CHAPTER 4: CLASSIFICATION OF TEST

Planning an Objective Type Test

1.) According to Student Performance
2.) According to the type of language/system used
 Planning an objective-type test requires a test blueprint, which guides the construction of the test.
3.) According to its Origin
 It also important to consider the difference between criterion-referenced and norm-referenced test.
4.) According to the Manner of Scoring / Grading
 Objective-type tests are valid measures of students’ achievement only when the construction is well planned.
5.) According to its Purpose
6.) According to its Construction
Type of Test based on Student Performance. 7.) According to its manner of Administration
Understanding Criterion-referenced test and Norm-referenced Test.
Both criterion-referenced and norm-referenced tests measure how much the students have learned. The
1.) According to Student Performance
differences between them lie in how the results are utilized, rather than the format of the test items.

Differences Between Norm-Referenced and Criterion-Referenced Tests

2.) According to the type of language/system used
Verbal - uses words, and maybe oral or written
Norm-Referenced Tests Non- Verbal - uses symbols, figures, numbers, and may be oral or written.
Norm-referenced tests compare a student's performance to that of a specified group, providing a measure of
how the individual stands in relation to others who took the same test.
3.) According to its Origin
Oral Test Written Test Performance Test
Criterion-Referenced Tests
Criterion-referenced tests measure how well a student has met specific standards or learning outcomes, without
comparing to a group. 4.) According to the Manner of Scoring / Grading
Objective-type Test — corrected uniformly.
Subjective Type Test— The scorer brings in his personal judgment
Norm-Referenced Tests
1.) Identifying High and Low Performers — Norm-referenced tests are used to determine the low and high 5.) According to its Purpose
performing students. Achievement Test -measures outcomes of teaching
2.) Item Difficulty — Easy items that do not yield maximum differentiation among students are not favored in norm- -measures outcomes of teaching
referenced tests. -measures general educational standing
3.) Comparison Standards / Differentiation — The standards used for comparison are rankings and Amplitude Test - measures future success in a given area
percentages derived from the performance of the class as a whole. Intelligence/ Mental Ability Test -measures verbal, numerical, and abstract ability of a person in comparison to
another of the same sex, age, or grade
 various methods of giving meaning in this referenced test are percentile rank, standardized score. Personality Test - measures the traits/ /behavior/interest/attitude of a person
 Among examples of norm referenced test are academic screeners, college entrance, IQ test, and many assessment Physical Test - demands manual dexterity and skill
used in evaluation of cognitive. Readiness Test -determines readiness to learn and level of preparation
Power Test -measures the level of maximum ability with a time limit.
When to Use Norm-Referenced Tests Scale Test -items are arranged according to degree of difficulty
1.) Non-Cumulative Content — Norm-referenced tests are used for subject matter that is not cumulative, where students Projective Test -indirect measure of personality traits and innermost thoughts and feelings
do not need to reach a specified level of competency. Psychological Test -measures a person’s ability or personality as developed by general experience.
2.) Selection Purposes — Norm-referenced tests are used for selection purposes when the institution is constrained by Simulated Test -makes a pretense or appearance of a certain activity
enrollment.
3.) Predicting Success — Norm-referenced tests are used to predict degrees of success.
6.) According to its Construction
Structured Type of Test -questions are given within a framework
Unstructured Type of Test -does not follow the prescribed framework
Criterion-Referenced Tests
Measuring Standards — Criterion-referenced tests are aimed at measuring how well students have met the 7.) According to its manner of Administration
standards or learning outcomes.
Individual vs. Group
Individual Performance — Criterion-referenced tests compare the individual's performance with a particular Oral test vs Written Test
standard, rather than to a group.
Timed Test or untimed Test
 score are interpreted with pre-determined standards such as percent correct. Items in this kind of test may be difficult,
moderately difficult or to easy depending on the degree of difficulty of the standard being measured.
 Preparing Table of Specification (TOS) SELECTION TYPE answer can be selected to a given choices
 TOS is a guide for teachers in constructing a test. Alternative response/ True or False
 it is a device for describing items in the test with the use of content and process dimension. The True- false test is just one of the variations of alternative response. Consists of declarative statement. it is
 ensure the balance of assessment. used by teachers to measure how students recall factual knowledge.
 it established the content validity of a test
Matching Type
STEPS Preparing Table of Specification (TOS) consist of two parallel columns. The questions columns and the respond column.
1. Obtain the course content / Learning competencies and make an outline within a definite period. the learners create an association between each promise and response.
2. Decide on a total number of test items.
3. Determine the number of class sessions in each lesson or LC. Rearrangement of Elements
4. Determine the total number of class sessions for the covered unit. this type of test is characterized by ordering or assembling items in a pre-determined basis.
5. Determine the number of test items in each lesson. the process of ordering is particularly useful in measuring knowledge of relationships and concepts of
6. Distribute the number of test items. organization provided that there is a clear direction as to basis of ordering.
Rearrangement of elements can be used on chronological order, geographical arrangement, magnitude,
Types of TOS (Table of Specification) importance and quality.
One-way table of specification - Usually includes contents, number of class sessions, number of items and item
distribution. Multiple Choice Test
Two-way table of specification - It includes the level of items in Bloom’s taxonomy. The level of test items is one of the most commonly used assessment tool.
determined by many factors such as, level of cognitive domain, standards, and learning outcomes. its wide use is due to relative ease in scoring, analysis as well as its flexibility in measuring various levels of
thinking.
Selecting the Type of Objective Test it is composed of a stem and an alternatives
 An objective type is test which the obtained score, to a certain degree, is independent of the scorer/teacher. The stem ask a question or poses a problem, while alternatives are the choices to choose from
 This test is generally categorized as supply or selection type. the set of alternatives is composed of distracters or incorrect option and the keyed response.
 Supply test includes simple recall, completion, identification, labelling and enumeration. distracters are special set of alternatives, these are incorrect options whose task is to distract the examinees into
 Selection types includes alternative response, multiple choice, multiple response set, matching type and thinking that incorrect alternative is correct.
rearrangement of elements. another function of distracters is to let the examinees identify the correct alternative for the stem.
this type of test also provides options to choose from.
SUPPLY TEST This type of test has 2 or more correct responses and has less distracters compared to multiple choice type of test
 Examinees will provide their response on the test question without any given option or choices.
Simple Recall
The test item are worded as direct question and require a single response.
It also known as short answer type test, since questions needs only one answer.
Questions usually started with 4Ws (what, where, when and who)

Completion type CHAPTER 5:

The students are required to finished an incomplete statement thru supplying word/s that make the statement
correct. Writing objective-type test
The completion type is in sentence or statement form.
1. Short Answer Test Items / Completion type Test
Identification Type 2. Identification Type test
A stimulus in the form of a definition, description and explanation, a picture, a diagram or an object is stated or 3. Labelling Type test
illustrated and examine will supply the appropriate answer. 4. Alternative Response Test / True-False Test
5. MATCHING TYPE TEST ITEM
Labelling Test 6. Multiple Choice Type Test Items
simply identifying the names of the parts of an illustration which could be in form of diagrams.
1.) Short Answer Test Items / Completion type Test
Enumeration requires students to provide, supply or filling in the blank with a word or phrase.
this type of test requires multiple responses.
The following are some guidelines in writing good fill in the blank or completion test items.
1. Omit just the appropriate word from the sentence. The respond should be significant part of the statement.
2. Write completion test item with single correct response. Avoid to many blanks.
3. Avoid grammatical clues to the response such as using indefinite article.( a, an, the)
4. Put the blank at the end of a statement rather than at the beginning.
5. Avoid directly lifting statement from reference materials such as book etc.
 Each item in a multiple-choice test consists of 2 parts: a) the stem, and b) the options/alternative

2.) Identification Type test The following are the general guidelines in writing good multiple-choice items.
 this type of test only confined in giving definition, description and explanation as stimulus.  Do not lift and use statements from the textbooks or other learning materials.
 a picture, a diagram can also be a good stimulus.  Keep the vocabulary simple and understandable based on the level of learners/examinees.
 statement should only lead with one possible answer.  A direct question is preferred over an incomplete sentence.
 Word the stem positively and avoid double negatives, such as NOT and EXCEPT in a stem. If a negative word is
3.) Labelling Type test necessary, underline or capitalize the words for emphasis
students need to name, identify, label the parts of an illustration.  Write the stem as clearly described question or task.
 Avoid the use of unnecessary words or phrases which are not relevant to the problem at hand.
The following are some guidelines in writing good fill in the blank or completion test items.  Write the distracters to be plausible yet clearly wrong
 since it involve recognizing parts, the illustration should be clear.  Write options that are parallel or similar in form and length to avoid giving clues about the correct answer.
 Use arrows pointing to the parts to be labelled. The labels should be written in a vertical column as much as possible. A  Place options in logical order (e.g. alphabetical, shortest to longest)
separate sheet column for the answer can also be used.  Place correct response randomly to avoid a discernible pattern of correct answers.
 the labelling type of test can be also be modified to become a matching type of test.  Use none of the above carefully and only when there one absolutely correct answer.
 Avoid all of the above option, especially if it is intended to be the correct answer.
4.) Alternative Response Test / True-False Test
True or false items are used to measure learners’ ability to identify whether a statement or proposition is
correct/true or incorrect/false. Assessing HOTS though multiple-choice type test items
The flexibility of multiple-choice test item allows it to be used in assessing outcomes beyond cognition, outcomes that involve
The following are some guidelines in writing good fill in the blank or completion test items. higher order thinking skills
 Avoid the use of broad general statements. Avoid using qualifiers such as often, sometimes generally, all etc. The following are suggestions in using multiple choice tests to assess HOTs
 Refrain from to specific or trivial statements that are relatively insignificant. create a questions that requires:
 Include only items that can be classified unequivocally as either true or false.  Synthesis of a large amount of material
 avoid lifting statements directly from the reference materials such as book.  Analysis of a situation/problem
 avoid using negatively worded statement especially double negative.  Application of understanding of the content.
 items should be in random to avoid response pattern.  Longer amount of time to answer (3-5 minutes)
 Avoid long drawn-out or complex statements
 refrain from including two ideas in one statement, unless you are emphasizing a cause-effect relationship. design a questions that requires the student to apply knowledge, principles, laws or calculate results before selecting answers.
 in using statement-based opinion, used sources design a questions that requires the student to synthesize information from more than one aspect of the content.
 Both true or false statements should be equal in length, and they should be approximately equal in number of test
items. In writing multiple-choice type HOTS items several format can be considered.
1. Premise-consequence: Students must identify the correct outcome of the given circumstances
5.) MATCHING TYPE TEST ITEM 2. Analogy: Students must map the relationship between two items into a different content.
The matching test item format requires learners to match a word, sentence or phrase in one column to a 3. Case Study: A single well written paragraph can provide material for several follow-up questions much like in
corresponding word, sentence or phrase in second column. interpretative exercises.
It is most appropriate when you need to measure the learner’s ability to identify the relationship or association 4. Incomplete Scenario: Students must respond to what is missing or needs to be changed within a provided
between similar items scenario.
it is not suited for gauging the learners’ higher understanding (analysis and synthesis levels). It can only be used When using a graph or image, it should be laid out differently than how the students have seen it. This
to assess homogeneous knowledge. is equivalent to using new language to present a familiar concept and prevents students from using
rote memorization to answer the question.
The following are some guidelines in writing good and effective matching type tests:
 Include homogenous premises and responses in a single matching exercise.
 Clearly indicate in the directions the basis for matching where answers should be written, and if responses or answer
choices can be used more than once.
 Keep the list relatively short. The ideal number of items is 5 to 10, and a maximum of 15.
 Arrange premises and responses with maximum clarity. It is desirable to use longer statements as premises and
numbered at the left of the page. The shorter responses are placed at the right and each identified with letters.
 Have more responses or answer choices than premises. This will reduce guessing and using the process of elimination
in choosing the correct answer.
 Place all the premises and responses on a single page

6.) Multiple Choice Type Test Items

The most versatile type of test since it can take several forms such as completion, questions and direct form.
Writing multiple choice items requires content mastery, writing skills, and time. Only good and effective items
should be included in the test. Poorly-written test-items could be confusing and frustrating to learners.
 Constructing Essay Test
CHAPTER 6: To facilitate a better decision making, following are guide questions in deciding whether or not to use essay type of test.
1. Do the objectives require testing of writing skills and reasoning skills?
ASSESSING COMPLEX ACHIEVEMENT OF LEARNING OUTCOMES: 2. Am I testing a small group?
INTERPRETATIVE EXERCISES AND ESSAY 3. Do I have a limited time to construct the test than time to score it?
4. Am I confident in my ability as critical reader than as an objective test constructor?
Aside from acquiring fundamental knowledge and skills, students must also develop higher order thinking skills beyond 5. Do I want to explore attitude
facts and information.
To improve the quality of and validity of an essay type, some guidelines must follow.
Learning outcomes related to skills that the students perform on facts, understanding of big ideas, principles and 1. Reserve essay questions for measuring complex learning outcomes.
generalization of a particular discipline requires greater range of assessment tool. 2. Essay questions should directly address learning targets being measured.
3. Questions should be presented in a clear manner, with clear instructions.
4. Provide a sufficient and reasonable time limit for answering.
INTERPRETATIVE EXERCISES
Consists of a series of objective items based on common set of data. Scoring Essay Test
it is also called classification exercise, key-type item, master-list item because a common data or  Essay type test challenges the interpretation of the results. This are some challenges in scoring essay type.
introductory information are provided followed by several questions.  When using essay, it must be dealt with the reliability of the outcomes.
 Teachers must dealt with the result objectively, even essay type test is non-objective type test.
Advantages of INTERPRETATIVE EXERCISES  The variations in score should be presented in different measured achievements of objectives and in no way
 Possible to measure more reasoning skills in greater depth should it caused by other factors.
 Possible to separate the assessment of the reasoning skills from knowledge of the subject.  To address challenges in interpreting essay result, one must used different approaches such as holistic rubric/
 Relatively closer to real-life application of facts, principles. global approach or analytic method/ analytic rubric.
 The result tend to be more reliable  restricted response essay type can used analytic rubric to interpret the test result or the point score, and if the
focus of the essay is what the students know.
Writing INTERPRETATIVE EXERCISES  on the other hand if the focus of the essay is on higher level more than what students know such as writing ability,
 In writing interpretative exercises, one must focus on selecting the appropriate introductory material as well as developing solutions to problems, analysis or synthesis, then the holistic or global approach is recommended.
constructing coherent series of test items.
Scoring under the Global or Holistic Method
Tips in Writing Interpretative exercises.  Teacher reads the entire essay and makes a general judgment about the quality of responses.
1. Identify the reasoning skills to be assessed before selection or development of the interpretative exercise.  assign the paper by category based on judgment of the students response.
2. Select introductory material that is appropriate to the students’ level both in terms of curricular experience and  Each paper is read quickly and sorted into determined categories.
reading level.  Each paper must re –read and re checked from accuracy of the grades
3. Keep introductory material as brief as possible but at the same time meaningful.  create an outline of the ideal answer
4. Select introductory material that is new to the students but similar to the ones discussed.  assign specific subtotal point value for each specific points.
5. Construct test items that require analysis and interpretation of introductory level.  ask multiple readers to provide judgment
6. The number of test items should be roughly proportional to the length of the introductory material. in general, if the subject is controversial the response should not be evaluated based on the position that the students
has taken. The irrelevant factors should be minimize that may affect the judgment.

ESSAY TEST in scoring teachers must maintain consistent standard for all students and they should also provide comments.
An essay test is defined as “one or more essay questioned administered to a group of student under
standard conditions for primary purpose of collecting evaluation data.

Type of Essay Test

1. Extended Response question
2. Restricted Response question

1.) Extended Response question

Example: Describe the process involved in a power supply circuits operation.
Questions that provide the students with relative freedom in terms of scope and format of their
response. It allows the students to determine the content and organize the form of response.

2.) Restricted Response question

Example: Why is the CPU considered as to be the brain of the computer? Answer comprehensively in a brief paragraph
It limits the content and the form of response, it is more appropriate when the teachers are assessing
content as responses are usually direct to the point.