This document discusses guidelines for constructing classroom tests. It outlines the basic principles that should guide teachers, such as measuring all instructional objectives and using appropriate test items. It also describes the attributes of a good test, including validity, reliability, objectivity, and fairness. The document provides steps for constructing classroom tests, such as identifying objectives, preparing a table of specifications, writing test items, and sequencing items. It includes an example of how to prepare a table of specifications and allocate test items to topics. Finally, it lists general guidelines for writing test items, such as avoiding ambiguity and providing one correct answer.

1. Acknowledgement: Measuring and Evaluating Learning Outcomes A.Textbook
in Assessment of Learning 1 and 2 By: Carlito D. Garcia Ed D
Nebres, Ma. Jessa Kristine C.
BSED III - English

2. Constructing Paper-and-Pencil
Tests is a professional skill.
☺ Becoming proficient at it takes
study, time, and practice.
☺Owing to the recognized importance of a
testing program, a prospective teacher has to
assume this task seriously and responsibility.
☺ He or she needs to be familiar with the
different types of test items and how best to
write them.

3. General Principles of Testing
Ebel and Frisbie (1999) listed five basic principles that should
guide teachers in measuring learning and constructing their own test.
Measure all instructional objectives.
The test a teacher writes should be congruent with all
learning objectives focused in class.
Cover all learning tasks.
A good test is not focused only on one type of objective. It
must be truly representative of all targeted learning
outcomes.
Use appropriate test items.
Test items utilized by a teacher have to be in consonance
with the learning objectives to be measured.

4. Make test valid and reliable.
Teachers have to see to it that the test they construct
measures what it purports to measure.
Use test to improve learning.
Test scores obtained by the students can serve as
springboards for the teachers to re-teach concepts and
skills that the former have not measured.

5. Attributes of a Good Test as an Assessment Tool
A good test must possess the following attributes: (Sparzo, 1990;
Reyes, 2000; Manarang and Manarang, 1983; Medina’ 2002)
• Validity
• Reliability
• Objectivity
• Scorability
• Administrability
• Relevance
• Balance
• Efficiency
• Difficulty
• Fairness

6. Validity
It is the degree to which a test measures what it seeks
to measure.
To determine whether a test teacher constructed is valid
or not, he/she has to answer the following questions:
1.Does the test adequately sample the intended content?
2. Does it test the behaviors/skills important to the content
being tested?
3. Does it test all the instructional objectives of the
content taken up in class?

7. Reliability
It is the accuracy with which a test consistently
measures that which it does measure.
A test, therefore, is reliable if it produces similar
results when used repeatedly.
A test may be reliable but not necessarily valid.
On the other hand, a valid test is always a reliable
one.

8. Objectivity
It is the extent to which personal biases or
subjective judgment of the test scorer is eliminated
in checking the students’ responses to the test
items, as there is only one correct answer for each
question.

9. Scorability
It is easy to score or check as answer key and
answer sheet are provided.

10. Administrability
It is easy to administer as clear and simple
instructions are provided to
students, proctors, and scorers.

11. Relevance
It is the correspondence between behavior
required to respond correctly to a test item and the
purpose or objective in writing the item.
When used in relation to educational
assessment, it is considered a major contributor to
test validity.

12. Balance
Balance in a test refers to the degree to
which the proportion of items testing particular
outcomes corresponds to the ideal test.

13. Efficiency
refers to the number of meaningful
responses per unit of time

14. Difficulty
The test items should be appropriate in
difficulty level to the group being tested.
In general, for a norm-referenced test, a
reliable test is one in which item is passed by half
of the students.
For a criterion-referenced test, difficulty can
be judged relative to the percentage passing
before and after instruction.
Difficulty will definitely be based on the skill and
knowledge measured and student’s ability.

15. Discrimination
For a norm-referenced test, the ability of an
item to discriminate is generally indexed by the
difference between the proportion of good and
poor students who respond correctly.
For a criterion-referenced
test, discrimination is usually associated with
pretest and posttest differences of the ability of
the test or item to distinguish competent from
less competent students.

16. Fairness
To insure fairness, the teacher should
construct and administer the test in a manner
that allows students an equal chance to
demonstrate their knowledge or skills.

17. Steps in Constructing Classroom Tests
Identification of instructional objectives
and learning outcomes. This is the first step a
teacher has to undertake when constructing classroom
tests. He/She has to identify instructional objectives and
learning outcomes, which will serve as his/her guide in
writing test items.
Listing of the Topics to be covered by the
Test. After identifying the instructional objectives and
learning outcome, a teacher needs to outline the topics
to be included in the test.

18. Steps in Constructing Classroom Tests
Preparation of a Table of Specifications (TOS).
The table of specifications is a two-way table showing the
content coverage of the test and the objectives to be tested. It
can serve as a blueprint in writing the test items later.
Selection of the Appropriate Types of Tests.
Based on the TOS, the teacher has to select test types that
will enable him/her to measure the instructional objectives in
the most effective way.
Writing of Test Items. After determining the type of
test use, the teacher proceeds to write the suitable test items.

19. Steps in Constructing Classroom Tests
Sequencing the Items. After constructing the test
items, the teacher has to arrange them based on
difficulty. As a general rule items have to be sequenced
from the easiest to the most difficult for psychological
reason.
Writing the Directions or Instructions. After
sequencing test items, the teacher has to write clear and
simple directions, which the students will follow in
answering the test questions.
Preparation of the Answer Sheet and
Scoring Key. To facilitate checking of student’s
answers, the teacher has to provide answer sheets and
prepare a scoring key in advance.

20. Preparing the Table of Specifications (TOS)
According to Arends (2001). The TOS is valuable
to teachers for two reasons.
1. It helps teachers decide on what to include and leave
out in a test.
2. It helps them determine how much weight to give for
each topic covered and objective to be tested.

21. Steps to observe in preparing a table of test
specifications
1. List down the topics covered for inclusion in the test.
2. Determine the objectives to be assessed by the test.
3. Specify the number of days/hours spent for teaching a
particular topic.
4. Determine percentage allocation of test items for each
of the topics covered. The formula to be applied is:
 % for a topic = Total number of days/hours spent
divided by the total number of days/hours spent
teaching the topic.

22. Steps to observe in preparing a table of test
specifications
5. Determine the number of items to construct for each
topic. This can be done by multiplying the percentage
allocation for each topic by the total number of items to
be constructed.
6. Distribute the number of items to the objectives to be
tested. The number of items allocated for each
objective depends on the degree of importance
attached by the teacher to it.
Slide 25

23. Example:
Mrs. Garcia utilized 10 hours for teaching the unit on Pre-
Spanish Philippines. She spent 2 hours in teaching the
topic, “Early Filipinos and their Society.” What percentage
of test items should the allocate for the aforementioned
topic?
Solution: 2/10 (100) = 20 %

24. Example:
Mrs. Garcia decided to prepare a 50-item test on the
unit, “Pre-Spanish Philippines.” How many items should
she write for the topic mentioned in step number 4?
Solution: 50 items x 0.20 (20%)

25. After going through the six steps, the teacher
has to write the TOS in a grid or matrix.
Table of Specification for a 50-Item Test in Economics
Topic/Objective Knowledge Comprehension Application Analysis Total
The Nature of
Economics
Economic
Systems
Law of
Demand and
Supply
Price Elasticity
of Demand and
Supply
2
3
3
2
2
2
3
3
1
3
3
3
5
2
6
7
10
10
15
15
Total 10 10 10 20 50

26. General Guidelines in Writing Test Items
Airisian (1994) identified five basic guidelines in
writing test items.
1. Avoid wording that is ambiguous and confusing.
2. Use appropriate vocabulary and sentence structure.
3. Keep questions short and to the point.
4. Write items that have one correct answer.
5. Do not provide clues to the answer.

27. Acknowledgement: Measuring and Evaluating Learning Outcomes A.
Textbook in Assessment of Learning 1 and 2 By: Carlito D. Garcia Ed D