PLANNING THE

CLASSROOM TEST
.
The main goal in classroom
testing is to obtain a valid, reliable
and useful information concerning
pupil achievement. This requires a
series of steps to be followed
 Steps in Planning classroom test
• 1. Determine the purpose of the test
• 2. Develop test specification
• 3. Select appropriate test items
• 4. Preparing relevant test items
• 5. Assembling the test
• 6. Administering the test
• 7. Appraising the test
• 8. Using the results
 1.Determining the purpose of the
test
• a)Pre-testing e.g readiness test. To determine
prerequisite skills needed for instruction. Limited
scope and relatively low difficult.
• Mastery of planned instruction. Similar to those
measuring the outcome of instruction.
• b) During instruction:
• Formative; to monitor learning progress. These
cover specific portion of instruction
• Diagnostic: testing for persisting learning
difficulty. This requires a number of items in
each specific area.
• c) End of instruction Summative This
measures the achievement of intended
learning outcomes. They are used for
assigning grades and for the determnation
of the effectiveness of instruction
2.Developing test specification (test
blue print)
• The purpose is to make sure that a test will measure a
representative sample of the tasks. This involves:
1.Preparing a list of instructional objectives. This is limited
to those outcomes that can be measured by a classroom
test. It does not include performance skills or affective
domain.
2. Outlining the instructional content.
3.Preparing a two way chart that relates the instructional
objectives to the instructional content. The numbers
could be used to indicate the number of items or relative
weight given to the objective and / or content area.
Example of table of specification
Instructional Knows Understand Interprets Tota
Objectives s l
Content areas Basic Specific Influence Soil 60
terms facts on diagram
agricult s
ure
Air pressure 3 5 2 5 15

Wind 4 6 4 1 15

Temperature 5 6 2 0 13

Humidity and 3 3 5 6 17
precipitation
Example of table of specification
Some levels of cognitive domain
Instr. Knows Estimates Use units Convert Total
Objectives units size of (aplicatio s units
Content areas units n)

Units of length 2 1 2 2 7

Units of mass 2 2 1 3 8

Units of time 3 0 4 3 10

  7 3 7 8 25
Selecting appropriate item types
• Classroom tests are generally devided into two
main categories
• Objective tests- These are highly structured and
require pupils to supply a few words or select
from given alternatives.
1)Essay – In these Students are allowed organise
and present their answer in the form of
composition.
Which type to use depends on the purpose. Both
have their advantages and disadvantages
 Objective types
• These are further devided into two:
• Supply items –the pupil is required to
supply an answer eg short answer, and
completion
• Selection items – Pupils are required to
select from a given number of
alternatives.eg True false, matching items
and Multiple choice
 Comparative advantages of
objective and essay type questions
Objective test Essay test

L/outcomes Efficient for measuring Can measure understanding and

measured knowledge of facts, thinking skills and other complex
understanding and thinking learning outcomes. Appropriate
skills for measuring ability to select and
Inappropriate for measuring organize ideas, writing skills and
ability to select and organize some types of problem soling
ideas, writing skills and some skills requiring originality
types of problem solving skills
L/outcomes Large no items is Only a few questions are
measured required.Preparation is needed. Prep. easy
difficult
Sampling of Extensive sampling Limited
content
 Objective test Essay test

Control of Limits responses, avoids Respond in own words,

responses influence of writing skills writing skill influence the
score, guessing is minimised

Scoring Quick easy and consistent Slow, subjective, difficult

and inconsistent
Influence on Encourages comprehensive Encourages concentration
learning knowledge of specific facts on larger units, with special
and the ability to make fine emphasis on the ability to
descriminations organise interpret and
express ideas
Reliability High reliability Typical low
 Essay type questions
• In these students are free to select,
relate and present ideas in their own
words. They can be used to measure the
ability evaluate ideas, relate them and
express them clearly.
In terms of amount of freedom essay type
questions can be classified into:
1. Extended response type
2. Restricted response type
• Example: Type 1. Explain your views
concerning the perfomance of government
of national unity in Zanzibar.
• In this a pupil is free to select any factual
information, organise their answer
integrate and evaluate. This makes the
extended response question inefficient for
measuring more specific learning
outcomes.
• Example: Type 2 Explain briefly the
differences between acids and bases
• The restriction can be in both content and
response. e.g your answer should not exceed
two pages.or explain one factor affecting
reliability of test
• Restricted response essay types are most useful
for measuring learning outcomes requiring the
interpretation and application of data in specific
area.
Weaknesses
• Limited coverage
• Marking is difficult and less reliable
• They tend to favour verbally fluent
Suggestions for constructing essay
type questions
• Essay questions should be used to measure
learning outcomes that cannot be satisfactorily
measured by objective items
• Make sure that the question measures the
behaviour specified
• Questions should be phrased so that the task is
clearly indicated. Some types of qestions :
compare, relate cause and effects, generalize,
justify, classify, create, apply, analyse.
• Indicate approximate time limit for each question
Points to consider in marking essay
items
• Prepare an outline of the expected answer
in advance
• Decide how you will handle irrelevant
factors. (handwrting, spelling, sentence
structure etc)
• Evaluate all answers to one question
before going to another
• Evaluate answers without looking pupil’s
name
 CONSTRUCTING OBJECTIVE
TEST ITEMS
Short answer items
These are short direct questions in the form
of incomplete statement or direct question.
Learning outcomes that are measured
include, knowledge, specific facts,
principles and procedure, manipulative
skills.
Advantages
Easier to construct
Are the most appropriate items for
measuring the recall of memorized
information
Guessing is minimised.
Limitations:
Unsuitable for measuring complex learning
outcomes.
They are difficult to score if the item is not
carefully phrased.
 How to minimise these limitations
• Avoid phrases and words that constitute
different answers.
• The items should be worded such that the
required answer is brief and specific
• Textbook statement should not be taken for
granted
• A direct question is generally better than
incomplete statement.
• Avoid too many blanks in a single question item
• Giving examples of how information is to be
supplied reduces pupil’s anxiety and saves time.
• Avoid lengthy statements
 TRUE /FALSE
• These have only two possible answers.
R/W, Correct / Incorrect, Yes/ No, Fact /
Opinion, Agree/ Disagree etc.
They are used to measure the ability to
identify the correctness of factual
statements.
Advantages
Easy to construct
Disadvantages
• Measure low level f cognitive skills
• 50% level of guessing.
Suggestion for constructing T/F items
• Avoid broad general statements.
• Minimise the use of negative statements
• Use statements that are absolutely true or
false.
 MATCHING ITEMS
• These consist of two parallel columns. Items for
which a match is sought are called premises.
Words or statements in column in which a
solution is made are called responses.
• They measure factual information based on
simple association.
Advantages
Compact form – possible to measure large amount
of materials.
Easy to construct.
Disadvantages: Guessing, Difficult to find suffcient
number of related items in some topics,
 Guidelines for constructing
matching items
• One column should have more items than
the other
• Premises should be homogeneous
• The list of premises should be brief
• The responses should be arranged in
logical order.
• Indicate the basis for matching
• Place all the items in the same page.
 MULTIPLE CHOICE ITEMS
• They are used more than other types of
objective tests. They are capable of
measuring from simpler to complex
outcomes. The statement of the problem is
called stem. The list of alternatives are
called responses distractors, key
• Advantages, guessing is reduced,more
reliable than T/F,
Disadvantages
• Cannot measure problem solving skills
• Cannot measure the ability to organize and
present ideas.
Guidelines for constructing multiple choice q’s
1. Make sure that the stem is meaningful
2. All alternatives should be grammatical
consistent with the stem
3. Each item should contain only one answer.
Avoid “all of the above”
4. Make all distracters plausible
5. Length of alternatives should be relatively equal.
6. Correct responses should appear randomly
 Assembling classroom test
• Write test items in such a way that they
can be easily modified.
• Review the test several times in order to
detect defects.
• Arrange the items in a logical manner
• Consider subject matter, learning
outcomes, difficulty etc.
• T/F, matching, short answer, multiple
choice essay
Reproduce the test in good arrangement so that it
can be easily read and scored
Provide directions at the beginning of the tests.
These include time allowed, basis for answering,
procedure of recording answers etc.
Where necessary specific directions for each
question should be provided.
The directions should be clearly written to avoid
need for additional verbal explanation.
The test should be written to permit anyone to
supervise without test writer to be around.
The items should be arranged in such a way to
avoid the need to turn the page back and forth.
 ADMINISTERING THE TEST
All the pupils should be given a fair chance
to demonstrate their ability.
Assure favourable conditions for test taking
Physical conditions – space, light,
temp,ventilation etc.
Psychological conditions – anxiety, worry,
threatening, timing (before a big event)
Things to avoid: Unnecessary talking,
interruptions, giving hints to pupils,
Descourage cheating
• Sitting arrangement should be in such a way that
cheating is minimised. Another way is to prepare
two formats of the same test but with different
arrangement.
SCORING THE TEST
For objective tests stencil can be used. When you
use stencil check if only one answer is marked.
Correction for guessing. This is done when pupils
do not have sufficient time to complete all the
items and when they have been instructed that
there will be a penalty for guessing.
Wrong
Score  R 
n 1
n – Number of alternatives for an item
Item effectiveness
This is determined by analyzing the pupils’
responses to an item. It attempts to
answer the following questions
1. Did the item function as intended?
2. Were the items of appropriate difficulty?
3. Were the items free of irrelevant clues?
4. Were each of the distracters effective?
 Advantages of item analysis
1. It provides a basis for class discussion of
test results
2. It provides basis for remedial work
3. It provides a basis for the general
improvement of classroom instruction
4. It provides for increased skill for test
construction
 Item analysis for N-R
The method is different from C-R test as these two
types serve different functions.
Procedure: For small classes N<20 we compare
the lower and upper halves. But with larger
classes we use the score of upper 25% and
lower 25%.
- Rank the papers from highest to lowest score.
- Select 10 of the top and 10 of the bottom
- For each item tabulate the number of pupils in
the upper and in the lower who selected the
alternative.
-
• Use the formular P  R  100 to calculate
T
item difficulty
• R – total number of pupils who got the
item right
• T total number of pupils who tried the item
from the table P = 0.7 or 70%
Computing discriminating power
• Positive discrimination indicates that more
pupils in the upper group than in the lower
group get the item right
Ru  RL
D
1 T
2
In the example D = 0.6 we say the item is
discriminating positively. That is, it is
discriminating in the same direction as the
total score.
Evaluating effectiveness of the distracters.
This can be determined by inspection.
A good distracter attracts more pupils from
the lower than the upper group
 t
• A distracter selected by none is said to be
ineffective
• B poor distracter it attracts more pupils
from the upper group than the lower group
• C Ineffective distracter it attracted none
• D Good distracter
• Item difficulty = 0.3,
42
• Discriminating index=  0.2
10
 Cautions in using item analysis
data
1.Item discriminating power does not
indicate item validity. This is because it
takes only upper and lower groups
2.A low index of discrimination does not
necessarily indicate a defective item
3.Item analysis data for small sample are
highly tentative. It can vary from group to
group
 Analysis for CR mastery items
In CR we are interested with the question “to
what extent did the test items measure the
effects of instruction.”
Same test is given before and after
instruction and the results compared.
The following formula is used for measuring
sensitivity of instructional effects.
R A  RB
S
T
• RA number of pupils who got the item right
after instruction
• RB number of pupils who got the item right
before instruction
• T total number of pupils who tried the item
both times. Effective items give the value
of S from 0 to 1 (ideal)
• 0 and negative values of S do not reflect
the intended effects of instruction
For their effectiveness,distracters not or
rarely selected should be replaced
 Using marks or grades
• Raw score: This is the number of points
obtained by a pupil according to marking
scheme.
• Raw score has no educational meaning. It can
be described in terms of tasks (CR) or in terms
of other scores (NR).
Functions of marks or grades
1. They provide objective criteria for assessing
student performance
2. They provide permanent records of
achievement- promotion, certification,
scholarship etc
3. Motivates pupils to work hard.
4. They serve as a form of justice.
Limitations of marks or grades.
No mark or grade is perfect.
They encourage unhealthy competition and
cheating
They classify students. This leads to
psychological effects.
Some of them are subjective and do not
reflect pupils achievement.
They demoralise poor students