Steps in Developing TOS General Guidelines in choosing the

appropriate test format

1. Determine the objectives
2. Determine the coverage of the test Major categories and format of traditional test
3. Calculate the weight of each topic
4. Determine the number of items for the  Selected response
whole test  Multiple choice
5. Determine the number of items per topic  TF/ alternative response
 Matching type
 Problem-solving test
1. List down the topics/ competencies  Essay test
covered for inclusion in the test  Short answer test
2. Specify the number of days/ hours spent  Constructed-response test
for teaching a particular topic or
Well-constructed test
competency.
3. Determine percentage allocation of the - Motivate students and reinforce
test items for each of the topic or learning
competency covered. The formula - Provide feedback on teaching, often
applied is as follows: showing what was or was not
communicated clearly
% topic = total No. of Days/ hours spent - Enable teachers to assess the students
total No. of days/ hours spent x 100% mastery of course objectives
teaching the topic
Guidelines for Writing Multiple Choice items
Example:
A multiple choice item is characterized by the
Mrs. Garcia utilized 10 hours for teaching the following components:
unit Measures of Central tendency. She spent
 Stem – the initial part of the item in
2 hours in teaching the topic, “Mean of
which the task is stated
Grouped Data”. What percentage of test items
should she allocate for the topic?  Options – the set of response choices
presented under the stem
% for a topic = 2/10 = 0.20  Key – correct response option
= 20%  Distractors – incorrect response
options
4. Determine the number of the items for
each topic. This can be done by The stem may be a direct question or an
multiplying the percentage allocation for incomplete statement with the options that
each topic by the total number of items to complete the statement.
be constructed
Note: the direct question is generally easier to
No. of items for each topic = % for a topic x total No. of items develop and to understand.
Example: Examples:
Mrs. Garcia decided to prepare a 50-item test 1. The stem has enough information to
on the unit, “measures of central tendency”. make the task clear and unambiguous
How many items should she write for the to students.
“mean of grouped data” First draft: Solve the equation
25 – X = 19
50 items x 0.20 = 10 items
 Revision: What number should go in response item may be more
the blank to make the number appropriate than a multiple choice
sentence true? 25 - ___ = 19 7. Avoid using trick distractors
8. Observe the rules of grammar and
2. Do not include extraneous syntax
information in stem. This may 9. Make sure all options are parallel in
confuse students length, level of complexity and
First Draft: Mang Gorio has 180 eggs grammatical structure
that he has collected on his farm. He 10. Arrange the options in logical order
wants to take them to the market 3km 11. Reduce the reading burden in the
away. Before he takes them he must options by moving the word/s to the
put them in cartons. Each carton stem
holds 12 eggs. How many cartons 12. Avoid reference to “you” or “your”
does Mang Gorio need? 13. Avoid using “none of these” and “all
Revision: Eggs are packed 12 to a of these” as response option
carton. How many cartons are needed 14. Avoid the use of specific determiners
to pack 180 eggs? that qualify the response options
a. 13 c. 16 providing clues to the correct options:
b. 14 d. 18 “never” and “always” tend to be
incorrect “some”, “sometimes”, and
3. Use a direct question rather than a “may” tend to appear in correct
directive in the stem options.
First Draft: Find the area of a 15. Make sure that the stem or options to
rectangle with sides 2cm and 6cm one question do not answer another
Revision: What is the area with 2cm question, or rule out distractors in
and 6cm side? another question

4. Include “of the following” in the stem True-False Items

if there is no universally agreed upon
answer to the question. True-False Items requires students to identify
First Draft: Which is the best statements which are correct or incorrect.
conductor of electricity? Only two responses are possible in this item
Revision: Which of the following is format.
the best conductor of electricity? 1.
a. Air c. rubber 2. Each statement should be short and
b. Copper d. water simple
5. Make sure there is only one correct or First Draft: True-False items provide for
best answer. adequate sampling of objectives and can be
First Draft: Which animal is hatched scored rapidly
from eggs? Revision: True-False can be scored rapidly
a. Spider c. rabbit
b. Snake d. carabao 3. Qualifiers such as “few”, “many”,
“seldom”, “always”, “never”,
Revision: which animal is hatched “small”, “large”, and so on should be
from eggs? avoided. They make the statements
a. goat c. rabbit vague and indefinite.
b. snake d. carabao
First Draft: True-False items are seldom
6. Do not provide hint to answers from prone to guessing
the options. An essay or constructed
Revision: True-False items are prone to - Volatility
guessing - Uncertainty
- Complexity
4. Negative statement should be used - Ambiguity
sparingly - Diversity
5. Double negatives should be avoided - Dynamics
6. Statements of opinions or facts
should be attributed to some  PISA Assessment
important person or organization  TIMSS (Trends in international
7. The number of true or false Mathematics and Science Study)
statements should be equal whenever  National Achievement Test
possible - Quality of student learning
Guidelines for writing Matching Items First batch to complete the full K-12
1. Include only materials that belong to curriculum are SHS graduates of SY 23-24
the same category Curriculum review
2. Keep premises short and place the
responses on the right side What were the results of the review of the
3. Use more responses that premises and current curriculum?
allow the responses to be used more
than once  Curriculum is congested
4. Place the matching items on one page  There are misplaced learning
competencies
1 The TOS requires a thorough knowledge of  There is an imbalance of cognitive
Bloom’s revised taxonomy demand
2 The TOS requires, as reference, the
budgeted lessons (allocation of time per topic Planning the Test
in every grading period with respect to the
desired total number of days/ time to be spent 1. Setting the test objectives
for grading period)  Why decline?
3 The TOS requires some simple  How to set?
mathematical computations that will result to  What are the levels
proportional allocation of test items per topic 2. Creating the table of specification
4 The TOS requires that previous experiences  Why create?
are recalled and to some extent, it requires  How to create?
likewise the imagination of the TOS  What are the types?
constructor to concretize the actual teaching-
learning process based on previous What is table of specification?
encounters in the classroom in order to
determine more or less the domains/ where he - Test blueprint
would base from his questions - Tool used by teacher to design a test
5 The TOS constructors shall likewise - A chart that provides graphic
prepare the budgeted lesson to accompany the representations of the content of a
TOS form first grading to fourth grading course or curriculum elements and
period the educational objectives
- A two-way chart which describes the
Why is there a need to revise the current topics to be covered in a test and the
curriculum? number of items or points which will
be associated with each topic
VUCAD2 – demands of the future in this ever
changing world What is the importance of TOS?
 Ensures that the instructional Tips in Preparing the Table of
objectives and what the test captures Specification
match
 Ensure that the test developer will not 1. Don’t make it overly detailed.
overlook details that are considered 2. Its best to identify major ideas and
essential to a good test skills rather than specific details
 Makes developing a test easier and 3. Use a cognitive taxonomy that is most
more efficient appropriate to your discipline,
including non-specific skills like
 Ensure that the test will sample all
communication skills or graphic
important content areas and processes
skills or computational skills if such
 Is useful in planning and organizing
are important to your evaluation of
 Offers an opportunity for teachers the answer
and students to clarify achievement 4. MATCH the question level
expectations appropriate to the level of thinking
One-way TOS skills (level of difficulty)

Factors to be consider in preparing test

questions (Oriondo & Antonio, 1984)

 Purpose of the test

 Time available to prepare, administer
and score the test
 Number of students to be tested
 Skill of the teacher in writing the test
 Facilities available in reproducing the
Two-way TOS test

“to be able to prepare a GOOD TEST, one

has to have a mastery of the subject matter,
knowledge of the pupils to be tested, skill in
verbal expression and the use of different test
format” Evaluating Educational Outcomes
(Oriondo & Antonio, 1984)

Three-way TOS