test construction edited
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TEST CONSTRUCTION
Presented by:Arnel O. Rivera
http://www.slideshare.net/ArnelSSI
The Art of Effective EvaluationPresented to the
Faculty and Students of UPHSD – Molino Campus
EMPTY YOUR CUP
An Old Buddhist Tale
Bruce Lee, the legendary martial artist, once told a story about a highly-educated man who went to a Zen teacher to ask and acquire knowledge about Zen.
As the Zen teacher began to explain things, the man would frequently interrupt with remarks like, "Oh, yes, we have that too…”
Finally the Zen teacher stopped talking. He began to serve tea. He poured tea into the man’s cup.
He poured tea into the cup until it was full, and then kept pouring until the cup overflowed. "Enough!" the man once more interrupted, "No more can go into the cup!"
“Indeed, I see," answered the Zen teacher, "If you do not first empty the cup, how can you taste my cup of tea?"
A full cup cannot accept anything more. Similarly, a person who believes that he had learnt a lot cannot learn anything else & will stagnate quickly and not move to higher levels.
WWW.SIMILIMA.COM
ATTITUDE DETERMINES YOUR ALTITUDE. A SMALL CHANGE IN ATTITUDE MAKES A BIG DIFFERENCE
Why is there a need to study TEST CONSTRUCTION?
13% of students who got low grades in exams are caused by faulty test questions.
WORLDWATCHThe Philadelphia Trumpet
August 2005
It is estimated that 90% of all test questions asked in the US are of
“Low level” - knowledge and comprehension.
(Wilen, W.W., 1992)
“Low level” doesn’t mean easy:Write an essay explaining the decline
and fall of the Roman Empire incorporating at least five of the seven causes discussed in class from the writings of Gibbon and Toynbee
“High level” doesn’t mean hard:Which movie did you like more, WALL-
E or Cars? Why?
Sample Test Question:
Outline: Principles in Test
Construction Steps in
Preparing Test Questions
Preparing Multiple Choice Questions
Preparing True or False Questions
Preparing Matching Type Questions
Preparing Sentence Completion Questions
Preparing Essay Questions
Other types of Test Questions
Wrap-up/Things to Remember
“The evaluation of pupils’ progress is a major aspect of the teacher’s job.“
Evaluating Educational Outcomes
(Oriondo & Antonio)
Explain the message of the comic strip.
Our students were trained to memorize information.
After they have memorized facts, then what?
Old belief about teaching .....
Education is a process where the notes of the teachers or the contents in the books are transfered to the notebooks of the students, without understanding them. (Wiggins, 2009)
In your lesson plans, did you ever bother to ask this question:
• How do you know if you have achieved your desired result?
“A test is a sample of behavior, products, answers, or performances from a particular domain” (Carrington, 1994)
“… it's a systematic method of eliciting performance which is intended to be the basis for some sort of decision making" (Hughes, 1989).
“A test will predict performance levels, and the learner will somehow reconstruct its parts in meaningful situations when necessary” (McCann, 2000)
“ Testing is generally concerned with turning performance into numbers.” (Baxter, 1997)
Guidelines for Test Construction
What is testing?
Inform learners and teachers of the strengths and
Motivate learners to review or consolidate specific material
Guide the planning/development of the ongoing teaching
Determine if the objectives
Encourage improvement
Create a sense of accomplishment
Guidelines for Test Construction
What are tests for?
weaknesses of the process
process
have been achieved
Encourage
improvement!
BARRIERS IN TEST CONSTRUCTION
Ms. Alanganin –
Mr. Highfalutin –
Ms. Madaldal –
Ms. Magulo –
Ms. Malabo –
Mr. Pulpol –
Ms. Foringer –
Ms. Colonial Mentality –
confusing statementsdifficult vocabularyexcessive wordinesscomplex sentence
structureunclear instructionsunclear illustrative
materialslinguistically bound
words
culturally bound words
Characteristics of Good Tests
Validity – the extent to which the test measures what it intends to measure
Reliability – the consistency with which a test measures what it is supposed to measure
Usability – the test can be administered with ease, clarity and uniformity
Scorability – easy to score
Interpretability – test results can be properly interpreted and is a major basis in making sound educational decisions
Economical – the test can be reused without compromising the validity and reliability
Other Things to Consider
“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 the different test format”
Evaluating Educational Outcomes(Oriondo & Antonio)
1. Multiple Choice
2. True or False
3. Matching Type
4. Fill-in the blanks (Sentence Completion)
5. Essay
5 Most Commonly used Test Format
Source: Turn-out of Test Questions in SSI (2003-2007)
General Steps in Test Construction
DRAFT
ORDER
TEST ANALYZE
SUBMISSION
PRODUCE A T.O.S.
Table of Specifications (TOS)
A two way chart that relates the learning outcomes to the course contentIt enables the teacher to prepare a test containing a representative sample of student behavior in each of the areas tested.
Tips in Preparing the Table of Specifications (TOS)
Don’t make it overly detailed.
It's best to identify major ideas and skills rather than specific details.
Use a cognitive taxonomy that is most appropriate to your discipline, including non-specific skills like communication skills or graphic skills or computational skills if such are important to your evaluation of the answer.
Tips in Preparing the Table of Specifications (TOS)
Weigh the appropriateness of the distribution of checks against the students' level, the importance of the test, the amount of time available.
MATCH the question level appropriate to the level of thinking skills
Examples of Student Activities and Verbs for Bloom’s Cognitive Levels (Jacobs & Chase, 1992:19)
Bloom’s Cognitive Level
Student Activity Words to Use in Item Stem
Knowledge Remembering facts, terms, concepts, definitions, principles
Define, list, state, identify, label, name, who?, when?, where?, what?
Comprehension Explaining/interpreting the meaning of material
Explain, predict, interpret, infer, summarize, convert, translate, account for, give example, paraphrase
Application Using a concept or principle to solve a problem
Apply, solve, show, make use of, modify, demonstrate, compute
Examples of Student Activities and Verbs for Bloom’s Cognitive Levels (Jacobs & Chase, 1992:19)Bloom’s Cognitive
LevelStudent Activity Words to Use in Item
Stem
Analysis Breaking material down into its component parts to see interrelationships/ hierarchy of ideas
Differentiate, compare/contrast, distinguish ____from ____, how does ____relate to ___, why does ____work
Synthesis Producing something new or original from component parts
Design, construct, develop, formulate, imagine, create, change, write a poem or short story
Evaluation Making a judgment based on a pre-established set of criteria
Appraise, evaluate, justify, judge, which would be better?
Tips in Preparing the Table of Specifications (TOS)
The following array shows the most common questions types used at various cognitive levels.
Factual Knowledge Application Analysis and Evaluation
Multiple ChoiceTrue/FalseMatching TypeS. CompletionShort Answer/RRT
Multiple ChoiceShort AnswerProblemsEssay
Multiple Choice
Essay
General Rules in Writing Test Questions
Number test questions continuously.Keep your test question in each test group uniform.Make your layout presentable.Do not put too many test questions in one test group. T or F: 10 – 15 questions Multiple Choice: max. of 30 questions Matching type: 5 questions per test group Others: 5 – 10 questions
Some additional guidelines to consider when writing items are described below:
1. Avoid humorous items. Classroom testing is very important and humorous items may cause students to either not take the exam seriously, become confused or anxious.
2. Items should measure one’s knowledge of the item context not their level of interest.
3. Write items to measure what students know, not what they do not know. (Cohen & Wallack)
Multiple Choice Test
When checking the stems for correctness:
Ensure that the stem asks a clear question.
Reading level is appropriate to the students
The stem is grammatically correct.
Negatively stated stems are discouraged.
What to Look for on Multiple Choice Tests
Example:
What is the effect of releasing a ball in positive gravity?
a) It will fall “down.” correct
b) It will retain its mass. true but unrelated
c) It will rise. false but related
d) Its shape will change. false and unrelated
Anatomy of a PerfectMultiple Choice Tests
Multiple Choice Questions1. Use negatively stated stems sparingly and
when using negatives such as NOT, underline or bold the print.
2. Use none of the above and all of the above sparingly, and when you do use them, don't always make them the right answer.
3. Only one option should be correct or clearly best.
Multiple Choice Questions:
4. All options should be homogenous and nearly equal in length.
5. The stem (question) should contain only one main idea.
6. Keep all options either singular or plural.
7. Have four or five responses per stem (question).
Multiple Choice Questions:
7. When using incomplete statements place the blank space at the end.
8. When possible organize the responses.9. Reduce wordiness.10.When writing distracters, think of
incorrect responses that students might make.
Examples1. Sheldon developed a highly controversial
theory of personality based on body type and temperament of the individual. Which of the following is a criticism of Sheldon's work?a. He was influenced too much by the Freudian psychoanalysis.b. His rating of physique and temperament were not independent.c. He failed to use empirical approach.d. His research sample was improperly selected.
Examples
Better: (Eliminate excessive wording and irrelevant information)
1. Which of the following is a criticism of Sheldon's theory of personality?
Examples
1. The receptors for the vestibular sense are locateda. in the fovea.b. in the brain.c. in the middle ear.d. in the inner ear.
Examples
Better: (Include in the stem any word(s) that might otherwise be repeated in each option.)
1. The receptors for the vestibular senses are located in the _______.a. foveab. brainc. middle eard. inner ear
True or False
Each statement is clearly true or clearly false.Trivial details should not make a statement false.Statements are written concisely without more elaboration than necessary.Statements are NOT quoted exactly from text.
What to Look for onTrue/False Tests
Give emphasis on the use of quantitative terms than qualitative terms.Avoid using of specific determiners which usually gives a clue to the answer. False = all, always, never, every,
none, only True = generally, sometimes, usually,
maybe, oftenDiscourage the use of negative statements.Whenever a controversial statement is used, the authority should be quoted.Discourage the use of pattern for answers.
Tips in Making True/False Tests
Examples:
____ 1. Repetition always strengthens the tendency for a response to occur.
(Using "always" usually means the answer is false.)
Find the errors, and/or problems with the following true-false tests.
Examples:
_____ 2. The process of extinction is seldom immediate but extends over a number of trials.
(Words like "seldom" usually indicate a true statement.)
Examples:_____ 3. The mean, median, and mode are
measures of central tendency, whereas the standard deviation and range are measures of variability.
(Express a single idea in each statement.) e.g.“The mean and standard deviation are measures of central tendency.”
Matching Type
Parts of the Matching Type Test(Vertical Type)
Column A
(Premise)
Column B
(Response)
Parts of the Matching Type Test(Horizontal Type)
(Response)
(Premise)
The list of responses should be relatively short.Response options should be arranged alphabetically or numerically.Directions clearly indicate the basis for matching.
Can responses be used more than once?
Where will you place your answer? Can students infer relationships or
are they based on real word logic?
What to Look for on Matching Type Tests
Position of matches should be varied. Avoid using patterns.
The choices of each matching set should be on one page
There are more responses than premises in a single set if responses cannot be used more than once.
What to Look for on Matching Type Tests
The premises are homogeneous as well as the responses and are grouped as one item. Example:
Set A: Provinces in Region I Set B: Provinces in CAR
If responses can be used more than once, it should be proportional to the number of premises (3:5 or 4:10)
What to Look for on Matching Type Tests
Examples:
Directions: Match the following.1. Food A. Primary reinforcer2. Psychoanalysis B. Sigmund Freud3. B.F. Skinner C. Operant conditioning4. Standard deviation D. Measure of
variability5. Schizophrenia E. Hallucinations
Examples:Better: (Use homogenous material in matching items, and if responses are not to be used more than once, include more responses than stimuli.)Match the theories in Column A with their proponents in Column B. Write the letter of the correct answer.
Column A Column B___ 1. Psychodynamic Theory A. Albert Bandura___ 2. Trait Theory B. B.F. Skinner___ 3. Behaviorism C. Carl Rogers___ 4. Humanism D. Gordon Allport___ 5. Social Learning Theory E. Karn Horney
F. Raymond CattellG. Sigmund Freud
Sentence Completion / Fill-in the Blanks
Only significant words are omitted.
When omitting words, enough clues are left so that the student who knows the correct answer can supply the correct response.
Ensure that grammatical clues are avoided.
What to Look for on Sentence Completion Tests
Blanks are at the end of the statement.
The length of the responses are limited to single words or short phrases.
Questions are not lifted as verbatim quotes from text.
What to Look for on Sentence Completion Tests
Examples:
1. An animal with six legs is called _________.
The item is so indefinite.It can be completed with answers such as bee, mosquito or any other insect
Better:
1. Animals with six legs are called ___________.
Examples:
1.The __________ is the answer in _____.
Too many key words are omitted. Lines are not in equal length.
Better:
1. The product is the answers in _________.
Examples:
1. If a mango weighs 250 grams, 10 mangoes would weigh ______.
There are two possible answers – 250 grams and .25 kilos.
Better:1. If a mango weighs 250 grams, 10 mangoes would weigh ____ grams.
Essay / Short Answer Test
Types of Essay Items:
Extended response type The test may be answered by the examinee in whatever manner he wants Example: Do you think teachers
should be allowed to work abroad as domestic helpers? Explain your answer.
Two Types of Essay Items:Restricted response type
The test limits the examinees response may be answered by the examinee’s responses in terms of length, content, style or organization. Example: Give and explain three
reasons why the government should or should not allow teachers to work abroad as domestic helpers.
The task is clearly defined. The students are given an idea on the scope and direction you intended for the answer to take. The question starts with a description of the required behavior to put them in the correct mind frame.
E.g. “Compare” or “Analyze”
What to Look for on Essay Tests
The questions are written in the linguistic level appropriate to the students.
Questions require a student to demonstrate command of background information, not simply repeating information.
What to Look for on Essay Tests
Questions regarding a student’s opinion on a certain issue should focus not on the opinion but on the way it is presented and argued.
A larger number of shorter, more specific questions are better, than, one or two longer questions.
What to Look for on Essay Tests
Proposed Criteria in Grading Essay Test
Ideas (20%)
Weight of Evidence Presented (40%)
Correct Usage (20%)
Logical Conclusions drawn from the evidence (20%)
Example:What is wrong with this question?
Describe asthma?
Better: (Clearly explain what is expected of the student.)
Describe asthma. Include in your answer :a. the pathophysiologic features of asthmab. the clinical manifestations associated
with an asthma episodec. the management of an asthma episode.
(10 points)
Example:What is wrong with this question?Who is better, Rizal or Bonifacio?
Better: ( The students are given an idea on the scope and direction you intended for the answer to take.)Compare and contrast the method used by Rizal and Bonifacio in promoting nationalism. (5 points)
Other types of Test Questions
Restricted Response Test (RRT)Test takers are not given choices as possible
answers. Items ask for a specific answer to each questions. Example:
Who discovered the Philippines?What are the four elements of the state?
Principles in constructing RRT
Do not ask for trivial facts or details. It is not only useless but also frustrates the students. How many balls are used in a 9-ball match?
Questions should elicit facts not opinions? What do you think Pres. GMA should do for the
country to recover from its’ economic deficit?
Minimize questions that call for sheer memory work unless if the answer has important analytical significance. When will the next president be sworn to office?
Chronological Sequencing Test (CST)
Test takers are asked to arrange items in a systematic or logical order. Arrange the presidents according to their
term of office._____ Fidel Ramos
_____ Joseph Estrada
_____ Corazon Aquino
_____ Gloria Macapagal - Arroyo
Principles in constructing CST
Items should be homogenous and are related to each other.There should not be more than 5 items in each set.Do not number the items. This confuses the students.All items to be arranged should be in the same page.Directions should be clearly stated and that each set should be labeled about their relevance.
What is wrong in this test question?
Arrange the following events in their chronological order.
1. Bataan Surrenders
2. The Japanese attacks the US fleet in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
3. Hitler invades Poland
4. The US declares war with Japan.
5. Gen. MacArthur escapes to Australia.
Better:
21-25.) War in the Pacific
Arrange the following events in chronological order. Write the numbers 1-5 on the blanks provided.
___ USAFEE forces in Bataan surrender to the Japanese.
___ Japanese forces attacks the US fleet in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
___ Japan breaks diplomatic ties with the US.
___ The US declares war with Japan.
___ Gen. MacArthur escapes to Australia from Corregidor.
Proposed Arrangement of Test Items
True or False
Multiple Choice
Matching Type
Sentence Completion
Others (RRT/Analogy/CST)
Essay
Things to Remember:Making a good test takes timeTeachers have the obligation to provide their students with the best evaluationTests play an essential role in the life of the students, parents, teachers and other educatorsBreak any of the rules when you have a good reason for doing so! (emphasis mine)
(Mehrens, 1973)
POINTS TO PONDER…A good lesson makes a good question
A good question makes a good content
A good content makes a good test
A good test makes a good grade
A good grade makes a good student
A good student makes a good COMMUNITYJesus Ochave Ph.D.
VP Research Planning & Development
Philippine Normal University
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