1

Test Blueprint Guide

Creating a test blueprint is great way to help you construct effective exams for your course. You can use test blueprints
when creating new exams, evaluating existing exams, and creating multiple versions of exams with consistent difficulty.
There are several approaches to creating test blueprints, but all share a focus on evaluating the alignment between
learning objectives and assessments by comparing test question content and format with course objectives.

CREATING NEW TESTS EVALUATING EXISTING TESTS MAKING MULTIPLE TEST VERSIONS

Test blueprints are a simple tool to help faculty members be reflective and intentional when creating exams. Most test
blueprint approaches employ a simple matrix to ensure test questions reflect the course’s learning objectives,
incorporate varying levels of cognitive difficulty, and relative weight of course content.

This handout includes a broad overview and links to three resources for test blueprint approaches. We also encourage
faculty to utilize the Learning-Focused Test Guide for assessing the overall construction, alignment, and deployment of
tests, to check for transparent, inclusive practices in incorporating tests into a course. We also suggest that faculty follow
the General Test Construction Open Canvas Course for a guided walk through creating a test blueprint and explore for
the resource section below for additional examples of assessing affective learning objectives or exams within medical
fields.

The following is a general example of what a test blueprint matrix could look like for evaluating an existing exam or quiz
in an introductory physics course. The learning objectives for a sample course are listed in the first column, followed by
different levels of cognitive processes across the top row, according to Bloom’s Taxonomy (see
https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/blooms-taxonomy/ for a description). The number of test questions that
address the category of each learning objective are then noted in each column.

Learning Objectives for a Course or Remember Understand Apply Analyze Evaluate Create Total
Unit
1. Define Newton’s Laws of Motion 3 3

2. Draw a free body diagram of a 2 2 1 1 5

soccer ball being kicked
3. Graph the horizontal and vertical 1 1 2
velocity components of a projectile
given the initial velocity and angle
4. Calculate the velocity components 1 1 2
of a projectile at the maximum height
Total 7 2 2 0 0 1 12

Specifically, for each learning objective, the instructor notes the number of questions that reflect that objective and
categorizes the type of cognitive process students engaged in while answering the question, in order to demonstrate
their knowledge and understanding. In the example matrix above, you can see that this test had 12 total questions. Three
test questions were included requiring student to demonstrate knowledge of the definition of Newton’s Laws of Motion,
 2
and all three of these required students to engage the cognitive process of remembering. Reading across rows you can
track how many test questions reflected each learning objective and reading down columns you can see how many
questions fall into a particular cognitive process category. Then, you can decide if the test met your goals for that unit and
for the course overall.

Resources
1) The Learning-Focused Test Guide

This guide is uniquely designed to help faculty focus on their tests and examine how tests are introduced to students,
how students are supported in their work, and how the work is assessed. It is based on TILT: Transparency in Learning
and Teaching.

2) General Test Construction Canvas Course

https://weber.instructure.com/courses/351442. Created by the Center for Instructional and Institutional
Effectiveness, Weber State University.

This freely accessible Canvas course leads the learner though three stages of test construction: planning,
developing, and implementing tests. It offers faculty of all disciplines an overview helpful to novice and established
instructors alike. This course includes a module on developing learning objectives, using Bloom’s Taxonomy
breaking down cognitive processes, and creating a test blueprint matrix that you can use to help you develop your
own matrix. This resource is recommended as a starting point if you are new to learning taxonomies such as
Bloom’s, crafting student learning outcomes, and aligning test questions with your learning outcomes. An example
page from the course guide is below:

Figure 1: This example page demonstrates a Test Blueprint matrix evaluating the cognitive domain of learning (reflects
Bloom’s Taxonomy) for a test in an introductory economics course.
 3

3) Creating Test Questions from Student Learning Objectives in Individual Lesson Plans
https://imoberg.com/files/Test_Blueprint_explanation_guidelines_and_samples.pdf. Created by Kevin Moberg,
Department of Language & Literature and Teacher Education, Dickenson State University.

This Test Blueprint approach builds test questions from lesson plans. The user starts by listing the learning objectives in
the lesson plan and then designs questions or performance tasks to reflect each objective. Finally, the user evaluates
the levels of learning in three possible domains: cognitive, affective, and psychomotor. The Cognitive Domain reflects
the categories of Bloom’s Taxonomy as discussed above. This model also includes examination of affective and
psychomotor skills. The Affective Domain reflects feelings and emotions. Learning in this domain is reflected by
behaviors that indicate things such as interest, awareness, values, and attitudes. These kinds of learning are important
in all classrooms and may be demonstrated in activities such as debate, teamwork, ethical case studies, and others. The
Psychomotor Domain reflects physical functions, reflex actions, and interpretive movement objectives. These
objectives reflect movement done to encode or demonstrate concepts; not simply physical acts done in support of
cognitive learning. For example, looking through a microscope to describe cell division is not considered psychomotor
as the physical act is only done to support the cognitive goal of understanding cellular division, whereas tuning
instruments, performing dance movements, or dismantling/reassembling electronic components in proper order would
be.

For more detail on these two domains and their associated taxonomies see
https://thesecondprinciple.com/instructional-design/threedomainsoflearning/.

Figure 2: The example page illustrates a Test Blueprint evaluating test questions in the affective domain.

4) Blueprints in Medical Education Fields

https://www.nbme.org/PDF/Publications/Test-Blueprinting-Lesson-2.pdf. Created by National Board of Medical
Examiners.

While this particular method is being used for courses in medical fields, it can be used in any discipline. The method
breaks down key components of test blueprints in medical fields including: the purpose of the test, content
framework, testing time, content weighing, and question formats. This method also provides guidance on (a)
selecting items from a test question bank that align with objectives; (b) creating multiple versions of a test with
 4
consistent difficulty; (c) ensuring the number of questions reflects focus on the topic; and (d) using blueprints as a
guide for students to demonstrate approaches to organizing content and relative value topics. An example form
that addresses content weighing in a physiology course is below:

Figure 3: This example shows how you can shape the test to reflect the time dedicated to and relative weight of topics.
While some topics have two days of lecture and require five questions, others have two days of lecture and require eight
questions where topics

This test blueprint overview was created by S. Stefl, OTEI, 2019