Teacher Made

Tests

Introduction
Role of testing in teaching

Refine teaching skill of a teacher

Effective teachers

Must be proficient in testing and proficiency requires the

synthesis of many different skills.
Must be knowledgeable about their discipline and their
students interests, skills, and experiences.
Must be able to summarize and analyze data and make
comparisons and inferences to interpret test results.

Evaluation

Is an integral part of the instructional program.

Provides basic information for a variety of educational
decisions.
Main emphasis is the pupil and his/her learning progress.

What should be Evaluated?

OBJECTIVES stated in behavioral terms become
realized in
ACTIVITIES designed to help students develop
knowledge, skills, and values, which are
reflected by
EVALUATION which enables students, teachers,
and parents to assess learning outcome.

Evaluation of Students Learning

Is conducted to make judgments and decisions
about the effectiveness of teaching and learning
Should be used to

Redefine objectives
Identify ways to improve teaching and learning
Is needed to provide the feedback that both teacher
and students need to know how well they are doing
and how they can make improvements.

Types of Evaluation
Diagnostic to identify individual and group
needs.
Formative is done during instruction to appraise
ongoing progress.
Summative is done at the end of a unit or term
to appraise or make value judgments if the
stated objectives were met.

Formal Evaluation
Multiple Choice (M-C) Test Items - test items
that consists of a problem and a list of possible
solutions.
Parts of a M-C Item

Stimulus Material
Stem
Alternative or options
Distracters

Key

Definitions
Stimulus Material

Special information on which an item is based

Can be in the form of a paragraph, a picture, a chart, a table, etc.

Stem

Portion that states the problem.

Can be closed question, an incomplete statement or a direction

Alternative or options

The options following the stem from which the pupil is to select the
correct answer.
3-5options are usually offered.

Distracters

The options that state the incorrect answers to the stem.

Key

The option that sates the correct answer to the stem.

Example: The pie chart below shows the way

Sonia spends her weekly allowance of P500.00
Meals & Snacks

12%

Recreation

50 %

25%

Miscellaneous
Bus Fare
School Supplies

5%

8%

How much Sonia spend for meals and snacks in a week?

a. P150.00)
)
b. P200.00) Distracters
) Options
c. P225.00)
)
d. P250.00)

stimulus

Stem

Guidelines in Constructing
M-C Items
1. The central problem of the item should be stated in
the premise so as to make only one choice
justifiable,
Faulty example:
Ethnic groups are

a. artifacts
d. racial groups
Good Example:

b. external influence
e. cultural groups

c. language groups

What characteristics best describes an ethnic group?

a.

b.
c.
d.
e.

Common artifacts
Shared culture
Similar racial background
Common language
Similar appearance

Guidelines in Constructing
M-C Items
2. All choices in the stem should be
grammatically consistent.
Example:
Why do living organisms need oxygen?
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.

To purify the blood

To oxidize water
To release energy
To assimilate food
To fight infection

Guidelines in Constructing
M-C Items
3. The choices should be as brief as possible,
and the correct response should be neither
consistently longer nor shorter that the
incorrect response.
Example:
According to the natural depravity of man doctrine of
religious groups, man was inherently _____.
a. good
b. evil

c. degraded
d. unreasonable

e. deprived

Guidelines in Constructing
M-C Items
4. A pattern of answers should be avoided.
5. Negatively stated items should be avoided.
Example:
Which of the following is not a characteristic of the successful group
leader?
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.

He defines the group purpose.

He suggests course of action.
He shares group experiences.
He opposes group interest.
He justifies group actions.

Better:
Which of the following are characteristics of the successful group leader?
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.

He defines the group purpose.

He suggests course of action.
He shares group experiences.
He opposes group interest.
He justifies group actions.
1. a,b,c,d
2. a,b,c,e

3. a,b,d,e
4. b,c,d,e

Guidelines in Constructing
M-C Items
6. Authority should be quoted when the item
contains controversial opinion.
Example:
American historians generally agree that the major
responsibility for causing World War II is with
___________.
a.
b.

c.
d.
e.

Germany and Austria

Germany and Serbia
Russia and France
England and France
Russia and Italy

Guidelines in Constructing
M-C Items
7. Ambiguous items should be avoided.
Example: (Poor/Faulty)
When there is an active verb in a sentence, the subject does
the acting; and when the verb is passive, the subject is acted
upon. Which of the following is passive?
a. Threw
c. Ran
e. Dropped
b. Hit
d. Was hit
Better:
When there is a passive verb in the sentence, the subject is
acted upon.
a. Threw
c. Ran
e. Dropped
b. Hit
d. Was hit

Guidelines in Constructing
M-C Items
8. Distracters should be plausible and attractive to
the uninformed.
Poor example:
What is the end punctuation for an interrogative sentence?
a. Comma
c. Question Mark
e. Exclamation Point
b. Semi-colon d. Quotation marks
Better:
What is the end punctuation for an interrogative sentence?
a. Period
b. Question marks
c. Quotation mark
d. Exclamation Point

Guidelines in Constructing
M-C Items
9. Specific determiners should be
avoided.
Poor example:
The part of speech that tells how, when,
or where is an _______.
a. noun
c. adverb
e. verb
b. pronoun

d. conjunction

Guidelines in Constructing
M-C Items
10. Each item should contain an independent
problem which gives no clues to the
answers of other items.
11. Avoid repeating key words in the stem and
the options.
Poor example:
A popular sport fish that is often caught in the Great
Lakes region is the _____.
a. shark
c. swordfish
e. lake trout
b. tuna
d. anchovy

Advantages of M-C Test

1.

2.
3.

4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

Give an extensive test sample from verbal

information to the use of rules and principles and
many levels of learning.
Can be made highly reliable.
Can be graded objectively and quickly.
Can be subjected to item analysis and further
refinement.
Eliminate buffing.
Can be adapted to several teaching objectives.
Can be easily adapted fro machine scoring and for
computer administration and scoring.
Can be easily complied into item banks.

Limitations of M-C Test

1.

2.
3.
4.

5.

Cannot directly measure attitudes or motor

skills that require demonstration and active
performance.
May overemphasize rote learning.
Encourage guessing.
IS difficult to prepare.
Cost more than essay to prepare and
reproduce.

Common Barriers
1.

2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Difficulty vocabulary.
Complex sentence structures.
Ambiguous statements.
Wordy statements.
Unclear pictorial materials.
Vague directions
Material reflecting race, ethnic, sex bias

Alternative Response Test

Objective: To distinguish between primary and secondary
sources of historical data.
Direction: Listed below are sources of data on the
Constitutional Convention. Write P by those that are
primary sources and S by those that are secondary
sources of data.
_____ 1. De Leons Textbook on the Philippine Constitution
_____ 2. Cecilia Muoz Palmas unofficial notes about the
Convention
_____ 3. Memoirs written by the Sergeant-at-Arms
_____ 4. The Official Journal of the Secretary of the Convention.

True-False Variety
Example:
The sum of all the angles inside any
four-sided closed figure equals 360
degrees.
T
F

Yes-No Variety
Is it possible for a presidential candidate
to become Philippine president
without obtaining a majority of the
votes cast on election day?

Yes

No

Correction Variety
Read each statement below and decide if it is
correct or incorrect. If it is correct, change the
underlined word or phrase to make the
statement correct.
The new student, who we met today, came
from Baguio.
C
I

Multiple True-False Variety

Under the Bill of Rights, freedom of the press means the
newspapers

have the right to print anything they wish

without restrictions
T
F

can be stopped from printing criticisms

of the government
T
F

have the right to attend any meeting of the

executive branch of the presidential
government.
T
F

Guidelines if Constructing
Alternative Response Items
1.

2.

3.

4.

Present genuine alternatives that call for such responses as true

or false, yes or no, right or wrong, primary or secondary
source and so on.
Present a single idea in each item so that what is being
measured is clear and students have distinct alternatives to
consider.
Avoid give-away terms (determiners) such as all, always, very,
only, and never that make many statements false and may,
some, often, and generally that make many statements true.
Make true and false or other alternative statements of similar
length and complexity so that students will not identify and
use a pattern for responding.

Matching Items

Objective: To demonstrate knowledge of key figures in

Philippine History by identifying their roles.
Direksyon: Pagtambalin ang mga deskripsyon sa Hanay A sa
pangalan ng mga indibidwal sa Hanay B. Isulat ang titik ng
wastong sagot sa patlang bago ang bilang. Walang mauulit na
sagot.
Hanay A

Hanay B

__1. Binaril sa Bagumbayan.

a. Aguinaldo

__2. Editor ng La Solidaridad

b. Bonifacio

__3. Supremo ng KKK

c. Jaena

__4. Unang Pangulo ng Komonwelt

d. Mabini

__5. Unang Pangulo ng Rep. ng

Pilipinas

e. Quezon
f. Rizal

Matching Items
Direksyon: Pagtambalin ang mga lugar sa Hanay A at mga
deskripsyon nila sa Hanay B. Walang mauulit na sagot.
Isulat lamang ang titik ng sagot sa sagutang papel.
Hanay A

Hanay B

__1. Cebu

a. Ginanap dito ang unang misa sa

Pilipinas

__2. Cavite

b. Iprinoklama ang kalayaan ng

Pilipinas dito.

__3. Limasawa

c. . Unang lugar na namataan nina

Magellan sa Pilipinas
d. Unang nagkarron dito ng
permanenteng pamayanan ang mga
Espanyol.

Rules in Constructing Matching

Items
1.

2.
3.
4.

5.

Place the same kind of item in each column.

Put more items in one column so that students will
not suse a process of elimination.
The direction should state whether or not an option
may be used more than once.
Arrange the short-word column in alphabetical,
chronological, or other order, but be sure to avoid a
one-to-one correspondence between the order of
items in each column.
Present both columns on the same page so that
students can concentrate on the task without having
to turn pages.

Completion Items
Objective: To interpret US involvement in wars by identifying
reasons given by historians.
Direction: Complete the following by writing the name of the war
after the reason that was given.
1. Manifest destiny was given as a reason for the
________________________.
2. The sinking of the Marine was a reason for the
_______________________.
Direction: Complete the following sentences by writing the correct
answers n the blank.
1. The main reason for using a scoring guide with an
essay test is to increase the _______ of scoring.
2. The capital of the Philippines is ___________.

Completion Items
Objective: To improve the ability to interpret by defining racism in
terms of specific examples in contemporary and historical
setting.
1. In the space below write one example of racism in Germany
under Hitler.
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
_______________________________.
2. In the space below write one example of racism in the
employment of blacks at the present time.
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
_______________________________.

Rules in Constructing Short-Answer

Form

Prepare a true statement about a single concept

or idea and substitute a blank for one or, at most,
two important terms.
Be sure that only one term (or close synonym) is
best for completing the item.
Prepare the statement so that the blank is near
the end.
Use short-answer items when students should list
items or write a statement to respond.
Short-answer items should be brief and direct;
specify the type of desired response, and call for
a brief response.

Essay Items
Objectives: To improve the ability to analyze by describing steps taken by the
government to counter the impact of the Great Depression.
What steps did the Philippine government take as a result of the Great
Depression to prevent depressions and to regulate industry? Include
attention to such agencies as the SEC and DTI and the regulations that
accompanied them.
List four factors that led to the American victory over the Japanese in
World War II. (4 points)
For every factor you list, write a short explanation of how that factor helped
the Americans defeat the Japanese. (4 points)
Choose one of these factors that in your opinion the Japanese could have
changed or overcome. Explain what actions the Japanese could have
taken to change or to overcome this factor. (4 point)
What probably would have happened in the war if the Japanese had taken
the actions you stated? Why do you think this would have happened? (8
points)

Rules in constructing Essay Items

1.

2.

3.
4.

Use terms such as define, compare, and contrast, state

relationships, analyze, give the pros and cons, defend a
position or evaluate. Avoid the general term discuss
because most students find it to be ambiguous.
Ask questions that call for attention to essential elements
and require the student to demonstrate the ability to
express essential knowledge.
Vary the type of items to fit objectives.
Example: Explanation items to assess the ability to
interpret materials in reading, tables or graphs;
comparison items to assess the ability to describe
likeness and differences.

Rules in constructing Essay Items

5. Use the following procedures to improve reliability
of scoring:

Determine the credit to be given for each major point.

Avoid the halo effect by reading the papers without
identifying the students.
Assess all papers for one item at a time so that the same
standards can be applied and the halo effect or moving
from one item to another can be avoided.
Avoid the tendency to rate an item more or less severely at
the beginning or end of the reading by shuffling papers
after each item is read.

ITEM ANALYSIS
(Hopkins, 1990)

ITEM ANALYSIS (Hopkins, 1990)

1.

2.

3.
4.

Order the papers by score, placing the one with the

highest score on top and continuing sequentially until
the one with the lowest score is at the bottom. Where
two or more examinees made the same error, order
them alphabetically by surname.
Multiply N, the total number of examinees by .27 and
round off the result to the nearest whole number; this
number is represented by n.
Therefore, 250 X .27 = 67.5 or 68.
Count off the n best papers from the top of the stack.
This is the high group.

ITEM ANALYSIS (Hopkins, 1990)

5. Determine the proportion in the high group (P) answering a
particular item correctly by dividing the number of correct
items for the high group by n; that is

PH=

No. of Correct responses to the

item

6. To obtain an estimated item difficulty index, p (that is, the

proportion of the total group that answered the item
correctly), add PH to PL and divide the resulting sum by 2:
7. To obtain an estimated item discriminating index, D (that is, the
proportion of correct responses for both the low and high
groups) subtract PL from PH:
D = PH - PL

The following was used in evaluating

the test items (Hopkins, 1990):
Index of Discrimination

Item Evaluation

.40 and above

Very discriminating

.30 - .39

Discriminating

.20 - .29

Reasonably
discriminating

.10 - .19

Marginally
discriminating; subject
to revision

Below .10

Unproductive/Very
poor, discard or rewrite

Index of Difficulty

Item Evaluation

.91 and above

.76 - .90

Very easy
Easy

.25 - .75
.10 - .24

Optimum/Average
Hard

Below .10

Very hard

Figure 5: Distribution of Responses for High-Scoring (H) and Low-Scoring (L) examines and their values
Item

10

11

12

Group

OPTION

VALUES

Omit

66*

52

18

40*

17

13

30

31*

27

21

33

48*

13

18

30

65*

53

10

42*

10

11

25

24

33

18*

11

22

17

16

60*

16

38

12

51*

30

18

10

12

37*

12

11

11

22

23

60*

25

14

16

13

65*

49

Remarks

.21

.87

Reasonably discriminating / Retain

.10

.49

Marginally discriminating / Revise

.15

.39

Marginally discriminating / Revise

.27

.58

Reasonably discriminating / Retain

.18

.87

Marginally discriminating / Revise

.25

.50

Reasonably discriminating / Retain

.01

.26

Very Poor / Discard or Rewrite

.32

.72

Discriminating / Retain

.49

.51

Highly Discriminating / Retain

.22

.42

Reasonably discriminating / Retain

.51

.63

Highly Discriminating / Retain

.24

.84

Reasonably discriminating / Retain