EDC 361

(Measurement, Evaluation &

Statistics in Education)
Lecturer
Dr. Simon Ntumi
Department of Educational Foundations, UEW,
#Office: FES203 @North Campus. sntumi@uew.edu.gh
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 Unit Five: The Stages in planning and constructing classroom tests

Stages in Planning Classroom Test

 Construction
 Administration
 Scoring
 Analyzing the test results (Interpretation)

Stage 1: Construction
Test construction like any other purposely activity needs
to be adequately planned and executed
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 Unit Five: The Stages in planning and constructing classroom tests

Principles of test construction

1. Define the purpose of the test
2. Determine the item format to use
3. Determine what to be tested
4. Write the individual items
5. Review the items
6. Prepare scoring key(s)
7. Write directions
8. Evaluate the test
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05/01/2025 4
 Importance of Test Specification
Clarity and Understanding: Test specifications provide clear
and detailed instructions on how testing should be performed.
Test Coverage: Test specifications help in identifying the
scope and extent of testing.
Consistency and Standardization: Test specifications
promote consistency in testing practices. They establish
standardized guidelines and procedures that testers can follow.
Validation: It helps the teacher to determine the content
validity of the test.
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 Importance of Test Specification
• It helps to weight the score distribution fairly

• It avoids overlapping in the construction of

the test items.

• It helps students to determine the content and

behavioural areas
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 Unit Five: The Stages in planning and constructing classroom tests

OBJECTIVE-TYPE TESTS
• An objective test requires a respondent to provide a
briefly response which is usually not more than a sentence
long.
• There are two major types of objective tests. These are
the selection type and the supply type. The selection type
consists of the multiple-choice type, true and false type
and matching type.
• The supply type has variations as completion, fill-in-the-
blanks and short-answer.
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 Unit Five: The Stages in planning and constructing classroom tests

Features of Objective Tests

⁕ Requires students to choose among several designated alternatives or write a short answer.
⁕ Consists of many items requiring only brief answers.
⁕ A lot of time is spent by students in reading and thinking when taking the test.
⁕ Quality of test is determined largely by the skill of the test constructor.
⁕ Relatively tedious and difficult to prepare but rather easy to score.
⁕ Permits and encourages guessing.
⁕ Afford only the test constructor (teacher) the opportunity to be individualistic.
⁕ Score distribution is determined largely by the test.
⁕ Amenable to statistical analysis.
⁕ Scoring is highly objective.
⁕ Content validity is high.
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Reliability of test scores could be high. 8
 Unit Five: The Stages in planning and constructing classroom tests

Strengths/Advantages
⁕Scoring is easy and objective
⁕They allow an extensive coverage of subject content.
⁕They do not provide opportunities for bluffing.
⁕They are best suited for measuring lower-level behaviours like
knowledge and comprehension.
⁕They provide economy of time in scoring
⁕Student writing is minimized. Premium is not placed on writing.
⁕They are amenable to item and statistical analysis
⁕Scores are not affected by extraneous factors such as the likes
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and dislikes of the scorer.
 Unit Five: The Stages in planning and constructing
classroom tests
Weaknesses/Disadvantages
⁕They are relatively difficult to construct.
⁕Item writing is time consuming.
⁕They are susceptible to guessing.
⁕Higher-order mental processes like
analysis, synthesis and evaluation are
difficult to measure.
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 Unit Five: The Stages in planning and constructing classroom tests

Multiple-Choice Tests
Description:
• A multiple-choice test is a type of objective test in which the respondent
is given a stem and then is to select from among three or more
alternatives (options or responses) the one that best completes the stem.
The incorrect options are called foils or distracters.

• There are two types of multiple-choice tests. These are the single 'best
response' type and the ‘multiple response type’.
• The single 'best response' type consists of a stem followed by three or
more responses and the respondent is to select only one option to
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complete the stem.
 Unit Five: The Stages in planning and constructing classroom tests

Multiple-Choice Tests
The four parts

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 Unit Five: The Stages in planning and constructing classroom tests

Guidelines for constructing multiple-choice tests

⁕ The central issue of the item should be in the stem. It should be concise, easy to
read and understand.
⁕ The options should be plausible. Distracters must be plausibly attracted to the
uninformed.
⁕ All options for a given item should be homogeneous in content, form and
grammatical structure.
⁕ Repetition of words in the options should be avoided.
⁕ Specific determiners which are clues to the best/correct option should be avoided.
⁕ Vary the placement of the correct options. No discernible pattern of the
correct/best responses should be noticed.
⁕ Items measuring opinions should not be included. One option should clearly be
correct or the best.
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 Unit Five: The Stages in planning and constructing classroom tests

Guidelines for constructing multiple-choice tests

The expected response should NOT BE put at the beginning of the stem.
Poor Example
………………………………….is the process of moving a body from one place to the other.
A. Locomotion
B. Psychomotor
C. Running
D. Transfer
Good Example:
What is the name of given to the process of moving an object from one point to the other?
A. Locomotion
B. Psychomotor
C. Running
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D. Transfer
 Unit Five: The Stages in planning and constructing classroom tests

Guidelines for constructing multiple-choice tests

The responses in agreement must be parallel in form i.e. sentences must be about the same
length.
Poor
In constructing multiple-choice test items, options to an item should be
A. Arranged horizontally.
B. Copied directly from class notes or textbooks.
C. In a discernible pattern of responses for easy identification.
D. Homogeneous in content.
Good
In constructing multiple-choice test items, options to an item should be
A. Arranged horizontally.
B. Copied from textbooks.
C. 05/01/2025
Heterogeneous in content. 15
D. Homogeneous in content.
 Unit Five: The Stages in planning and constructing classroom tests

Guidelines for constructing multiple-choice tests

The responses in agreement must be itemized vertically and not horizontally.
Poor
In constructing multiple-choice test items, options to an item should be

(A) Arranged in a horizontally, (B) Copied directly from class notes or

(C) Must have a discernible pattern of responses, (D) Homogeneous in content
Good
In constructing multiple-choice test items, options to an item should be………….

A. arranged horizontally.
B. copied from textbooks.
C. heterogeneous in content.
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D. homogeneous in content.
 Unit Five: The Stages in planning and constructing classroom tests

Guidelines for constructing multiple-choice tests

Repetition of words in the options should be avoided.
Poor
Which is the best definition of a contour-line?
A. A line on a map joining places of equal barometric pressure.
B. A line on a map joining places of equal earthquake intensity.
C. A line on a map joining places of equal height.
D. A line on a map joining places of equal mean temperature.
E. A line on a map joining places of equal rainfall.
Good
A line on a map joining places of equal pressure is called an
A. isobar
B. iobront
C. isochasm
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isogeotherm 17
E. isotherm
 Unit Five: The Stages in planning and constructing classroom tests

Guidelines for constructing multiple-choice tests

Stems and options should be stated positively. However, a negative stem
could be used sparingly and the word not should be emphasized either by
underlining it, or made BOLD or writing it in CAPITAL form.
An example is:
• Which of these insects has NOT been associated with the transmission
of diseases?
A. Bed-bug
B. Blackfly
C. Body louse
D. Housefly
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E. Tsetsefly
 Unit Five: The Stages in planning and constructing classroom tests

Guidelines for constructing multiple-choice tests

Specific determiners which are clues to the best/correct option should be avoided.
Poor
The first woman to go into space is a
A. American
B. Englishman
C. Irish
D. Italian
Good
The first woman to go into space is a/an
A. American
B. British
C. French
D. Italian
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E. Russian
 Unit Five: The Stages in planning and constructing classroom tests

Guidelines for constructing multiple-choice tests

The options should be plausible. Distracters must be plausibly attracted to the uninformed.
Poor
The longest river in Africa is
A. Benue
B. Congo
C. Gambia
D. Nile
E. Thames

Good
The longest river in Africa is
A. Congo
B. Niger
C. Nile
D. Volta
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E. Zambesi
 Unit Five: The Stages in planning and constructing classroom tests

True and False tests

Description
A true and false test consists of a statement to marked true or false.
A respondent is expected to demonstrate his command of the
material by indicating whether the given statement is true or false.

For example:
• Sir Gordon Guggisberg was the governor who built the Takoradi
Harbour. True or False
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 Unit Five: The Stages in planning and constructing classroom tests

Guidelines for constructing true and false tests

⁕ Statements must be definitely true or definitely false.
⁕ Avoid words that tend to be clues to the correct answer.
⁕ Words like some, most, often, many, may are usually associated with true statements. All,
always, never, none are associated with false statements.
⁕ Approximately, half (50%) of the total number of items should be false because it is easier to
construct statements that are true and the tendency is to have more true statements.
⁕ Statements must be original.
⁕ Statements should be worded such that superficial logic suggests a wrong answer.
⁕ Statements should possess only one central theme.
⁕ State each item positively. Negative item could however be used with the negative word, 'not',
emphasized by underlining or writing in capital letters. Double negatives should be avoided.
⁕ Statements should be short, simple and clear. Ambiguous as well as tricky statements should
be avoided.
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 Unit Five: The Stages in planning and constructing classroom tests

Matching-Type tests
• The matching type of objective test consists of two columns. The
respondent is expected to associate an item in Column A with a
choice in Column B on the basis of a well-defined relationship.
• Column A contains the premises and Column B the responses or
options.

Example.
• Match the vitamins in Column A with the diseases and conditions
which
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a lack of the vitamin in causes in column B
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 Unit Five: The Stages in planning and constructing classroom tests

Guidelines for constructing matching-type tests

⁕ Do not use perfect matching. Have more responses than premises. There
should be at least three more responses than premises.
⁕ Arrange premises and responses alphabetically or sequentially. This
reduces the amount of unnecessary searching on the part of the person
who knows the answer.
⁕ Column A (premises) should contain the list of longer phrases. The
shorter items should constitute the responses.
⁕ Limit the number of items in each set. For each set, the number of
premises should not be more than six per set with the responses not more
than ten.
24
⁕05/01/2025
Use homogeneous options and items.
 Unit Five: The Stages in planning and constructing classroom tests

Constructed-Response Type and Short-

Answer Type tests
Description
• This type of objective test is also known as the
Supply, Completion, and fill-in-the blanks.
• It consists of a statement or question and the
respondent is required to complete it with a
short answer usually not more than one line .
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 Unit Five: The Stages in planning and constructing classroom tests

Guidelines for constructing Short-Answer Type tests

⁕ Keep the number of missing words or blank spaces low. Preferably use
one blank per item. There should not be more than two blanks in one
item.

⁕ Use original statements that are carefully constructed. Statements should

not be lifted from textbooks or past items or any written material.

⁕ Avoid specific determines which provide clues to the correct option.

⁕ Blanks must be placed at the end or near the end of the statement and not
at the beginning.
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 Unit Five: The Stages in planning and constructing classroom tests

Guidelines for constructing Short-Answer Type tests

⁕Items should be so clearly written that the type of
response required is clearly recognized.
⁕Avoid lengthy and crooked statements
⁕Think of the intended answer first before constructing
the item.
⁕Missing words must be important ones. Avoid
omitting trivial words to trick the student. Only test
for important facts and knowledge.
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 Unit Five: The Stages in planning and constructing classroom tests

Essay-type Tests
Description:
• There are two types of essay-tests. These are the restricted response type
and the extended response type.

• The restricted response type limits the respondent to a specified length of

the response. For example, 'In not more than 200 words explain the causes
of the Yaa Asantewa War of 1900.

• The extended response type does not limit the student in the form and scope
of the answer. For example, Discuss the factors that led to the overthrow of
the Dr. Kwame Nkrumah’s government in Ghana in 1966.
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 Unit Five: The Stages in planning and constructing classroom tests

Features
⁕Requires students to plan their own answers and to express them in
their own words.
⁕Consists of relatively few items that call for extended answers.
⁕A lot of time is spent by students in thinking and writing when
taking the test.
⁕Quality of test is determined largely by the skill of the test scorer.
⁕Relatively easy to prepare but rather tedious and difficult to score.
⁕Permits and encourages bluffing.

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 Unit Five: The Stages in planning and constructing
classroom tests
Features
⁕Afford both the student and teacher the opportunity
to be individualistic.
⁕Score distribution varies from one scorer to another.
⁕Less amenable to item and statistical analysis.
⁕Scoring is subjective.
⁕Content validity is low.
⁕Reliability of test scores is low.
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 Unit Five: The Stages in planning and constructing classroom tests

Guidelines in constructing good classroom essay tests

⁕ Plan the test
⁕ The items should be based on novel situations and problems. Be
original. Do not copy directly from textbooks or past test items.
⁕ Test items should require the students to show adequate command of
essential knowledge.
⁕ The length of the response and the difficulty level of items should be
adapted to the maturity level of students (age and educational level).
⁕ Prepare a scoring key (marking scheme) at the time the item is
prepared.
⁕05/01/2025
Indicate the value of the question and the time to be spent in 31
 Unit Five: The Stages in planning and constructing classroom tests

Stage 2: Administration
Guidelines for administering a test
1: Prepare students for the test
 When the test will be given (date and time)
 Under what conditions it will be given (timed or take-home,
number of items, open book or closed book, place of test).
 The content areas it will cover (study questions or a list of learning
targets).
 Emphasis or weighting of content areas (value in points).
 The kinds of items on the test (objective-types or essay-type tests).
 How the assessment will be scored and graded.
05/01/2025 The importance of the results of the test 32
 Unit Five: The Stages in planning and constructing classroom tests

Stage 2: Administration
2. Students must be made aware of the rules and
regulations covering the conduct of the test. Penalties
for malpractice such as cheating should be clearly spelt
out and clearly adhered to.

3. Avoid giving tests immediately before or after a long

vacation, holidays or other important events where all students
are actively involved physically
psychologically/emotionally.
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 Unit Five: The Stages in planning and constructing classroom tests

Stage 2: Administration
4. Avoid giving tests when students would normally
be doing something pleasant e.g. SRC, Hall week
etc.
5. The sitting arrangement must allow enough space
so that pupils will not copy each other's work.
6. Adequate ventilation and lighting are expected in
the testing room.
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 Unit Five: The Stages in planning and constructing classroom tests

Stage 2: Administration
Guidelines for administering a test
7. Provision must be made for extra answer sheets and writing materials.
8. Pupils should start the test promptly and stop on time.
9. Announcements must be made about the time at regular intervals.
Time left for the completion of the test should be written on the board
where practicable.
10. Invigilators are expected to stand a point where they could view all
students. They should once a while move among the pupils to check
on malpractices. Such movements should not disturb the pupils. He/she
must be vigilant.
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 Unit Five: The Stages in planning and constructing classroom tests

Stage 2: Administration
Guidelines for administering a test
11. Invigilators should not be allowed to read novels, newspapers, grade papers or
receive calls on mobile phones.

12. Threatening behaviours should be avoided by the invigilators. Speeches like

"if you don't write fast, you will fail" are threatening. Pupils should be made to
feel at ease.

13. The testing environment should be free from distractions. Noise should be kept to
a very low level if it cannot be eliminated or removed. Interruptions within
and outside the classroom should be reduced. It is helpful to hang a "Do not
DISTURB - TESTING IN PROGRESS" sign at the door.
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 Unit Five: The Stages in planning and constructing classroom tests

Stage 2: Administration
Guidelines for administering a test
14. Test anxiety should be minimized
– Things that create excessive anxiety are (l) warning students to do their best
'because the test is important', (2) telling students that they must work fast in order
to finish on time, (3) threatening dire consequences if they fail, and (4) threatening
students with tests if they do not behave.

– Teachers and invigilators should not walk around looking over students' shoulders
while they are responding to assessments.

– Before assessments, teachers should convey a sense of confidence about student's

performance in the upcoming assessment.
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 Unit Five: The Stages in planning and constructing classroom tests

Stage 2: Administration
Guidelines for administering a test
15.Do not talk unnecessarily before letting students start working.
Remarks should be kept to a minimum and related to the test.
16.Avoid giving hints to students who ask about individual items.
Where an item is ambiguous, it should be clarified for the
entire group.
17.Expect and prepare for emergencies. Emergencies might
include shortages of answer booklets, Question papers, power
outages,
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illness and so on. 38
 Unit Five: The Stages in planning and constructing classroom tests

Stage 3: Scoring
•Essay tests can be scored by using the analytic scoring
rubrics (also known as the point-score method) holistic
scoring rubrics (also called global-quality scaling or
rating method).

In analytic scoring, the main elements of the ideal answer are

identified and points awarded to each element. This works best
on restricted response essays.
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 Unit Five: The Stages in planning and constructing classroom tests

Stage 3: Scoring
Example (analytic scoring)
Discuss five reasons why there is the need for counselling in our Tertiary Institutions (30 marks)
Introduction (3 marks)
Definition / Explanation of counselling
Reasons (5 reasons X maximum 5 marks each. Total = 25 marks).

Consider expression and mechanics of writing in addition to discussion for each reason. Other reasons that are relevant
are accepted.
1. Upsurge in institutional related problems
2. Need to make informed choices
3. Need to make informed decisions
4. Inability of home to cope with all problems of students
5. Promotion of attitudinal change
6. 05/01/2025
Need for coping and adjustment skills 40
7. Demands of modem world. Conclusion (2 marks)
 Unit Five: The Stages in planning and constructing classroom tests

Stage 3: Scoring
In holistic scoring, the model answer serves as a standard. Each response
is read for a general impression of its adequacy as compared to the
standard. The general impression is then transformed into a numerical
score.

To check the consistency of the scoring, a first reading is done to sort the
responses into several piles (mostly five A, B, C, D, E,) according to the
different levels of quality.

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A second reading of each pile enables the actual grade or score to be given
 Unit Five: The Stages in planning and constructing classroom tests

Stage 3: Scoring
Example
Discuss five reasons why there is the need for counselling in our Tertiary Institutions. (20 marks)
A: Excellent (18-20)
Gives an introduction
Discusses five reasons very well/in depth Very few grammatical errors/expression
Gives conclusion
B: Very Good (15-17)
Gives an introduction
Discusses five reasons but not too well or discusses four reasons very well
Few grammatical errors/expression
Gives conclusion
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 Unit Five: The Stages in planning and constructing classroom tests

Stage 3: Scoring
Example
C: Good (12-14)
Gives an introduction
Discusses five/four reasons but not in depth
OR discusses three reasons very well
Many grammatical errors/expressions
No conclusion
D: Fairly Good (9-11)
No introduction
Discusses three reasons but not in depth
A lot of grammatical errors/expressions
No conclusion
E: Fail (1-8)
No introduction
Discusses one/two reasons but not in depth
A lot of grammatical errors/expressions
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No conclusion
 Unit Five: The Stages in planning and constructing classroom tests

Stage 3: Scoring
Principles for Scoring Essay Tests
l. Prepare a form of scoring guide, either an analytic scoring rubric or
holistic scoring rubric.
2. Test must be kept anonymous as possible. Score without knowing the one
-whose paper is being scored. This reduces the HALO EFFECT.
3 Grade the responses item by item and not script by script. score all
responses to each item before moving to the next item. This reduces the
CARRY OVER EFFECT. The carryover occurs when the mark for a
question is influenced by the performance on the previous questions.
4. Keep scores of previously graded items out of sight when evaluating
the rest of the items.
5. 05/01/2025
Periodically rescore previously scored papers. 44
 Unit Five: The Stages in planning and constructing classroom tests

Stage 3: Scoring
Principles for Scoring Essay Tests
6 Before starting to score each set of items the script should be
shuffled.
7. Score the essay test when you are physically sound, mentally alert
and in an environment with very little or no distraction.
8. Constantly follow the scoring guide as you score. This reduces
the RATER DRIFT which is the tendency to either not paying
attention to the scoring guide (marking scheme) over time or
interpreting it differently as time passes.
9. 05/01/2025
Score a particular question on all papers at one sitting. Break when 45
fatigue sets in.
 Unit Five: The Stages in planning and constructing classroom tests

Stage 3: Scoring
Principles for Scoring Essay Tests
10. Arrange for an independent scoring of the responses or at least a
sample of them where grading decision is crucial.
11. Comments could be provided and errors corrected on the scripts for
class tests to facilitate
12. Avoid being influenced by the first few papers read. These could
make you either too harsh or too lenient.
13. The mechanics of writing such as correct grammar usage,
paragraphing, flow of expression, quality of handwriting, orderly
presentation of material and spelling should be judged separately
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from the content
 Unit Five: The Stages in planning and constructing classroom tests

Stage 4: Interpretation and Usage of Results

Scores obtained in classroom quizzes, tests and
examinations are known as raw scores.

They give very little information about the performance or

achievement of a student.

For example if Kalista obtained 48 in a test, it is difficult to

know his level of performance unless more information is
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provided.
 Unit Five: The Stages in planning and constructing classroom tests

Stage 4: Interpretation and Usage of Results

Such types of information include the maximum/total
score, mean or median score the variability of the
group, the difficulty level of the items, the number
of test questions and the amount of time allowed for
the test.

To interpret and obtain meaning from the scores, they

need to be referenced or transformed into other scores.
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 Unit Five: The Stages in planning and constructing classroom tests

Stage 4: Interpretation and Usage of Results

There are two popular ways of interpreting test
scores so the meaning can be derived from the
scores. These are:

1. Norm-Referenced Interpretation
2. Criterion-Referenced Interpretation
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 Unit Five: The Stages in planning and constructing classroom tests

Stage 4: Interpretation and Usage of Results

Norm-Referenced Interpretation
These describe test scores or performance in terms of a
student's position in a reference group that has been
administered the assessment.

In other words, it compares an individual's performance with

others in the group who have taken the same test.
The reference group is called the norm group.
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 Unit Five: The Stages in planning and constructing classroom tests

Types of Norm-Referenced Scores

The most popular Norm-Referenced Scores are described below.
l. Class Raw Score Ranks. Raw scores in a class are often ordered in merit form
from the highest score (1st position) to the lowest score (last position). The ranks
tell about how a student performs compared with the others in the group.

2. Percentile and Percentile Ranks. A percentile is a point in a distribution below

which a certain percentage of the scores fall while a percentile rank is a person's
relative position such that a given percentage of scores fall below the score
obtained.

If a raw score of 58 is the 60th percentile, it means that a student who obtains 58 in
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a test, has done better than 60 percent of all those in the group that took the test.
 Unit Five: The Stages in planning and constructing classroom tests

Types of Norm-Referenced Scores

3. Standard Scores. These include Z and T scores.
The z-score

Z = standard score
x = observed value
μ = mean of the sample
σ = standard deviation of the sample
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 Unit Five: The Stages in planning and constructing classroom tests

Types of Norm-Referenced Scores

Example 1:
A set of scores has a mean of 45 and standard of 10.
Compute the z-sore of a student who scored 85

Example 2
Cal the average score of Keldya if her z score is 3, with
SD 9.0 and Observe score is 90
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 Unit Five: The Stages in planning and constructing classroom tests

Types of Norm-Referenced Scores

Negative z-values show that

performance is below average
and positive values mean that
performance is above average.
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 Unit Five: The Stages in planning and constructing classroom tests

Types of Norm-Referenced Scores

T-score use the formula:

T = 50+10Z.
Scores above 50 show above average
performance and scores below 50,
show below average performance
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 Unit Five: The Stages in planning and constructing classroom tests

Types of Norm-Referenced Scores

Example 1
Calculate the Z score of Kalista if
her T-score is 88

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 Unit Five: The Stages in planning and constructing classroom tests

EXAMPLE 2
If a given class has a T-score value
of 92. Calculate Mckeown’s Raw
Score if the average value of the
class is 68 with a deviation value of
2.0
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 Unit Five: The Stages in planning and constructing classroom tests

Uses of Norm-Referenced Interpretations

 Selection Decisions
 Comparison
 Achievement Testing
 Monitoring Decisions

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 Unit Five: The Stages in planning and constructing classroom tests

Criterion-Referenced Interpretations
These describe test scores or performance in terms of the kinds of
tasks a person with a given score can do. The performance can be
compared to a pre established standard or criterion.

For example a student may be able to solve 8 problems out of 10

concerning fractions. A level of performance can be established at
6. The criterion or standard can be used as a competency/mastery
score, so that students who have obtained scores that are greater
than 6 are termed competent or have mastered skills in a particular
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domain.
 Unit Five: The Stages in planning and constructing classroom tests

Criterion-Referenced Interpretations
1. Percent Correct Scores. This is the percentage of items that a
student got correct. For example, if a student obtained 8 marks out of
10, the percent correct is 80.

2. Competency Scores. These are cut-off scores set to match acceptable

performance. Students who obtained the cut-off scores are able to
have achieved a required level of competency.

3. Quality Ratings. This is the quality level at which a student performs

a task. For example, a student can be rated as A for outstanding, B+ 60
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for excellent, etc.

 Unit Five: The Stages in planning and constructing classroom tests

Criterion-Referenced Interpretations
4. Speed of Performance Scores. These indicate the amount of time
a student uses to complete a task or the number of tasks completed
within a specified time.

For example, a student may type 30 words in a minute or an athlete

may run 100 meters in 11.5 seconds.

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 Unit Five: The Stages in planning and constructing classroom tests

Uses of Criterion-Referenced Interpretations

 Certification Decisions
 Minimum Competency Decisions
 Diagnostic Decisions
 Placement Decisions
 Programme Evaluation

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 ITEM ANALYSIS

Item analysis refers to a statistical technique

used to evaluate the performance of
individual items (questions or statements) in
a test, questionnaire, or assessment tool.

It aims to assess the quality and

effectiveness of each item in measuring the
construct or variable of interest.
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 ITEM ANALYSIS
Item Difficulty: This component assesses how easy or
difficult an item is for respondents. It is typically
measured by the percentage of respondents who answer
the item correctly.

Items that are too easy (answered correctly by almost

everyone) or too difficult (answered correctly by very
few) may not provide useful information for
distinguishing between individuals' abilities or
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 ITEM ANALYSIS
Item Difficulty
Item difficulty, commonly known as p-value
refers to the proportion of examinees that responded
to the item correctly. The p-value is calculated using
the following formula:
p=R/T
where p = item difficulty index
R = the number of correct responses to the test item
T = the total number of responses comprises both
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correct and incorrect responses

 ITEM ANALYSIS
The item difficulty index (p) ranges from
0.0 to 1.00. A high p-value indicates an easy
item.

• Item Difficulty Index (p) Item Evaluation

• Above 0.90 Very easy item
• Around 0.6 Ideal value
• Below 0.20
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Very difficult item 66
 ITEM ANALYSIS
Item Discrimination: Item discrimination evaluates how well
an item differentiates between high-performing and low-
performing individuals.

It is determined by comparing the performance of

respondents who score high on the overall test (top group)
with those who score low (bottom group) on the same item.

High item discrimination indicates that the item effectively

discriminates between individuals with different levels of the
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construct being measured.

 ITEM ANALYSIS

Item Discrimination
Item discrimination index (D) is estimated by the
formula, D = (UG-LG)/n.

Where D = discrimination index,

UG = the number of students in the upper
group 27% who responded correctly,
LG = the number of students in the lower group 27% who
responded correctly and
n =05/01/2025
number of students in 68
 ITEM ANALYSIS
The value of discrimination index ranges between -1.0 to
1.0.
Index of Discrimination Item Evaluation
0.40 and above Very good items; accept
0.30 – 0.39 Reasonably good but
subject to improvement
0.20 – 0.29 Marginal items usually need
and subject to improvement
Below 0.19
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Poor items to be rejected or 69
 Unit Five: The Stages in planning and constructing classroom tests

Right and Responsibilities of Test Takers

Rights
• Be treated with courtesy, respect, and impartiality, regardless
of your age, disability, ethnicity, gender, national origin,
religion, sexual orientation or other personal characteristics.

• Be tested with measures that meet professional standards and

that are appropriate, given the manner in which the test results
will be used.
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 Unit Five: The Stages in planning and constructing classroom tests

Rights
• Receive a brief oral or written explanation prior to testing about the
purpose(s) for testing, the kind(s) of tests to be used, if the results
will be reported to you or to others, and the planned use(s) of the
results.
• Know in advance of testing when the test will be administered, if and
when test results will be available to you, and if there is a fee for
testing services that you are expected to pay.

• Have your test administered and your test results interpreted by

appropriately trained individuals who follow professional codes of
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 Unit Five: The Stages in planning and constructing classroom tests

Rights
• Know if a test is optional and learn of the consequences of taking or not
taking the test, fully completing the test, or canceling the scores. You may
need to ask questions to learn these consequences.

• Receive a written or oral explanation of your test results within a reasonable

amount of time after testing and in commonly understood terms.

• Have your test results kept confidential to the extent allowed by law.

• Present concerns about the testing process or your results and receive
information
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 Unit Five: The Stages in planning and constructing classroom tests

Responsibilities
• Treat others with courtesy and respect during the
testing process.
• Ask questions prior to testing if you are uncertain
about why the test is being given, how it will be
given, what you will be asked to do, and what will be
done with the results.
• Read or listen to descriptive information in advance
of testing and listen carefully to all test instructions.
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 Unit Five: The Stages in planning and constructing classroom tests

Responsibilities
• Know when and where the test will be given, pay for the test if required, appear on time
with any required materials, and be ready to be tested.

• Follow the test instructions you are given and represent yourself honestly during the
testing.

• Be familiar with and accept the consequences of not taking the test, should you choose
not to take the test.

• Inform appropriate person(s), as specified to you by the organization responsible for

testing, if you believe that testing conditions affected your results.

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• Ask about the confidentiality of your test results, if this aspect concerns you
 Unit Six: Basic Descriptive Statistics in Education

Importance of statistics
1. It help the teacher to use appropriate statistics in describing the
performance of his class to others

2. It puts the teacher in a position to better understand the

information he/she receives from test scores on students

3. It is useful for research purpose

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 Unit Six: Basic Descriptive Statistics in Education
Frequency Distributions
Frequency distribution, in statistics, is a graph or data set
organized to show the frequency of occurrence of each possible
outcome of a repeatable event observed many times.

Simple examples are election returns and test scores listed by

percentile. A frequency distribution can be graphed as a histogram or
pie chart.

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 Unit Six: Basic Descriptive Statistics in Education
Frequency Distributions

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Frequency Distributions

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 Unit Six: Basic Descriptive Statistics in Education
Measures of Central Tendency

A measure of central tendency (also referred to as measures of centre or central

location) is a summary measure that attempts to describe a whole set of data
with a single value that represents the middle or centre of its distribution.

There are three main measures of central tendency: the means, the median and
the mode.

Each of these measures describes a different indication of the typical or central

value in the distribution.
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 Unit Six: Basic Descriptive Statistics in Education
Mean
The mean is the sum of the value of each observation in a dataset
divided by the number of observations. M=X1 +X2+X3……..XN
N
Retirement age distribution : 54, 54, 54, 55, 56, 57, 57, 58, 58, 60,
60
The mean is calculated by adding together all the values
(54+54+54+55+56+57+57+58+58+60+60 = 623) and dividing by
the number of observations (11) which equals 56.6 years.
Properties of the mean
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 Unit Six: Basic Descriptive Statistics in Education
Mean
Advantage
It is useful for further statistical work (eg. correlation, SD)
Limitations
The mean cannot be calculated for categorical data, as the values
cannot be summed.
As the mean includes every value in the distribution the mean is
influenced by outliers and skewed distributions.

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 Unit Six: Basic Descriptive Statistics in Education
Median
The median is the middle value in distribution when the values are
arranged in ascending or descending order.
Looking at the retirement age distribution (which has 11
observations), the median is the middle value, which is 57 years: 54,
54, 54, 55, 56, 57, 57, 58, 58, 60, 60
When the distribution has an even number of observations, the
median value is the mean of the two middle values. In the following
distribution, the two middle values are 56 and 57, therefore the
median equals 56.5 years: 52, 54, 54, 54, 55, 56, 57, 57, 58, 58, 60,
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 Unit Six: Basic Descriptive Statistics in Education
Median
Properties
It is less sensitive to the extreme scores than the mean
It does not use all the scores
Advantage
The median is less affected by outliers and skewed data than the
mean, and is usually the preferred measure of central tendency when
the distribution is not symmetrical (not normal).
Limitation
The median cannot be identified for categorical nominal data, as it
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cannot be logically ordered.

 Unit Six: Basic Descriptive Statistics in Education
Mode
The mode is the most commonly occurring value in a
distribution.
Consider this dataset showing the retirement age of 11
people, in whole years:
54, 54, 54, 55, 56, 57, 57, 58, 58, 60, 60
Advantages
The mode has an advantage over the median and the mean as it can
be found for both numerical and categorical (non-numerical) data.
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 Unit Six: Basic Descriptive Statistics in Education
Mode
Limitations
It is also possible for there to be more than one mode for the same
distribution of data, (bi-modal, or multi-modal)

In some cases, particularly where the data are continuous, the

distribution may have no mode at all (i.e. if all values are different).

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 Unit Six: Basic Descriptive Statistics in Education

Measures of Variability
Variability describes how far apart data points lie from each
other and from the center of a distribution.
Range: the difference between the highest and lowest
values
Standard deviation: average distance from the mean
Variance: average of squared distances from the mean
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 Unit Six: Basic Descriptive Statistics in Education

Range
The range tells you the spread of your data from the lowest to the
highest value in the distribution. It’s the easiest measure of variability
to calculate.
To find the range, simply subtract the lowest value from the highest
value in the data set.
Range example
Data: 72, 110,134, 190, 238, 287, 305, 324
The highest value (H) is 324 and the lowest (L) is 72.
R=H–L
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 Unit Six: Basic Descriptive Statistics in Education
Standard Deviation
• The standard deviation is the average amount of variability in your
dataset.
• It tells you, on average, how far each score lies from the mean. The
larger the standard deviation, the more variable the data set is.

• σ = population standard deviation

• ∑ = sum of…
• X = each value
• μ = population mean
• N = number of values in the population
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 Unit Six: Basic Descriptive Statistics in Education

Variance
• The variance is the average of squared deviations from the
mean. A deviation from the mean is how far a score lies from
the mean.
• Variance is the square of the standard deviation.

•σ2 = population variance

•Σ = sum of…
•Χ = each value
•μ = population mean
•Ν = number of values in the
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population
 Unit Six: Basic Descriptive Statistics in Education
Normal distribution
Normal distribution, also known as the Gaussian distribution, is a
probability distribution that is symmetric about the mean, showing that
data near the mean are more frequent in occurrence than data far from
the mean.

Many phenomena observed in nature have been found to follow a

normal distribution. Some human attributes such as height, weight,
intelligence, and even social skills can be said to be normally
distributed.
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Properties
All forms of (normal) distribution share the following characteristics:
It is symmetric
A normal distribution comes with a perfectly symmetrical shape. This means that the
distribution curve can be divided in the middle to produce two equal halves. The
symmetric shape occurs when one-half of the observations fall on each side of the
curve.

The mean, median, and mode are equal

The middle point of a normal distribution is the point with the maximum frequency,
which means that it possesses the most observations of the variable. The midpoint is
also the point where these three measures fall. The measures are usually equal in a
perfectly
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 Unit Six: Basic Descriptive Statistics in Education
Properties
The normal curve is asymptotic to the X-axis:
• The Normal Curve approaches the horizontal axis asymptotically i.e., the
curve continues to decrease in height on both ends away from the middle
point (the maximum ordinate point); but it never touches the horizontal axis.

The normal curve is unimodal:

• Since there is only one point in the curve which has maximum frequency, the
normal curve is unimodal, i.e. it has only one mode.

Bell-shaped
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 End of Lecture

Thanks For Your

Cooperation
Wishing You The Best In
Your Exams And In All Your
Endeavors
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