Development of Tools for

Classroom Base
Assessment

SECTION 3
Planning the Test
CHAPTER 7
Overview Teachers use summative
testing as their principal
means to arrive at objective
measures of students’
performance , a practice also
accepted by the stakeholders.
This chapter intends to assist
you and the teacher in
planning for the development
of Classroom-base tests to
ensure their validity for
measuring student
achievement. It will provide
 Specifyingthe purpose of the test from
the very outset.
 Identifying
what essential learning
outcomes to be measured, and
 Preparing a test blueprint that guide
the construction of items.
Overall Test Development
Process

• Planning Phase – where purpose of the

test is identified, learning outcomes to
be assessed are clearly and lastly a table
of specifications is prepared to guide the
item construction phase.

• Item construction Phase – where test

items are constructed following the
appropriate item format for the specified
learning outcomes of instuction.
• Review Phase – where items are
examined by the teacher or his/her,
prior to administration base on
judgement of their alignment to
content and behavior components of
the instuctional competencies, and
after administration,base on analysis
of students’ performance in each
item.
A. Planning
Phase Specifyin
Identify Prepare test
g learning
purpose specification
outcomes
of the s
to
test assessed

B.Item
Review Contructio
C. Review and
Constructio
n pool of n Phase
phase revise
items
item
Preparing a Test Blueprint

Whatever the purpose of the test maybe, a teacher

must determine appropriately the learning outcomes to
be assessed and how they will be assessed. These are
the two most significant elements a classroom teacher
must be competently be definite about when planning
for a test. Regardless of what subject area s/he is
teaching, a classroom test covers the learning outcomes
intended and essential to br achieved within the unit or
period of work, in terms of cognitive skills or
competencies to be performed and demonstrated.
 To assure the preparation of a good test, a test
blueprint is commonly set up in two-way TABLE OF
SPECIFICATIONS (TOS) that basically spell out
WHAT will be tested and HOW it will be tested to
obtain the information needed. WHAT covers two
aspects: the content are (i.e. subject matter) being
covered and the target learning outcomes ( i.e.
competencies). These two aspects should sample
the intended curriculum standards for the subject
or course. HOW specifies the test format, i.e. the
type of assessment question or task to be used and
the item distribution to attain an effective and
balance sampling skills to be tested.
 A table of Specifications take different
forms depending on what a teacher wants
to show. With only one element, e.g. the
objectives or skills, in the TOS it is called a
one way grid showing a pan for testing
different learning outcomes within the
same topic are(e.g. Verb). One way TOS is
often used for skill oriented subject like
language and reading or for classroom
formative tests focusing on specific skills.
 A Simple One-Way TOS for
language Test

Objectives/Skills Number of items/ points

1. Identify the statements with 10
errors in the verb use.
2. Supply the correct verb 10
forms in a paragraph
3. Prepare a news article 20
reporting a past school
activity.
Total Items/Points 40
Both Elements are shown, i.e. what ( subjec matter
and skills) and how ( type of test format). This
instantiatea a two way grid depending on tha
elements displayed. Column 1 shows the topic or
content, Column 2, the target instructional
outcomes or the skills and Column 3, the item
format recommend for use.
 Sample Two-Way Table of Specifications

Content Outcome/Skill Test Format Number of

Items/Points
A.Verb Usage 1.Identify the Objective 10
statements with
error in verb use.
2.Supply the Objective 10
correct verb forms
in a paragraph
B. Communicative 3.Prepare a news Performance 20
writing article reporting a
past school
activity.
Total Points 40
 Outcomes 1 and 2 call for the application of rules
in the use of verbs. Although the term identify is
used in Outcome 1, it goes beyond just knowing
and recalling the rule. The learner identify the
statements with erroneous application of rule.
Outcome is direct in applying the rule as the
learner hast to supply the correct verb form in
stimulus material like a paragraph. Outcome 3
demands higher level of cognition (i.e. creating) as
it requires the integration of different skills (verb
usage, vocabulary, organization, mechanics, ect.)
to produce new article.
 An Expand Table of Specifications

Subject Area Outcome/Skill Objective Performanc

e
Alterna Gap Product
te Filling Assessme
Form nt
A. Verb 1. Identify the statements 10    
Usage
with errors in the verb. Items
(25%)
  2.Supply the correct verb forms in a   10 Items  
paragraph. (25%)
A. Communicative 3. Prepare a new article     20 points
Writing
reporting a past school (50%)
activity.
  Total 40 POINTS (100%)
    Rubric for Grammatical
Accuracy (10pts)and Clarity
Selecting and Constructing
Test Items and Task

Chapter 8
 The previous chapter has familiarize you with the initial
process classroom test. True to all types of assessment tests,
it always start with a planning phase that basically answer the
question, What Do I Test? ,and leads you to the preparation of
a test blueprint or Table of Specifications which delineate the
essential learning outcomes to be assessed following a
balance distribution of items across the desire cognitive
behaviors. The present chapter now brings you to answer the
question, How Do I Test?, How do I operationalize assessment
of the learning outcomes intended for a period of study. It now
introduce you to a useful menu test types that are
appropriate to guage the learning outcomes propose by the
curriculum
standards,
how to select them and how to construct them.
 CATEGORIZING TEST TYPES

TEST TYPES

Selection Performance
Supply Type Type Type

1. Paper-pencil
1. Binary Choice 2. Identification
1. Completion
2. Multiple Choice 3. Stimulated
2. Short Answer
3. Matching performance
3. Essay Restricted
4. Essay Extended 4. Work sample
 A.Measuring knowledge and
Simple Understanding

Knowledge, as it appears in a cognitive

taxonomies as the simplest and lowest
level, is categorized further into what
thinking process is involved in
learning. Knowledge involves
remembering , or recalling Specific
facts, symbol, details, elements of
events and principles to acquire new
knowledge. The revision of Bloom’s
taxonomy ( Anderson and Krathwol)
recognizes how remembering can be
viewed not only as being able to recall
but also being necessary in learning
interrelationships among basic
elements and in learning methods,
strategies and procedures.
Declarative knowledge involves knowing THAT something is the case
- that J is the tenth letter of the alphabet, that Paris is the capital
of France. Declarative knowledge is conscious; it can often be
verbalized.  Metalinguistic knowledge, or knowledge about a
linguistic form, is declarative knowledge.
 Procedural knowledge involves
knowing HOW to do something - ride a
bike, for example. We may not be able
to explain how we do it.  Procedural
knowledge involves implicit learning,
which a learner may not be aware of,
and may involve being able to use a
particular form to understand or
produce language without necessarily
being able to explain it.
 The Examples will differentiate
declarative and procedural
knowledge as simple
understanding involving
comprehension and
application
Declarative Knowledge Procedural Knowledge
   
   
 Is able to state the law of supply  Is able to compute the area of
and demand rectangle
Comprehension: Comprehension:
Is able to explain the law of Is able to compare the size of two
supply and demand. given lots in terms of area.
   
   
   
Application: Application:
Is able to explain the raising price Is able to determine the number
of vegetables during summer time. of 1 x 1 tiles needed to cover a 50
ft. X 100 ft. Hall.
 Levels of Declarative and Procedural Knowledge

LEVEL Declarative Procedural

Knowledge Remember, restates, Remember, restates,
defines,identifies, defines,identifies,
recognizes, recognizes,
names,reproduces, or names,reproduces, or
selects specific facts, selects correct
concepts, principles, procedure, steps, skills
rules or theories. or strategies.
Simple Understanding: Converts, translates, Converts, translates,
Comprehension distinguishes, distinguishes,
explains, provides explains, provides
examples, examples,
summarizes, summarizes,
interprets, infers or interprets, infers or
predicts in own words, predicts in own words,
essential meanings of correct procedure,
words and principles. steps, skills and
strategies.
Simple Understanding: Uses existing Uses existing
Application knowledge of knowledge of correct
Nitko gives categories of lower-order thinking
skills and some examples of generic
questions for assessing. The generic
questions can be useful in formatting
completion or short answer items to assess
simple Understanding.
 Lower-order thinking skills

Lower-order thinking skills are reflected by the lower

three levels in Bloom’s Taxonomy: Remembering,
Understanding, and Applying.

Examples of lower-order thinking skills include:

By the end of the semester, students will be able to apply

the fault dislocation equation learned in lab by choosing
the relevant equation from a list of similar equations and
using it to solve a real-world example problem (e.g. given
the boundary conditions, calculate the 3-dimensional
strike-slip along the San Andreas fault in the vicinity of
Hayward, California.
In this case, the key action verb is “Apply” indicating a level
three on the Bloom’s taxonomy. It can be argued that this
may or may not be a higher order thinking skill and again
likely depends upon the course, the instructor and the
students. In this case, because it is clearly a level 3, it would
likely be assessing a lower order skill, especially if the
students simply need to choose the correct equation from a
list and apply it. However, this may also be a higher order
skill if students are not used to applying equations or if this
is a lower division course. This choice might considered
“incorrect” in some contexts.
 Categories of Lower- order
Thinking Skills and Sample
Generic Questions
Lower-Level Thinking Example of Generic
Skills Example
Knowledge of Terminologies What is a ____?
Knowledge of Specific facts When did ________happen?
Knowledge of Convention Where are______usually
found?
Knowledge of Trends and Name the stage in ______?
Sequence
Knowledge of Classification Which______does not belong
and Categories with the others?
Knowledge of Criteria By what criterion will you
use to judge______?
Knowledge of Methods, When ______ increases, what
Principles, techniques happen to _____?
Comprehension What do you mean by the
expression________?
Simple interpretation What makes_________
interesting?
Solving Numerical problems Use the data above to find