DEVELOPMENT OF TOOLS

FOR CLASSROOM-BASED
ASSESSMENT
PAUL JOHN B. ONGCOY, PHD
PLANNING THE TEST

• Specifying the purpose of the test from the very

outset
• Identifying what essential learning outcomes to
be measured
• Preparing a test blue print that will guide the
construction of items.
OVERALL TEST DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

• Planning Phase
• Item Construction Phases
• Review Phase
PLANNING PHASE

• purpose of the test is identified, learning

outcomes to be assessed are clearly
specified and table of specification is
prepared
ITEM CONSTRUCTION PHASE

• test items are constructed following the

appropriate item format for the specified
learning outcomes of instruction
REVIEW PHASE

• items are examined by the teacher or his/her

peers prior to administration based on
judgements of their alignment to content and
behavior components of the instructional
competencies, and after administration based on
an analysis of students’ performance in each item
IDENTIFYING PURPOSE OF TEST

• Testing as an assessment mechanism aims to gather

valid and reliable information useful to both learners
and teachers for formative and summative purposes.
• Feedback provided is used primarily to address specific
student learning problems while instruction is still in
progress (Russel and Airasian, 2012)
IDENTIFYING THE PURPOSE OF THE TEST

• Multiple Choice items lend themselves well in detecting

and diagnosing the source of difficulty in terms of
misconceptions and areas of confusion.
• Each option or alternative can represent a type of error
that students are likely to commit.
• A test takes different purpose
 SPECIFYING THE LEARNING OUTCOMES

• Assessment has changed considerably as advances occur in the field

of education and cognitive psychology particularly in defining learning
and its domain.
• This has influenced curriculum designing for various educational
levels.
• Assessment becomes a quality assurance tool for tracking student
progress in attaining the curriculum standards in terms of content
and performance (Enc. No 1, DepEd Order No. 73 s 2012)
 SPECIFYING THE LEARNING OUTCOMES

• Processes for assessment recognize and address different learning

targets defined by the intended outcomes from knowledge of facts
and information covered by the curriculum at every level.
• Summative tests given at the end of an instructional process focus on
the accomplishment of the learning outcomes demarcated in every
unit of work designed in the curriculum.
SPECIFYING THE LEARNING OUTCOMES

• Classroom tests need to be carefully planned to

ensure that they truthfully and reliably quantify
what are intended to be measured.
• Utilizing the test is a means to inform the
learners how they are learning and how they are
progressing.
PREPARING A TEST BLUEPRINT

• Whatever the purpose of the test maybe, a teacher must

determine appropriately the learning outcomes to be
assessed and how they will be assessed.
• Regardless of what subject area is taught, a classroom test
covers the learning outcomes intended and essential to be
achieved within the unit or period of work.
 PREPARING A TEST BLUEPRINT

• Particularly realizing this planning phase helps teachers make

genuine-connections in the trilogy among curriculum, instruction and
assessment (Fives, H. & DiDonato-Barnes, N., 2013).
• To assure the preparation of a good test, a test blueprint is
commonly set up in two-way Table of Specifications (TOS) that
basically spells out WHAT will be tested and HOW it will be tested
to obtain the information needed.
CONSTRUCTING SELECTED-RESPONSE TYPES
(MULTIPLE-CHOICE ITEMS)

• McMillan (2007) asserts that multiple choice can

assess whether students can use reasoning as a
skill similar to binary-choice items and to use
students’ knowledge and skills in performing
problem solving, decision-making or other
reasoning task.
CONSTRUCTING SELECTED-RESPONSE TYPES
(MULTIPLE-CHOICE ITEMS)

• Aside from being able to assess various outcome

levels, they are easy to score, less susceptible to
guessing than alternate-choice and more familiar
to students as they often encounter them in
different testing events (Musial, et.al 2009).
 MULTIPLE-CHOICE ITEM STRUCTURE
Stimulus Response
STEM Option to be selected is
a. An interrogative statement of the correct answer or
direct question that ends in a best answer.
question mark
b.Incomplete statement Letter or numeral of the
selected option or the
OPTIONS – 3 to 5 plausible chosen distracter.
alternatives from which to
select the correct option
 EXAMPLE (DIRECT-QUESTION FORM)

What form of government is ruled by a Prime Minister?

a. Monarchy
b. Parliamentary
c. Presidential
d. Federal
 EXAMPLE (INCOMPLETE-STATEMENT FORM)

Among the Asian countries, one which has a government

with three branches is ________.
a. Japan
b. China
c. Philippines
d. Thailand
CONSTRUCTING SELECTED-RESPONSE TYPES
(MULTIPLE-CHOICE ITEMS)

• Writing good multiple-choice items requires

clarity in stating the problem in the stem and the
plausibility or attractiveness of the distracters.
Test experts agree on a set of guidelines to
achieve this purpose (McMillan (2007); Miller, Linn
& Gronlund (2009); Popham 2011).
 STEM
1. All the words of the stem should be relevant to the task. It
means stating the problem succinct and clear so students
understand what is expected to be answered.
2. Stem should be meaningful by itself and should fully contain
the problem. This should especially be observed when the
stem uses an incomplete statement format.
 CONSIDER THIS STEM:
THE CONSTITUTION IS _____________________.
• A stem worded this way does not make definite the conceptual knowledge
being assessed. One does not know what is being tested. This stem can be
improved by changing its format to a direct question or adding more
information in the incomplete statement like:
What does the constitution of an organization provide? (Direct-question)
The constitution of an organization provides _____. (Incomplete statement)
3. The stem should use a question with only one
correct or clearly best answer. Ambiguity sets in
when the stem allows for more than one best
answer. Students will likely base their answer on
personal experience instead on facts.
 CONSIDER THIS EXAMPLE. THERE COULD BE MORE
THAN ONE BEST ANSWER HERE.
POOR:
Which product of Thailand makes it economically stable?
A. Rice
B. Dried Fruits
C.Dairy Products
D.Ready-to-Wear
 IMPROVED:

Which agricultural product of Thailand is most

productive for export?
A. Rice
B. Fish
C.Fruits
D.Vegetables
DISTRACTERS

1. All distracters should appear plausible to

uninformed test takers. This is the key to making
the item discriminating and therefore valid. The
validity of the item suffers when there is a
distracter that is obviously correct or obviously
wrong.
POOR:

What is matter?
A. Everything that surrounds us.
B. All things bright and beautiful.
C.Things we see and hear.
D.Anything that occupies space and has mass.
 WAYS TO MAKE DISTRACTERS PLAUSIBLE (MILLER,
LINN & GRONLUND, 2009)

1. Use the students’ most common errors.

2. Use important-sounding-words (eg significant, accurate)
that are relevant to the item stem. But do not overdo it.
3. Use words that have verbal associations with the item
stem (eg politician, political)
 WAYS TO MAKE DISTRACTERS PLAUSIBLE (MILLER,
LINN & GRONLUND, 2009)

4. Use textbook language or other phraseology that has the

appearance of truth.
5. Use incorrect answers that are likely to result from student
misunderstanding or carelessness (eg forgets to convert feet to yards)
6. Use Distracter that are homogenous and similar in content to the
correct option (eg all are inventors)
 WAYS TO MAKE DISTRACTERS PLAUSIBLE (MILLER,
LINN & GRONLUND, 2009)

7. Use distracters that are parallel in form and

grammatically consistent with the item stem.
8. Make distracter similar to the correct answer in
length, vocabulary, sentence structure, and complexity
of thought.
CAUTION:

• Distracters should distract the uninformed,

but they should not result in trick questions
that mislead knowledgeable students (do
not insert not in a correct answer to make a
distracter).
DISTRACTER

2. Randomly assign correct answers to alternative

positions. Item writers have a tendency to assign
the correct answer to the third alternatives. As
much as possible have an equal number of correct
answers distributed randomly in each of the
distracters.
DISTRACTER

• 3. Avoid using “All of the above” or “None of the

above” as distracter. When forced to come up
with a fourth plausible option and there seems to
be none available except “All of the above” or
“None of the above”, do not make them as the
correct answer.