Chapter

DEVELOPMENT of VARIED
5 ASSESSMENT TOOLS:
Knowledge and Reasoning

5.1 TYPES OF OBJECTIVE TESTS

We are concerned with developing objective tests for assessing the attainment of educational
objectives based on Bloom’s taxonomy in this chapter. For this purpose, we restrict out attention to the
following types of objective tests: (a) true-false items, (b) multiple-choice type items, (c) matching items,
(d) enumeration and filling of blanks and (e) essays. The first four types of objectives tests are used to test
the first four to five levels of the hierarchy of educational objectives while the last (essay) is used for
testing higher order thinking skills.
Development of objective tests requires careful planning and expertise in terms of actual test
construction. The more seasoned teachers can produce true-false items that can test even higher order
thinking skills and not just rote memory learning. Essays are easier to construct than the other types of
objective tests but the difficulty with which objective grades are derived from essay examinations often
discourage teachers from using this particular for of examination in actual practice.

5.2 PLANNING A TEST AND CONSTRUCTION OF TABLE OF SPECIFICATIONS

(TOS)
The important steps in planning for a test are:

 Identifying test objectives

 Deciding on the type of objective test to be prepared
 Preparing a Table of Specifications (TOS)
 Constructing the draft test items
 Try-out and validation

Identifying Test Objectives. An objective test, if it is to be comprehensive, must cover the

various levels of Bloom’s taxonomy. Each objective consists of a statement of what is to be
achieved and, preferably, by how many percent of the students.
Example. We want to construct a test on the topic: “Subject-Verb Agreement in English” for a
Grade V class. The following are typical objectives:

 Knowledge. The students must be able to identify the subject and the verb in a given
sentence.
 Comprehension. The students must be able to determine the appropriate form of a verb to
be used given the subject of a sentence.
 Application. The students must be able to write sentences observing rules on subject-verb
agreement.
 Analysis. The students must be able to write sentences observing rules on subject-verb
agreement.
 Synthesis/ Evaluation. The students must be able to break down a given sentence into its
subject and predicate.
Deciding on the Type of Objective Test. The test objectives guide the kind of objective tests
that will be designed and constructed by the teacher. For instance, for the first four levels, we

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may want to construct a multiple-choice type of a test while for application and judgment, we
may opt to give an essay test or a modified essay test.
Preparing a Table of Specifications (TOS). A table of specifications or TOS is a test map that
guides the teacher in constructing a test. The TOS ensures that there is a balance between items
that test lower level thinking skills and those which test higher order thinking skills (or
alternatively, a balance between easy and difficulty items) in the test.
Below is a sample of format of a TOS:

The table of specifications guides the teacher in formulating the test. As we can see, the TOS also
ensures that each of the objectives in the hierarchy of educational objectives is well represented in
the test. As such, the resulting test that will be constructed by the teacher will be more or less
comprehensive. Without the table of specifications, the tendency for the test maker is to focus too
much on facts and concepts at the knowledge level.
Constructing the Test Item. The actual construction of the test items follows the TOS. As a
general rule, it is advised that the actual number of items to be constructed in the draft should be
double the desired items. For instance, if there are five (5) knowledge level items to be included
in the final test form, then at least ten (10) knowledge level items should be included in the draft.
The subsequent test try-out and item analysis will most likely eliminate many of the constructed
items in the draft (either they are too difficult, too easy, or non-discriminatory), hence, it will be
necessary to construct more items than will actually be included in the final test form.
Item Analysis and Try-out. The test draft is tried out to a group of pupils or students. The
purpose of this try out is to determine: (a) item characteristics through item analysis and (b)
characteristics of the test itself – validity, reliability, and practicality.

5.3 CONSTRUCTING A TRUE-FALSE TEST

Binomial-choice tests are tests that have only two (2) options such as true or false, right
or wrong, good or better, and so on. A student who knows nothing of the content of the
examination would have 50% chance of getting the correct answer by sheer guess work.

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 Although correction-for-guessing formulas exist, it is best that the teacher ensures that a true-
false item is able to discriminate properly between those who know and those who are just
guessing. A modified true-false test can offset the effect of guessing by requiring students to
explain their answer and to disregard a correct answer if the explanation is incorrect. Here are
some rules of thumb in constructing true-false items.
Rule 1. Do not give a hint (inadvertently) in the body of the question.
 Example question: The Philippines gained its independence in 1898 and therefore
celebrated its centennial year in 2000.
 Explanation: Obviously, the answer is FALSE because 100 years from 1898 is not
2000 but 1998.

Rule 2. Avoid using the words “always”, “never”, “often”, and other adverbs that tend to
be either always true or always false.
 Example question: Christmas always falls on a Sunday because it is a Sabbath
day.
 Explanation: Statements that use the word “always” are almost always false. A
test-wise student can easily guess his way through a test like these and get high
scores even if he does not know anything about the test.

Rule 3. Avoid long sentences as these tend to be “true”. Keep sentences short if possible.
 Example question 1: Tests need to be valid, reliable, and useful, although, it
would require a great amount of time and effort to ensure that tests possess these
test characteristics.
 Explanation: Notice that the statement is true. However, we are also not sure
which part of the sentence is deemed true by the student. It is just fortunate that in
this case, all parts of the sentence are true and hence, the entire sentence is true.
The following example illustrates what can go wrong in long sentences:
 Example question 2: Tests need to be valid, reliable, and useful since it takes very
little amount of time, money, and effort to construct tests with these
characteristics.
 Explanation: The first part of the sentence is true but the second part is debatable
and may, in fact, be false. Thus, a “true” response is correct and also, a “false”
response is correct.

Rule 4. Avoid trick statements with some minor misleading word or spelling anomaly,
misplaced phrases, etc. A wise student who does not know the subject matter may detect
this strategy and thus get the answer correctly.
 Example question: The principle of our school is Mr. Bennie Ricudo.
 Explanation: The word principle is a misspelled word of PRINCIPAL. The
principal’s name may actually be correct but since the word is misspelled and the
entire sentence takes a different meaning, the answer would be false. This is an
example of a tricky but utterly useless item.

Rule 5. Avoid quoting verbatim from reference materials or textbooks. This practice
sends the wrong signal to the students that it is necessary to memorize the textbook word
for word and thus, acquisition of higher-level thinking skills is not given due importance.

Rule 6. Avoid specific determiners or give-away qualifiers. Students quickly learn that
strongly worded statements are more likely to be false than true, for example, statements
with “never”, “no”, “all”, or “always”. Moderately worded statements are more likely to
be true than false. Statements with “many”, “often”, “sometimes”, “generally”,
“frequently”, or “some” should be avoided.

Rule 7. With true or false questions, avoid a grossly disproportionate number of either
true or false statements or even patterns in the occurrence of true or false statements.

5.4 MULTIPLE-CHOICE TESTS

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 A generalization of the true-false test, the multiple-choice type of test offers the student with
more than two (2) options per item to choose from. Each item in a multiple-choice test consists of two
parts: (a) stem, and (b) the options. In the set of options, there is a “correct” or “best” option while all the
others are considered “distracters”. The distracters are chosen in such a way that they are attractive to
those who do not know the answer or are guessing but at the same time, have no appeal to those who
actually know the answer. It is this feature of multiple-choice type of tests that allow the teacher to test
higher order thinking skills even if the options are clearly stated. As in true-false items, there are certain
rules of thumb to be followed in constructing multiple choice tests.
Guidelines in constructing multiple-choice items:
1. Do not use unfamiliar words, terms, and phrases. The ability of the item to discriminate or its
level of difficulty should stem from the subject matter rather than from the wording of the
question.
 Example question: What would be the system reliability of a computer system whose slave
and peripherals are connected in parallel circuits and each one has a known time to failure
probability of 0.05?
 Explanation: A student completely unfamiliar with the terms “slave” and “peripherals” may
not be able to answer correctly even if he knew the subject matter reliability.

2. Do not use modifiers that are vague and whose meanings can differ from one person to the next
such as: much, often, usually, etc.
 Example question: Much of the process of the photosynthesis takes place in the ________.
A. bark B. leaf C. stem
 Explanation: The qualifier “much” is vague and could have been replaced by more
specific qualifiers like “90% of the photosynthesis process” or some similar phrase that
would be more precise.

3. Avoid complex or awkward word arrangements. Also, avoid use of negatives in the stem as this
may add unnecessary comprehension difficulties.
Example:
 (POOR) As President of the Republic of the Philippines, Corazon Cojuangco Aquino would
stand next to which President of the Philippine Republic subsequent to the 1986 EDSA
Revolution?
 (BETTER) Who was the president of the Philippines after Corazon C. Aquino?

4. Do not use negatives or double negatives as such statements tend to be confusing. It is best to use
simpler sentences rather than sentences that would require expertise in grammatical construction.
Example:
 (POOR) Which of the following will NOT cause inflation in the Philippine economy?
 (BETTER) Which of the following will cause inflation in the Philippine economy?

5. Each item stem should be as short as possible; otherwise you risk testing more for reading and
comprehension skills.

6. Distracters should ne equally plausible and attractive.

 Example question: The short story “May Day’s Eve” was written by which Filipino author?
A. Jose Garcia Villa C. Robert Frost E. Edgar Allan Poe
B. Nick Joaquin D. Genoveva Edrosa Matute
 Explanation: If distracters had all been Filipino authors, the value of the item would be
greatly increased. In this particular instance, only the options A, B, and D carry the burden of
the entire item since options C and E can be essentially disregarded by the students.

7. All multiple-choice options should be grammatically consistent with the stem.

8. The length, explicitness, or degree of technicality of alternatives should not be the determinants
of the correctness of the answer.

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  Example question: If the three angles of two triangles are congruent, then the triangles are
______.
A. congruent whenever one of the sides of the triangles are congruent
B. similar
C. equiangular and therefore, must also be congruent
D. equilateral if they are equiangular
 Explanation: The correct choice, B, may be obvious from its length and explicitness alone.
The other choices are long and tend to explain why they must be the correct choices forcing
the students to think that they are, in fact, not the correct answers.

9. Avoid stems that reveal the answer to another item.

10. Avoid alternatives that are synonymous with others or those that include or overlap others.
 Example question: What causes ice to transform from solid state to liquid state?
A. Change in temperature
B. Change in pressure
C. Change in the chemical composition
D. Change in heat levels
 Explanation: Options A and D are essentially the same. Thus, a student who spots these
identical choices would right away narrow down the field of choices to A, B, and C. The
last distracter would play no significant role in increasing the value of the item.

11. Avoid presenting sequenced items in the same order as in the text.

12. Avoid the use of assumed qualifiers that many examinees may not be aware of.

13. Avoid use of unnecessary words or phrases, which are not relevant to the problem at hand (unless
such discriminating ability is the primary intent of the evaluation). The item’s value is
particularly damaged if the unnecessary material is designed to distract or mislead. Such items
test the student’s reading comprehension rather than knowledge of the subject matter.

 Example question: The side opposite the 30 o angle in a right triangle is equal to half the
length of the hypotenuse. If the sine of 30 o is 0.5 and its hypotenuse is 5, what is the length
of the side opposite the 30o?
A. 2.5 B. 3.5 C. 5.5 D. 1.5
 Explanation: The sine of 30 o angle is really quite unnecessary to include since the first
sentence already gives the method for finding the length of the side opposite the 30 o angle.

14. Avoid use of non-relevant sources of difficulty such as requiring a complex calculation when
only knowledge of a principle is being tested.

15. Avoid extreme specificity requirements in responses.

16. Include as much of the item as possible in the stem. This allows less repetition and shorter choice
options.

17. Use the “None of the above” option only when the keyed answer is totally correct. When choice
of the “best” response is intended, “none of the above” is not appropriate, since the implication
has already been made that the correct response may be partially inaccurate.

18. Note that use of “all of the above” may allow credit for partial knowledge. In a multiple option, if
a student only knew that two (2) options were correct, he could then deduce the correctness of
“all of the above”. This assumes you are allowed only one correct choice.

19. Having compound response choices may purposefully increase difficulty of an item.

20. The difficulty of a multiple-choice item may be controlled by varying the homogeneity or degree
of similarity of response. The more homogeneous, the more difficult the item.

5.5 MATCHING TYPE AND SUPPLY TYPE ITEMS

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 The matching type items may be considered as modified multiple-choice type items where the
choices progressively reduce as one successfully matches the items on the left with the items on the right.

Example: Match the items in column A with the items in column B.

A B
1. Magellan a. First president of the republic
2. Mabini b. National hero
3. Rizal c. Discovered the Philippines
4. Lapu-Lapu d. Brain of Katipunan
5. Aguinaldo e. The Great Painter
f. Defended Limasawa Island

Normally, column B will contain more items than column A to prevent guessing on the part of
the students. Matching type items, unfortunately, often test lower order thinking skills (knowledge level)
and are unable to test higher order thinking skills such as application and judgment skills.
A variant of the matching type items is the data sufficiency and comparison type of test
illustrated below:
Example: Write G if the item on the left is greater than the item on the right; L if the item on the
left is less than the item on the right; E if the item on the left equals the item on the right and D if the
relationship cannot be determined.
A B
1. Square root of 9 _______ a. -3
2. Square of 25 _______ b. 615
3. 36 inches _______ c. 3 meters
4. 4 feet _______ d. 48 inches
5. 1 kilogram _______ e. 1 pound

The data sufficiency test above can, if properly constructed, test higher order thinking skills. Each
item goes beyond simple recall of facts and requires the students to make decisions.
Another useful device for testing lower order thinking skills is the supply type of tests. Like the
multiple-choice test, the items in this kind of test consist of a stem and a blank where the students would
write the correct answer.
Example: The study of life and living organisms is called _____________.
Supply type of tests depend heavily on the way that the stems are constructed. These tests allow
for one and only one answer, and hence, often test only the students’ knowledge. However, it is possible
to construct supply type of tests that will test higher order thinking as the following example shows:
Example: Write an appropriate synonym for each of the following. Each blank corresponds a
letter.
Metamorphose: _ _ _ _ _ _
Flourish: _ _ _ _
The appropriate synonym for the first is CHANGE with six (6) letters while the appropriate
synonym for the second is GROW with four (4) letters. Notice that these questions require not only mere
recall of words but also understanding of these words.

5.6 ESSAYS
Essays, classified as non-objective tests, allow for the assessment of higher order thinking skills.
Such tests require students to organize their thoughts on a subject matter in coherent sentences in order to
inform an audience. In essay tests, students are required to write one or more paragraphs on a specific
topic.
Essay questions can be used to measure attainment of a variety of objectives. Stecklein (1955)
has listed 14 types of abilities that can be measured by essay items:
1. Comparisons between two or more things
2. The development and defense of an opinion

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 3. Questions of cause and effect
4. Explanations of meanings
5. Summarizing of information in a designated area
6. Analysis
7. Knowledge of relationships
8. Illustrations of rules, principles, procedures, and applications
9. Applications of rules, laws, and principles to new situations.
10. Criticisms of the adequacy, relevance, or correctness of a concept, idea, or information
11. Formulation of new questions and problems
12. Reorganization of facts
13. Discriminations between objects, concepts, or events
14. Inferential thinking

Note that all these involve the higher-level skills mentioned in Bloom’s Taxonomy.

The following are rules of thumb which facilitate the scoring of essays:

Rule 1: Phrase the direction in such a way that students are guided on the key concepts to be
included.

Example: Direction. Write an essay on the topic: “Plant Photosynthesis” using the
following keywords and phrases: chlorophyll, sunlight, water, carbon dioxide, oxygen,
by-product, stomata.

Note that the students are properly guided in terms of the keywords that the teacher is
looking for in this essay examination.

Rule 2: Inform the students on the criteria to be used for grading their essays. This rule allows the
students to focus on relevant and substantive materials rather than on peripheral and unnecessary
facts and bits of information.

Example: Direction. Write an essay on the topic: “Plant Photosynthesis” using the
keywords indicated. You will be graded according to the following criteria: (a)
coherence, (b) accuracy of statements, (c) use of keywords, (d) clarity and (e) extra
points for innovative presentation of ideas.

Rule 3: Put a time limit on the essay test.

Rule 4: Decide on your essay grading system prior to getting the essays of your students.
Rule 5: Evaluate all of the students’ answers to one question before proceeding to the next
question.
Scoring or grading essay tests questions by question, rather than student by student,
makes it possible to maintain a more uniform standard for judging the answers to each
question. This procedure also helps offset the halo effect in grading. When all of the
answers on one paper are read together, the grader’s impression of the paper as a whole is
apt to influence the grades he assigns to the individual answers. Grading question by
question prevents the formation of this overall impression of a student’s paper. Each
answer is more apt to be judged on its own merits when it is read and compared with
other answers to the same question, than when it is read and compared with other answers
by the same student.

Rule 6: Evaluate answers to essay questions without knowing the identity of the writer.
This is another attempt to control personal bias during scoring. Answers to essay
questions should be evaluated in terms of what is written, not in terms of what is known
about the writers from other contacts with them. The best way to prevent our prior
knowledge from influencing our judgement is to evaluate each answer without knowing

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 the identity of the writer. This can be done by having the students write their names on
the back of the paper or by using code numbers in place of names.

Rule 7: Whenever possible, have two or more persons grade each answer.
The best way to check on the reliability of the scoring of essay answers is to obtain two
or more independent judgments. Although this may not be a feasible practice for routine
classroom testing, it might be done periodically with a fellow teacher (one who is equally
competent in the area). Obtaining two or more independent ratings becomes vital where
the results are to be used for important and irreversible decisions, such as in the selection
of students for further training of for special awards. Here, the pooled ratings of several
competent persons may be needed to attain level of reliability that is commensurate with
the significance of the decision being made.
Some teachers use the cumulative criteria i.e. adding the weights given to each criterion,
as basis for grading while others use the reverse. In the latter method, each student begins
with a score of 100. Points are then deducted every time a teacher encounters a mistake
or when a criterion is missed by the student in his essay.

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