- Hamlet, Macbeth and the Dream Merchant are three of Shakespeare’s most famous tragedies.
The underlined section are false; the rest of the statement are true. Since, all part of the statement
must be true (and they are not), the entire statement is false in both cases.

QUIZ.
GIVE AN EXAMPLE TO ILLUSTRATE THE FOLLOWING RULES OF THUMB IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF MULTIPLE
CHOICE TESTS.

1. Phrase the stem to allow for only one correct or best answer.

Example:

A market clearing price is a price at which:

a. Demand exceeds supply.
b. Supply equals demand. (Answer)
c. Supply exceeds demand.

2. Avoid giving away the item in the stem.

Example:

Poor – Stem contains a cue to the correct answer

Which type of validity study examines the ability of test scores to predict a criterion?
a. Interval study
b. Content study
c. Factional study
d. Predictive study

In this example, the use of predict in the stem and predictive in the correct alternative provides a cue
to the correct answer.

Better – cues avoided

Which type of validity study involves a substantial time interval between when the test is
administered and when the criterion is measured?
a. Interval study
b. Content study
c. Factorial study
d. Predictive study

In this example, the cue was removed. Additionally, in this second example, there is an intentional
verbal association between the stem and the first distractor (i.e. interval). This association makes the
first distracter more attractive, particularly to students replying to cues, who do not know the correct
answer.

3. Choose distracters appropriately.

Example:

Non-Functional Distractors

You need a graphic with transparent background that supports 24-bit color for a slide you are
designing. What graphic format will you select?
a. PNG (correct)
b. MP3 (distractor)
c. MP4 (distractor)

The distractors in this test item are non-functional because they proved whether a test taker can
discriminate between a graphic file (choice a), an audio file (choice b), or a video file (choice c). They
will not provide feedback as to whether the person achieved the performance objective and whether
the learning experience was effective. In addition, those incorrect choices will not be frequently
selected because they are not credible choices.

Functional Distractors

You need a graphic with transparent background that supports 24 bit-color for a slide you are
designing. What graphic format will you select?

a. PNG (correct)
b. MP3 (distractor)
c. MP4 (distractor)

The distractors in this test item are functional because they proved whether a test taker can
discriminate between three types of graphic formats. Only one, the PNG format, supports both 24-bit
color and transparency. These distractors will provide diagnostic feedback as to the type of
misconception a learner may have.

4. Choose distracters so that they are all 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
disregarded by the students.
5. Phrase questions so that they will test higher-order thinking skills.
Example:

A pendulum consists of a sphere hanging from a string. What will happen to the period of the
pendulum if the mass of the sphere is doubled? (Assume that the effects of air friction and the mass of the
string are negligible and that the sphere traces an arc of 20 ° in a plane as it swings.)
a. It will increase.
b. It will decrease.
c. It will remain unchanged. (answer)
d. More information is needed to determine what will happen.

EXERCISE 3.2
 A. Construct a 10-item matching type test on the topic: “PLANT PHOTOSYNTHESIS”

_____ 1. Flower a. part of plant use to support

_____ 2. Leaves b. part of the plant that soaks up water and minerals
_____ 3. Stem c. the source of energy for photosynthesis
_____ 4. Roots d. part of the plant that makes seeds
_____ 5. Chlorophyll e. part of the plant that makes food
_____ 6. Sunlight f. the type of gas that released into the air after photosynthesis
_____ 7. Carbon Dioxide g. the type of gas that plants need for photosynthesis
_____ 8. Oxygen h. the process that plants use to make energy from sunlight
_____ 9. Sugar i. the type of food that plants use to make their leaves
_____ 10. Photosynthesis j. a green pigment that is found in plants’ leaves that help the plant
make food

B. Construct a 10-item supply test on the topic: ”THE DISCOVERY OF THE PHILIPPINES”

Fill in the missing word in the blank.

1. Ferdinand Magellan discovers the Philippines and claim it for Spain and named _______________.
2. The revolt of Bohol led by Tamblot is ____________________.
3. Around 500 Katipuneros leave Balintawak and made their way to _________________.
4. Bonifacio issue the call of arms, the Cry of Balintawak on __________________.
5. In October 1887, Rizal begins writing ____________________.
6. The unit of US marines depart from ____________________.
7. The first election of the Philippine Assembly is held on _____________________.
8. On June 18, 1908, the University of the Philippines is ____________________.
9. Magellan depart from Spain with five ships and a complement of _____________________.
10. Noli Me Tangere is published on _____________________________.

C. Justify each rule used in constructing an essay type of test.

For Rule 1, the direction is used to be able to direct the students on what are those important things to be
enclosed in their essay.

For Rule 2, the criteria will be able to guide them to focus on what the teacher wants to see throughout their
essay.

For Rule 3, setting up a time for an essay test will make the student be direct to the point and not be too
wordy.

For Rule 4, setting up objectives or criteria before conducting an essay test should be observed to easily check
the writer’s output and avoid biases.

For Rule 5, assessing an essay question-by-question will help the teacher to settle on the standard and also
grade the essay properly and uniformly.
For Rule 6, assessing an essay without knowing the writer’s identity can avoid bias scoring. It will make a fair
and right judgment.

For Rule 7, it is really helpful to ask for another person to grade each answer, especially in the time of looking
for a student who will rise among them and be qualified for a special award.

D. Construct a 10-item data sufficiency test.

A B

1. 200% of 20 ________ a. 40
2. 30% of 70 ________ b. 19
3. 100% of 38 ________ c. 38
4. 200% of 91 ________ d. 172
5. 12 is 1% ________ e. 1 220
6. 16 is 200% _______ f. 4
7. 18 is 15% ________ g. 120
8. 5 is 5% _________ h. 100
9. 30:10 _________ i. 3:1
10. 6 19 ________ j. x=28
12 x

E. In a 100 –item test, what type of objective test will you include? Justify your answer.

Answer:

I would include the true or false, multiple choice, matching type, supply type, and essay type. It is
because each one of them can assess a specific level in a given objective. For example, the true or false type
can assess the knowledge or comprehension level, and while the essay type can assess the analysis,
synthesis, or evaluation level.

F. In the simple essay “Plant Photosynthesis” given in this section, why would you give a zero (0) score to
the student writing this essay? Justify your answer.

Answer:

Grading an essay test requires following the given direction and criteria. Giving a zero score for this
essay is possible because it is obvious that the writer did not follow any of the given directions and criteria.

G. Give an example of a supply type of test that will measure higher-order thinking skills (beyond mere
recall of facts and information.)

Answer:

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

English: _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Mathematics: _ _ _ _ _ _ _
 H. In what sense is a matching type test? Justify your answer.

Answer:

Matching types often test lower-order thinking skills and are unable to test higher-order thinking
skills such as application and judgment skills. It is used to measure the relationship between the two sets of
items.

I. In what sense is the supply type of a test considered a variant of the multiple choice type of test?

Answer:

The multiple choice type of test has a stem and offers two or more options to choose form wherein
there is only one correct answer and the other option serves as distracters. While, supply type of test also
have stem but the students requires to provide or supply the correct answer.