Emmanuel V.

Carolino
EDUC 6A
July 25, 2015

Mobile No: 09359779870

Email address: evcarolino@up.edu.ph

Development of Assessment Tools: Test Construction

One of the most important assessment tool is the teacher-made test. Hence,
it is of utmost importance that the teacher knows the basics of test construction. At
the end of this session, the CTP students must be able to:
1. differentiate the types of objective tests based on level of thinking;
2. construct a table of specifications (TOS) based on Blooms taxonomy; and
3. appreciate exam construction by comparing and contrasting different TOS.
Prior to knowing the basic steps in test construction, the definition of a test
must first be established. In the context of assessment, it is defined as a teaching
tool that is a reproduction of what the learners supposedly learned and is used to
evaluate what the learners know or do not know (Lardizabal, 1997). According to
Santos in 2007, construction of the test can be summarized into the following steps:
(1) Identifying the test objectives; (2) Selection of objective tests; (3) Preparing a
table of specifications (TOS); (4) Constructing the test items; and (5) Trying out
the test draft.

Identifying the Test Objectives

Test objectives are statements of what is to be achieved and by how much of
the learners. It must include various levels of Blooms taxonomy and shall serve as
the blueprint for the creation of the test. According to Corpuz and Salandanan in
2007, the various levels in the Blooms taxonomy that may be used in formulating
the test objectives are Knowledge (simple recall of facts and figures),
Comprehension (interpretation of facts and data), Application (use of abstraction
or prediction), Analysis (breaking a whole into parts), Synthesis (putting parts
together in a new form) and Evaluation (judging using logic and evidence).

Selection of Objective Tests

The selection of the objective tests is done on the basis of what level of thinking
must be gauged. The different objective tests are classified as: (1) lower order
thinking skills-based (tests, generally gauging the first five educational objectives
in the Blooms taxonomy, which are generally hard to construct but easy to assess
such as true-or-false, multiple choice, matching type, and enumeration); and (2)
higher order thinking skills-based (tests, generally gauging the highest educational
objective in the Blooms taxonomy, which are generally easier to construct but hard
to assess such as essay).

Constructing the Table of Specifications

Upon establishing the objectives and choosing the most appropriate objective
tests, a table of specifications (TOS) must be formulated. The TOS serves as a
map that directs the construction of the exam. It lists down the levels of thinking,
corresponding objectives and question distribution, hence balancing easy and
difficult items. An example of a table of specification for the topic Chemical
Bonding is given below:

Fig. 1. A sample of a table of specifications for the topic Chemical Bonding.

Constructing and Trying-out the Test Draft

After the TOS is formed, the exam can then be constructed. The test draft must
always follow the constructed TOS. Since the draft is not yet final and is prone to

revision, hence, allow room for error by constructing questions that are twice as
much as stated in the TOS. Finally, the exam is validated to remove questions that
are too easy or too hard relative to the objective and level. It is done by doing
try-out (i.e. dry-run of the test among students) and item analysis (i.e. statistical
treatment of the data gathered from the try out; determines validity, reliability and
practicality).

References:
Santos. 2007. Assessment of Learning 1. Lorimar Publishing Inc. Quezon City
Philippines. (Major)
Lardizabal, Bustos, Bucu and Tangco. 1997. Principles and Methods of Teaching.
3rd Ed. Phoenix Publishing House, Inc. Quezon Ave., Quezon City
Philippines.
Corpuz and Salandanan. 2007. Principles of Teaching 1. 1st Ed. Lorimar Publishing
Inc. Aurora Blvd., Cubao, Quezon City, Philippines.
Merriam-Webster Dictionary