Section 3.

2
Selecting and Constructing Test items and Tasks

Pretest
I. You will now write an item for each one. Identify the item type you have used.
Learning Objective Sample Item Item Type
1. Identify the The following are the characters of the Multiple
characters of the story “Romeo and Juliet” except: Choice
story read. a. Lord Capulet
b. Friar Laurence
c. Tybalt
d. William

2. Add fractions with 2 6 Short Answer

+ = ______
similar 8 8 Items
denominators.
3. Classify different Column A contains the list of Matching
mammals. mammals. Match each one with its Items
type given in column B. Write the
letter of your answer in the space
provided.
Column A Column B
__1. Platypus a. Marsupial
__2. Kangaroos b. Placental
__3. Dogs c.
Monotremes
4. Compare Explain the difference between Essay-
characteristics of reptiles and amphibians in terms of Restricted
reptiles and their characteristics in 3 sentences.
amphibians.
5. Explain the use of a Elaborate the importance of Essay-
thermometers. thermometer in the society featuring Extended
its uses.
6. Name the five The five national symbols of our Completion
national symbols of country are ____, ______, ______,
our country. ____, and _____.
7. Differentiate Cite and explain the difference Essay-
tsunami from an between tsunami and storm surge with Restricted
ocean surge. a minimum of 4 sentences.
8. Find the perimeter The perimeter of the square with an Binary Choice
of a given area. area of 81 is 8. R W

9. Classify hand tools Write Y if the statement is correct and Binary Choice
according to use. N if it is incorrect and explain why.
1. Hammer is used for cutting curves
and shapes.
 10. Determine the What is the volume of a box with the Short Answer
volume of a given dimensions 20 cm width, 35 cm length
container. and 15 cm height?

II. Column a is a set of completion items. Transform them to short-answer items and write your
answer in Column B.

A B
Completion Items Short-Answer Items
1. The militants who fought against the government in Who were the militant who
Syria were the _________. fought against the government
in Syria?
2. The two smallest planets in the Solar System are What are the two smallest
______ and ________. planets in the Solar System?
3. Two indigenous creatures found in the Philippines What are the two indigenous
are _______ and ____________. creatures found in the
Philippines?
4. In the equation 3 x=45 , x is ___________. What is the value of x in the
equation 3 x=45 ?
5. The greatest number of deaths reported due to Ebola Where does the greatest
virus in Africa is found in _____________. number of deaths reported due
to Ebola virus in Africa?

III. This time, transform the short-answer items given in Column A to completion items.

A B
Short-Answer Items Completion Items
1. How do you measure the volume of a cylinder? The volume of a cylinder can
be measured through ______.
2. What could be the reason why Mr. X was murdered in Mr. X was murdered in the
the story? story because __________.
3. What is so famous about Mt. Mayon Volcano? Mt. Mayon is so famous
about ____________.
4. If one side of the square is 5m, what is its area? The area of the square if its
one side is 5m is _________.
5. What is the incidence of poverty in the country in The incidence of poverty in
percentage according to the latest survey? the country in percentage
according to the latest survey
is ________________.

Suggested Activities
I. Below is a checklist for reviewing multiple choice items. Review the items given below using the
guidelines. Write NO in the appropriate column of the guidelines that is not followed.

Checklist for Reviewing Multiple-Choice Items

1. Does the item present a meaningful problem? Yes No
2. Is the item stem free of unnecessary words or facts? Yes No
 3. Are the alternatives grammatically consistent with the item stem? Yes No
4. Is there only one correct or clearly best answer? Yes No
5. Are the distracters plausible to the uninformed? Yes No

Guidelines
Sample Multiple-Choice Items
1 2 3 4 5
1. Which of the following organisms that live on Planet Earth would N N N
be the largest in number? o o o
a. Ants
b. Snails
c. Ducks
d. Cows
2. What advantage do plants with flowers that open only at night have? N
a. Enhanced fruits o
b. Bright coloration
c. Protected from flower feeders
d. Pollinators of the plant are active at night.
3. A neutral atom. N N N
a. Dangerous o o o
b. Equal in sizes
c. Useful for making atomic bombs
d. Has equal number of protons and electrons
4. What is predicted to be a result of global warming? N N N
a. Frequent volcanic eruptions o o o
b. Economic instability
c. Rising ocean level
d. Increased weather temperature
5. Possession of illegal and dangerous drugs is against N N N
a. An existing law o o o
b. A religious dogma
c. School regulation
d. All of the above

II. Write an improved version of each item based on the guidelines not observed in the review you
have done in Part I.

Sample Multiple-Choice Items Improved Version

1. Which of the following organisms that live on 1. Which of the following organisms
Planet Earth would be the largest in number? in Earth that can be classified as
a. Ants mammals?
b. Snails a. Ants
c. Ducks b. Snails
d. Cows c. Ducks
d. Cows

2. What advantage do plants with flowers that 2.What advantage do night-blooming

open only at night have? flowers have?
 a. Enhanced fruits a. Enhanced fruits
b. Bright coloration b. Bright coloration
c. Protected from flower feeders c. Protected from flower feeders
d. Pollinators of the plant are active at night d. Pollinators of the plant are active at
night
3. A neutral atom. 3. A neutral atom is _______.
a. Dangerous a. dangerous
b. Equal in sizes b. equal in sizes
c. Useful for making atomic bombs c. useful for making atomic bombs
d. Has equal number of protons and electrons d. equal in number of protons and
electrons
4. What is predicted to be a result of global 4. Which of the following factors that
warming? can be considered as a cause of climate
a. Frequent volcanic eruptions change?
b. Economic instability a. Frequent volcanic eruptions
c. Rising ocean level b. Economic instability
d. Increased weather temperature c. Rising ocean level
d. Increased weather temperature
5. Possession of illegal and dangerous drugs is 5. Possession of illegal and dangerous
against drugs is against ______.
a. An existing law a. Republic Act No. 9165
b. A religious dogma b. Republic Act No. 9615
c. School regulation c. Republic Act No. 9516
d. All of the above d. Republic Act No. 9156

III. Given below is a sample matching items. Study it very well and write at least five (5) problems
you see in this sample.

Directions: Match Column A with Column B

Column A Column B
1. Water lily a. Flower
2. Narra b. Tree
3. Bamboo c. Vine
4. Mango d. Ornamental
5. Orchid
6. Yellow bee
7. Fortune plant
8. Banana plant
9. Grass
10. Gardenia

Observations:
1. Test direction is not clearly stated as it just simply asked to match column A to column B
without describing what can be found in the two columns, how they are associated, and how
matching will be done.
2. The list of response is not homogeneous.
3. The number of premises is too many for the number of responses which might cause fatigue
and validity might suffer.
4. The list of response is ambiguous since a flower can also be classified as ornamental.
5. The list of premises is not homogenous.
Posttest
I. Give an item type that could appropriately measure each of the given instructional outcomes. (10
points)

Instructional Outcome Item Type

1. Remembering the interesting features of all the Short Answer
planets in the Solar System.
2. Applying the right procedure in planting herbs. Binary
3. Noting the good practices observed by a progressive Essay-Restricted
community.
4. Making judgment on the characters of the story. Essay-Extended
5. Comparing the characteristics of monocots and Essay-Restricted
dicots.
6. Translating the message of the guest speaker in one’s Essay-Restricted
own words.
7. Classifying the different kinds of soil. Completion
8. Preparing a campaign material to practice cleanliness Work Sample
in school.
9. Identifying the principle that has worked in making Short Answer
the harvest productive.
10. Associating political candidates with their platforms. Completion

II. Construct the item you suggested in Part I to assess the given instructional outcomes. (50 points)

Instructional Outcome Item Type Sample Item

1. Remembering the interesting features Short Answer What is the biggest planet in the
of all the planets in the Solar System. Solar System?
2. Applying the right procedure in Binary Even if your soil is in pretty good
planting herbs. condition, working some compost
into the soil will help provide
nutrients to the herbs while they
are growing. T F
3. Noting the good practices observed Essay-Restricted Describe a progressive community
by a progressive community. by noting its good practices.
4. Making judgment on the characters Essay-Extended Do the main characters deserve to
of the story. suffer such consequence? Why?
5. Comparing the characteristics of Essay-Restricted Differentiate the characteristics of
monocots and dicots. monocots and dicots.
6. Translating the message of the guest Essay-Restricted In your own words, what is the
speaker in one’s own words. message of the guest speaker?
7. Classifying the different kinds of soil. Completion Sand and gravel belong to
_______ soil.
8. Preparing a campaign material to Work Sample Create a campaign material of
practice cleanliness in school. practicing cleanliness in school.
9. Identifying the principle that has Short-Answer What is the principle that has
worked in making the harvest worked in making the harvest
productive. productive?
 10. Associating political candidates with Completion War on Drugs is the political
their platforms. platform of _______.

III. Study each of the items given below and write your evaluation in the column. (50 points)

Original Item Evaluation

1. A solar eclipse _________. There’s an incorrect grammar in the alternatives
A. Looks bigger than a lunar eclipse. making it more obvious to know the right answer.
B. Causes temperature to rise The distracters are not so plausible to confused
C. Occurs when the moon is between earth the students.
and the moon
D. Happens less frequently than a lunar
eclipse
2. The earth is round. Yes No The stem is not a direct question thus yes-no type
of binary-choice should not be used. It should be
true-false.
3. Who is the Prime Minister of the United The problem of the stem is incorrect since United
States? States is a democratic country govern by a
president and not a prime minister.
4. Match A with B. Test direction did not describe the basis for
A B matching. The list of premises and the list of
__1. Plate A. Rectangle response are not homogenous as they don’t belong
__2. Pyramid B. Triangle to the same category. The number of the two
__3. Nipa hut C. Round columns are equal which is inappropriate because
__4. Ball D. Isosceles Triangle students can do wise elimination in finding the
__5. Resources E. Square rest of the pairs. Lastly, the list of premise and
response are both ambiguous.
5. What causes war between countries? Ambiguity is present in the alternatives given as
A. Expansionism they can all be the reason of war between
B. Religion countries.
C. Politics
D. Resources

IV. Construct a restricted-essay item for each of the given instructional outcomes (15 points)

Instructional Outcome Restricted-Essay Item

1. Naming advantages of a particular item List 5 common advantages of using multiple-
format. choice item format in an assessment.
2. Defending a writer’s opinion. Write an argumentative essay on the topic “War
on Drugs”.
3. Explaining the development of an insect. The diagram shows the four life stages of an
insect involves in Holometabolism or known as
Complete Metamorphosis. Summarize the
information by selecting and reporting the main
features.

V. Construct a rubric that can be used to score the extended-essay items. Indicate the scoring
criterion and the description for each level. (30 points)
Essay item
Your school just had its Book Week celebration. Write a news article for this event which can be
published in your school paper.

Rubric for news article

Scoring Criterion: OVERALL RATING

Rating Description
Excellent Characterizes all of the following:
 Headline
 Name of journalist
 Writing is neat and legible
 Article is eye-catching and
professional
 Effort and appearance of article is
excellent.

Very Satisfactory Characterizes only 4 of the following:

 Headline
 Name of journalist
 Writing is neat and legible
 Article is eye-catching and
professional
 Effort and appearance of article is
adequate
Satisfactory Characterizes only 3 of the following:
 Headline
 Name of journalist
 Writing is neat and legible
 Article is eye-catching and
professional
 Effort and appearance of article is
adequate
Fairly Satisfactory Characterizes only 2 of the following:
 Headline
 Name of journalist
 Writing is neat and legible
 Article is eye-catching and
professional
 Effort and appearance of article is
minimal
Unsatisfactory Characterizes only 1 or none of the following:
 Headline
 Name of journalist
 Writing is neat and legible
 Article is eye-catching and
professional
 Effort and appearance of article is
 poor

Criterion Excellent Very Satisfactory Fairly Unsatisfactory

Satisfactory Satisfactory
(10 points) (8 points) (6 points) (4 points) (2 points)
Content Article has Article has Article has Article has Article has no
headline that headline that headline that headline that headline.
captures the accurately somehow does not
reader’s describes the describes the describe the
attention and content. content. content.
accurately
describes the
content.
Clarity and Main points Main points Main points are Main points Presentation
Organization clearly stated are fairly somewhat clear; must be jumps among
and explained; clear; some several missing inferred by random topics.
logical, smooth missing links links or audience; Main points
organization or transitions. transitions. holes are are unclear
evident
Layout -Neatly -Neatly typed -Somewhat -Not neatly -Format detract
typed/written; and written neatly typed/written; reading.
proper letter but can have typed/written; formatting -Photo is
format and better several issues are missing.
proper spacing formatting formatting present.
-Photo is and spacing. issues are -Photo is
present with -Photo is present. present with
excellent present with -Photo is no caption and
caption and of caption and of present with of low quality.
high quality average somewhat
quality. ambiguous
caption and of
somehow
average quality.
Mechanics Accurate No more than No more than 3 No more than Several or
spelling, a couple of spelling, 4 spelling, more than 5
punctuation spelling, punctuation or punctuation or spelling,
and grammar; punctuation or grammar errors; grammar punctuation or
varied sentence grammar somewhat errors; grammar
structure. errors; varied varied sentence somewhat errors;
sentence structure repetitive repetitive
structure. sentence sentence
structure. structure.
Overall
rating