A test is an instrument or systematic procedure

for measuring a sample of behavior. “How well

does the student perform either in comparison
with others or in comparison with a domain of
performance task?” (De Guzman, 2010)
 They match the intended learning outcome
 The learning outcome is well defined
 Their contribution to measurement error is minimized
 The format suits the purpose of the test
 They are well-written, and follow and agreed style
 They satisfy legal and ethical considerations
Ms. Alanganin – confusing statements
Mr. Highfalutin – difficult vocabulary
Ms. Madaldal – excessive wordiness
Ms. Magulo – complex sentence structure
Ms. Malabo – unclear instructions
Mr. Pulpol – unclear illustrative materials
Ms. Foringer – linguistically bound words
Ms. Colonial Mentality – culturally bound words
How to Defeat the Common
Rules of Thumb

Rule of Thumb: Pick the ‘b’ alternative

Way to defeat this strategy: Make
sure each answer is used the same
number of times, in random order.
Rule of Thumb: Pick the scientific-
sounding answer
Way to defeat this strategy: Use
scientific-sounding jargon in wrong
answers
Rule of Thumb: Do not pick the same
alternative more than twice.
Way to defeat this strategy: Use
randomly generated answer positions.
Multiple Choice
True or False
Matching Type
Fill in the blanks (Sentence
Completion)
Good for:
Application
Synthesis
Analysis
Evaluation Levels
Strategies/ Suggestions

1. When possible, state the stem as a

direct question rather than as an
incomplete statement.
Undesirable: Desirable:
Alloys are ordinarily How are alloys
produced by… produced?
2. Present a definite, explicit and singular
question or problem in the stem.

Undesirable: Desirable:
Psychology… The science of
mind and behavior
is called…
3. Eliminate excessive verbiage or
irrelevant information from the stem.
Undesirable: Desirable:
While ironing her clothes, Jane Which of the following ways of
burned her hand accidentally on heat transfer explains why Jane’s
the hot iron. This was due to the hand was burned after she touched
transfer of heat between… a hot iron?
4. Include in the stem any word(s) that might
otherwise be repeated in each alternative.

Undesirable:
In national elections in the United
States, the President is officially:
A. chosen by the people
B. chosen by the members of the
Committee
C. chosen by the House of
Representatives
D. chosen by the Electoral College
Desirable:
In national elections in the United
States, the President is officially
chosen by:
A. the people
B. members of the Congress
C. the House of Representatives
D. the Electoral College
5. Use negatively stated stems sparingly. When used,
underline and/or capitalize the negative word.

Undesirable: Desirable:
Which of the following is not cited Which of the following is NOT cited
as an accomplishment by the as an accomplishment by the
Duterte’s Administration? Duterte’s Administration?
 Aim for Higher Levels of Learning

Most teachers find it easier to construct multiple

choice items to test recall and comprehension and to
use essay to test higher level learning objectives. But
other possibilities exist.
 Multiple choice items that require students to do
such things as classify statements as fact or opinion
go beyond simple recall or facts.
Example

A common goal of the Salt March in India, the Boxer Rebellion

in China, and the Zulu resistance in Southern Africa was to:

A. overthrow totalitarian leaders

B. force upper classes to carry out land reform programs
C. remove foreign powers
D. establish Communist parties to lead the governments
True or False Items

Good for:
 Knowledge level content
 Evaluating student understanding of popular
misconceptions
 Concepts with two logical responses
 Strategies/ Suggestions

1. Base true-false items upon statements that are

absolutely true or false, without qualifications or
exceptions.

Undesirable: Desirable:
Nearsightedness is hereditary in Geneticists and eye specialists
origin. believe that the predisposition to
nearsightedness is hereditary.
2. Express the item statement as simply and as
clearly as possible.

Undesirable: Desirable:
When you say a highway with a The construction and maintenance
marker that reads, “Interstate 80” of interstate highways are provided
you know that the construction and by both state and federal
upkeep of that road is maintained governments.
by the state and federal
government.
3. Include enough background information and qualifications so
that the ability to respond correctly to the item does not depend on
some special, uncommon knowledge.

Undesirable: Desirable:
The second principle of education is According to John Dewey, the
that the individual gathers second principle of education is that
knowledge. the individual gathers knowledge.
4. Express a single idea in each test item.

Undesirable: Desirable:
Water will boil at a higher Water will boil at a higher
temperature if the atmospheric temperature if the atmospheric
pressure on its surface is increased pressure on its surface is increased.
and more heat is applied to the
container.
5. Avoid using negatively stated item
statements.

Undesirable: Desirable:
The Supreme Court is not The Supreme Court is
composed of nine justices. composed of nine justices.
WRITING HINT

One method for developing true-false items is to write a

set of true statement that cover the content, then convert
approximately half of them to false statements.
Remember: When changing items to false (as well as in
writing the true statements initially), state the items
positively, avoiding negatives or double negatives.
Aim for Higher Levels of Learning

While true-false and other forced choice questions are

generally used to measure knowledge and
understanding, they could also be used at higher
levels. Students could be provided with a set of data
or a written work of some type, then asked various
forced choice questions related to the content or the
presence/ absence of certain characteristics in the
work.
Matching Type Test Items

Good for:
 Knowledge level
 Some comprehension level if appropriately
constructed
Suggestions/ Strategies

1. Include directions which clearly state the basis for

matching the stimuli with the responses.

Undesirable: Desirable:
Direction: Match the following. Directions: Match the compound in
Column I with it’s corresponding
formula presented in Column II.
 2. Use only items that share the same
foundation of information.

Undesirable: Desirable:
Direction: Match the following. Directions: Match the compound in Column
I with it’s corresponding formula presented in
Column II.
1. Water A. NaCl 1. Water A. NaCl
2. Discovered Radium B. Fermi 2. Sulfuric Acid B. H3SO4
3. Salt C. NH3 3. Salt C. NH3
4. Ammonia D. 1942 4. Ammonia D. HCl
5. Year of the First E. H2O 5. Hydrochloric Acid E. H2O
Nuclear Fission F. Curie F. NaOH
3. Avoid grammatical or other clues to correct response.

Undesirable: Desirable:
Direction: Match the following in order to Directions: Match the philosopher in Column
complete the sentences on the left. II that the statements describe in Column I.
1. Plato insisted that A. The Prince
government was B. desirable and 1. Thought government was a A. Hobbes
2. Machiavelli wrote about inevitable science requiring experts B. Marx
achieving political unity in C. a science 2. Described methods of C. Machiavelli
3. Hobbes argued that human requiring achieving political unity D. Durkheim
nature made absolute experts 3. Founded Communism E. Plato
monarchy D. organized 4. Believed that human nature
4. Marx was a German along made absolute monarchy
philosopher and economist industrial desirable and inevitable
lines
E. Communism
Tips For Writing Matching
Format Test Items
The Matching Format

– The matching test item format provides a way for learners to connect a word,
sentence or phrase in one column to a corresponding word, sentence or phrase
in a second column.
– The items in the first column are called premises and the answers on the
second column are called responses.
– The convention is for learners to match the premise on the left with a given
response on the right. By convention, the items in Column A are numbered abd
the items in Column B are labeled with capital letters.
When to use Matching Type?

– It is effective when you need to measure the learner’s ability to identify the
relationship or association between similar items.
– They work best when the course content has many parallel concepts, for example:
 Terms and Definition
 Objects or Pictures and Labels
 Symbols and Proper Names
 Scenarios and Responses
 Causes and Effects
 Principles and Scenarios to which they apply
 Sentence Completion

1. Omit only significant words from the statement

Undesirable: Desirable:
Every atom has a central _________ Every atom has a central core called
called a nucleus. ____________.
2. Do not omit so many words from the statement that the intended
meaning is lost.

Undesirable: Desirable:
The ___________ were to Egypt as the The Pharaohs were to Egypt as the _______ were to
___________were to Persia and as ___________ Persia and as _________ were to the early tribes of
were to early tribes of Israel. Israel.
3. Be sure there is only one correct response.

Undesirable: Desirable:
Trees which shed their leaves Trees which shed their leaves
annually are ___________. annually are called ___________.
4. If possible, put the blank at the end of a statement rather than
the beginning.
*Asking for response before the student understands the intent or
the statement can be confusing and may require more reading time.

Undesirable:
__________ is the measure of
central tendency that is most
affected by extremely high or low
scores.
Desirable:
The measure of central tendency
that is most affected by extremely
high or low scores is the
_________________.