GUIDELINES FOR TEST CONSTRUCTION OF

TEACHER MADE TESTS

Objectives:

1. Mention the characteristics of the teacher made tests; 2. Cite

guidelines in constructing teacher made tests; and
3. Critique and improved erroneous sample test items.

Teacher made Tests are tests constructed by classroom teacher which measure and appraise
student progress in terms of specific classroom/instruction or objective. Teacher made tests can be an
objective test or subjective test depending upon the appropriateness with regards to the lesson objective.

General Guidelines in writing test items:

1. Match item to the intended outcomes as specified from the Table of Spefications.
2. Avoid unnecessarily unfamiliar terminology, vocabulary and concepts unless there is a relevant
stated purpose on the test.
3. Keep the vocabulary consistent with students’ level of understanding.
4. Avoid broad, long sentences or excessive wordiness, and complex statements .
5. Avoid negative stems, if stems are necessary, they are emphasized with underline, Italicized,
bolded, CAPITALIZED or colored indicators. Negative words must be highlighted. Avoid double
negatives as well because it might be overlooked by students.
6. Test for important or significant information. Avoid items based on opinion or trivia.
7. Vary positions in sequence alternatives. Avoid having patterns of answers for ease of scoring.
8. Test the most important concepts or skills.
9. Be sensitive with cultural and gender issues.
10. Avoid giving clues for other items such as supplying answers for other questions.
11. Build up difficulty. (Easy, moderate, difficult)
12. Do not copy verbatim from the textbooks but be careful when rewording or paraphrasing.
13. Avoid grammatical errors that lead to wrong answers.
14. State DIRECTIONS briefly yet concise and state scoring system properly. Indicate or
include rating scales or rubrics if possible.

MULTIPLE-CHOICE TEST

This test is made up of items which consist of three or more plausible options for each item. The choices
are multiple so that the examinees may choose only one correct answer or best option for each item.
The multiple choice is regarded as one of the best test forms in testing outcomes. This test form is most
valuable and widely used in standardized test due to its flexibility and objectivity in terms of scoring.

There are two parts of multiple choice: The stem and options. The stem can be a form of a question,
incomplete statement or phrase, directions, statements or etc. The options have two parts: the correct
answer or best answer and the distractors which are also known as decoys, foils, and jokers that are
expected to be plausible or attracted.

Suggestions for Constructing Multiple Choice test

1. State the stem in simplest form with enough details with respect to the specified level indicated in
the Table of Specifications. If the item is specified in knowledge level, the question must be testing
a knowledge level as well.

2. The stem of the item should be meaningful by itself and should present a definite problem.
3. All options must be grammatically consistent. If the stem is singular, the options are also singular.
(Grammatical Parallelism)

4. The options must be of the same length. Sometimes, the longest answer is the correct answer.
 5. Options must be homogeneous/plausible or attractive or closely related to each other in order to
increase difficulty.

6. Options must be arranged in natural order in either ascending or descending orders when dealing
with numbers, dates of events, levels of complexity or even to be arranged alphabetically.

7. Do not make any options obviously correct or obviously wrong.

For Face Validity:

1. Place the stem and options on the same page.

2. Indent the options. Align the options. Arrange the options of the same order.
Ex. 1.) A B 2.) A C 3.) a b
C D B D c d

3. Provide space after each item.

Kinds of Multiple Choice Tests:
1. Stem and Options Variety – the stem serves as the problem and followed by four more plausible
options which examinees choose the best option or correct answer.

2. Setting and Options Variety (Interpretive Multiple Choice) – The optional responses to this
type of multiple-choice test is dependent upon a setting or foundation of some sort. A setting can
be a form of sentence, paragraph, graph, equation, picture or some forms of representation.

3. Group Term Variety. This variety consists of group of words or terms in which one does not
belong to the group

4. Contained options Variety – This variety is designed to identify errors in word, phrase,
or sentence in a paragraph. Ex. Identify the error in the statement.

Uses of Multiple Choice:  Measure outcomes at the

 Measure knowledge outcomes understanding and applications
o Knowledge of levels terminologies
o Application of facts and
o Knowledge of specific principles facts
o Interpret cause – effects
o Knowledge of principles relationship
o Knowledge of Methods
o Justify methods and Procedures

MATCHING TYPE TEST

Matching Type consist of two columns: Column A which is known as the premise/stimulus and Column B
is known as the options or responses. Homogeneous relationship between Set A and Set B must be
observed strictly in pairing/matching.
Column A are numbers while Column B are letters. Longer statements are placed in Column A and
shorter statements are placed in Column B.
This test is good for measuring factual knowledge but not very effective in measuring higher levels of
understanding

RULES IN CONSTRUCTING MATCHING TYPE

1. Directions should be clear in stating what items in the response column should be matched within the
stimulus column and vice versa and what symbols of the response items should be written before the
stimulus items to which they correspond

2. The response column should contain more items, at least two or more than the stimulus column so
that the pairing of items may not be done by the process of elimination. This is to avoid the automatic
pairing of the last items after all the others have been paired.
3. Only items with the same relationship should be included in a single matching series such as wars-
date, books-authors and etc. Column A and Column B should have homogeneous relationship.

4. Order of items is not an important consideration but if the items in column one should be arranged in
some order, the items in the other column should be arranged randomly.

5. The number of items in the stimulus column should be about 5 – 10 items. Maximum ideal number is
15. Making the number very much lower than ten make the test to short and easy but making the
number very much higher than ten makes pairing very laborious.

6. Place the two columns in a single page.

Research Work: What are the characteristics of perfect and imperfect matching?

FILL IN THE BLANKS (COMPLETION TEST)

A series of sentences in which certain important words or phrases have been omitted for the students to
filled in. This is best used for knowledge level questions.

RULES
a. The blank in completion questions must be placed at the end or near end.
b. Omit only words that are essential to the meaning of the statement or sentence. Omit important words
only rather than trivial details.
c. Do not omit so many words in the statement. (Do not over mutilate) The statement may lose its
meaning.
d. Make the blanks equal in length to avoid clues. Ex. Longer blanks suggest long answers, shorter
blanks commends short answers
e. Avoid Grammatical Clues
a. Use the modifier a or an before blanks. An a answer begins with a constant and an suggest
with a vowel. Ex. A cop is a/an _____. (police). Building designer is a/an _____.
(architect)
b. Make the answers two blanks in the same statement in the same grammatical form.
Ex. Antonio Luna was _________ but Juan Luna was ________.
f. Avoid equivocal or vague questions. (Indefinite statements) Equivocal questions admit two or more
answers or interpretations
Ex. Rizal was born in ________. (the answer may be place or time)
g. Allow one point per blank. Avoid fractional credits or unequal weights.
h. Select items to which only one correct response is possible except for language subjects/lessons.

True-False Test (Alternate Response Tests)

This is used to measure ability to identify the correctness of statement of fact, definition of terms,
statements of principles and etc. Yes-No Test, Right-Wrong Test and the like.

RULES
1. Based the item on a single idea. Write items that test important ideas.
2. Make all questions as brief as possible. Make clearly true or clearly false.
3. The true and false statements should be equal in number, equal in length, and arranged at
random to avoid any clues.
4. Avoid the use of absolute modifiers such as all, none, always, never, nothing, only, alone, and
the like unless they are a part of a fact of truth. Vague qualifiers such as usually, seldom, much,
little, few, small, large, and the like should be used only when they are a part of a fact or truth.
These terms usually make the statement false.
 5. The correct responses should not follow a pattern; otherwise the students may be able to give
the right symbols although they do not know the real answers.
6. The truthiness or falseness of a statement should depend upon the main idea and not upon
any minor element: word, phrase or clause.
7. Do not use statements that cannot be answered by true or false or by yes or no like trivial and
opinion statements. A statement cannot be answered by true or false if it is too abstract or too
general. Ex. Filipinos are industrious.
8. If this type is used for a long test, the minimum number of items should be 50 as suggested by
Bradfield and Moredeck so that the chance factor does not too seriously restrict the reliability
of a score.

OTHER OBJECTIVE TESTS:

1. Short Answer / Simple Recall / Identification – a direct question in which item appears as a
direct question, a stimulus word or phrase of a specified question. The questions usually begin
with who, what, where or when or the question is in the form of a command or direction or a
stimulus word. The question should ask only for an important aspect of a fact. The response
expressed in a single word, phrase, number or symbol.

2. Labelling – a type of test which the names of parts of a diagram, map, drawing, or picture are to
be indicated.
• Make the diagram, map, or picture to be labelled very clear and recognizable especially
the parts to be labelled.
• The parts to be labelled should be indicated by arrows in a definite place and not on the
face of the diagram, map, drawing, or picture.
• Labelling can be a matching type of test

3. Enumeration – a type of completion test in which there are two or more responses to an item.

4. Rearrangement of Elements – it consist of ordering or assembling items on some basis. Ordering

measures memory of relationships and concepts of organization in many subjects while assembly
measures mechanical ability and the ability to figure out spatial relationships. When this type of
test is used the basis of arrangement should be stated clearly

BASES
a. Chronological Order. This is arranging items in which they occur.
b. Geographical Arrangement. This is arranging things according to their geographical location.
c. Arranging according to magnitude. The basis of this arrangement is size which may be
height, width, distance, things included etc. ex. List of biological classifications from highest to
lowest
d. Alphabetical Order. This is arranging words according to the alphabet or according to their
appearance in the dictionary.
e. Arrangement according to importance or quality, etc. Ex. The blooms taxonomy of
objectives

SUBJECTIVE TESTS
Essay Tests are assessment tools which consist of specific questions or problem wherein the examinees
responds in one or more sentences. It is widely considered to measure the student’s ability to think and
express their ideas critically.

Essay questions provide freedom of response that is needed adequately assess Students’ ability to
formulate, organize, integrate and evaluate ideas and information or apply knowledge and skills. The
Essay question format allows the student freedom to construct and present ideas in their own words.
Moreover, it assesses outcomes that are difficult to measure objectively - Conceptualization, construction,
organization, integration, relation, evaluation, and the communication of ideas in writing.

TYPES OF ESSAY TEST: RESTRICTED ESSAY AND EXTENDED ESSAY

RESTRICTED ESSAY
- Restricted essay limits both the content and the response. Like describe in 10 sentences or less.
- Content is usually restricted by the scope of the topic discussed as well as the response. - The restriction
of the response allows for the measurement of specific outcomes.
- Can measure a variety of complex learning outcomes based on the student’s ability to supply the answer.

 Explain cause and effect relationships.  Formulate valid conclusions.

 Describe applications of principals.  State necessary conclusions.
 Present relevant arguments.  Describe the limitations of data.
 Formulate tenable hypothesis.  Explain methods and procedures.

EXTENDED ESSAY
- This allows the students to select any factual information that they think is pertinent to organize their
answers in accordance with their best judgment and to integrate and evaluate ideas which they think
appropriate.
- Also, allows the student to have freedom of choice in the selection of the information necessary to write
a coherent essay within the scope of the topic question
- Can measure a variety of complex learning outcomes based on the student’s ability to write an essay on
a given topic.
- This can be in a form of reaction paper, reflection paper, critique paper and etc.
- The format may require more than one paragraph

Suggestions in Constructing Essay Tests

1. Define the task as specifically as possible.
2. Students should be able to tell how the item will be score
3. Require students to answer the same questions.
4. Allow sufficient time to answer to give students to outline first.
5. Major aspects of the lesson must be framed in preparing the questions of essay test.
6. Questions must be phrased clearly so that the scope of the question is clear to the students.

Advantages of Essay Tests

A. Easy to Construct. Essay test is easy to construct and fewer items are needed to cover a content
B. Saves time and energy. It saves the time and energy of classroom teacher in constructing the test
because few number of test items are involved
C. Trains the core of organizing ideas. Essay tests trains the students to organize ideas
D. Minimize guessing.

Disadvantages

1. Time consuming to score.

2. Scoring may be unreliable or bias.
3. Rater may focus on the handwriting, spelling, grammar and neatness, and etc.
4. Grading based on the opinion that the student takes rather than their support of that opinion