PLANNING

CLASSROOM TESTS
AND ASSESSMENTS

Dr. Merve ŞAHİN KÜRŞAD

 Objective test items
• Highly structured tasks (limits the type
of response)
• Require students
￭ to supply a word or two, or
￭ to select the correct answer
from a number of alternatives
• Students are not free to redefine the
Types of Test problem, or to organize and present
the answer/ideas in their own words

Items • They are called objective, because

they have a single right/best answer
Classroom tests ;
Types of Test • Performance assessments

Items ⚬ Require students

Classroom tests ;
￭ to construct responses,
￭ to perform a particular task
⚬ (For most of them) there is not
a single right/best response
⚬ Expert judgement is required
to score
 Types of Test Items
Objective Test Items
A. SUPPLY TYPE

1. Short answer
 Types of Test Items
Objective Test Items

A. SUPPLY TYPE

2. Completion
 Types of Test Items
Objective Test Items
B. SELECTION TYPE

1. Matching
 Types of Test Items
Objective Test Items
B. SELECTION TYPE

2. True/False or Alternative Response

 Types of Test Items
Objective Test Items
B. SELECTION TYPE

3. Multiple Choice
 Types of Test Items
Performance Assesment
A. EXTENDED-RESPONSE ESSAY QUESTIONS
 Types of Test Items
Performance Assesment
B. RESTRICTED-RESPONSE ESSAY QUESTIONS
 Types of Test Items
Performance Assesment
• There are many other types of performance assessment tasks. Examples include
oral presentations; construction of graphs, diagrams, or models; use of equipment
or scientific instruments; typing; and playing a musical instrument.

A. EXTENDED-RESPONSE PERFORMANCE
TASKS
 Types of Test Items
Performance Assesment

A. RESTRICTED-RESPONSE PERFORMANCE
TASKS
Comparative advantages of objective tests and performance
assessments
Comparative advantages of objective tests and performance
assessments

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Comparative advantages of objective tests and performance
assessments

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Comparative advantages of objective tests and performance
assessments

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When to use
which item???

• The use of true-false • The matching items

item is most valuable should be used only
in special instances where a series of
where there are only homogeneous things
two possible are to be related (e.g.,
alternatives ( e.g., dates and events,
distiguishing between authors and books..)
correct and incorrect
procedures)
 Avoid Unintented Clues in Objective Test
Items

• Test items should be constructed so that students obtain the correct

answer only if they attained the desired learning outcome

• Students can respond to this item correctly alhough they lack the
necessary achievement. They lead the poor achiever to the correct
answer.
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Avoid Unintented • True-false
Clues in statements that
include qualifiers
Objective Test such as
sometimes,
Items… usually, generally
are most often
true,

• Whereas
statements
containing
absolutes such as
always, never,
none and only are
most often false.
Avoid Unintented Clues in Objective Test
Items…

• Clues in selection-type items:

⚬Stating correct answers in text-book language or greater

detail than correct answers

⚬Making correct answers longer than incorrect answers

⚬Placing the correct answers in some identifiable pattern

(e.g., T,F,T,F)
 General Suggestions For Writing Test Items and
Assessment Tasks

1. Use your test and

assessment specifications as a 2. Write more items and tasks
guide. The specifications than needed. Preparing more
describe the performance to be test items and assessment
measured and the sample of tasks than needed will permit
learning outcomes to measure. the weaker items and tasks to
Thus, they serve as an aid for be discarded during later
selecting the types of items review.
 General Suggestions For Writing Test
Items and Assessment Tasks

3. Write each item or task at an 4. Write each item or task so that it

appropriate reading level. Keep the does not provide help in
reading difficulty and vocabulary responding to other items or tasks.
level as simple as possible to Unless care is taken during writing,
prevent these factors from
one item may provide information
distorting the results.
that is useful in answering another
item.
General Suggestions For Writing Test Items and
Assessment Tasks
5. Write each item so that the
answer is one that would be 6. Whenever a test item or
agreed on by experts or, in the assessment task is revised,
case of assessment tasks, the recheck its relevance. When
responses judged excellent would reviewing items or tasks for
be agreed on by experts. This rule appropriateness, clarity, difficulty,
is easy to satisfy when measuring and freedom from clues and bias,
factual knowledge but more some revision is often needed.
difficult when measuring complex
outcomes calling for the extended
essays or other types of
performance.
Planning Classroom Tests and Assessments
 Some Types of Test Items
preliminary questions
• What is the
Classroom tests; test designed to measure?
• In the service of what goal will the test be employed? In what
• way
Objective testisitems
or ways the objective of this test the same as or
different from other tests with similar goals?
•A.IsSUPPLY TYPE
there a need for this test? Are there any other tests
• Short answer
purporting
• Completionto measure the same thing? In what ways will the
new test be better than or different from existing ones?
• B.
Who will use this
SELECTION TYPE test? Clinicians? Educators? Others? For what
• Matching
purpose or purposes would this test be used?
• True/False or Alternative Response
• Who will take this test? Who is this test for? Who needs to take
• Multiple Choice
it?
Types of
Some Test Items Performance
preliminary questions
Assessment
• What content will the test cover?
• How will the test be administered? Individually or in groups?
• Performance
• What assessment tasks are also needed to measure
is the ideal format of the test? Should it be true–false, essay,
a student's ability
multiple-choice, tosome
or in engage in hands-on
other format? activities, such as
• Should more an
conducting than one form ofmeasuring
experiment, the test beprecipitation,
developed? On the basis of a
cost–benefit analysis, should alternate or parallel forms of this test be
designing and conducting a survey, or creating an
created?
• What special object.
alternative trainingBecause
will be required of test users
written essays formost
are the administering or
interpreting the test?
commonly
• What types used form of performance
of responses assessment
will be required tasks,
of testtakers? it kind of
What
is worth might
disability focusing on essay
preclude questions
someone before
from being considering
able to take this test? What
adaptations or accommodations are recommended for persons with
other types of performance assessment tasks.
disabilities?
• Is there any potential for harm as the result of an administration of this
test?
 1. Determining the purpose of
test

• Pretest • Testing and • End-of-

Assessment Instruction
During Testing and
Instruction Assessment
2. Developing
spesifications for tests • To ensure that classroom tests and
assessments measure a
and assessments representative sample of
instructionally relevant tasks, it is
important to develop specifications
that can guide the selection of test
items and assessment tasks.
• When preparing a brief learning test
on a limited area (e.g., spelling or
capitalization), a simple listing of
specific tasks, with an indication of
the number of items measuring each
task, may suffice.
2. Developing
spesifications for Building a Table of
tests and Specifications
assessments • Building a table of
specifications involves
(a) preparing a list of
instructional objectives,
(b) outlining the course
content, and
(c) preparing the two-way
chart
 3. Selecting Appropriate
Types of TestTypes
Itemsof Items and
Assessment Tasks

• Thus far, we have discussed how to establish general goals

• For most performance assessment tasks, there is not a
for instruction and how to develop instructional objectives
single right or best response-there may be a variety of
derived from those goals.
responses that are considered excellent. Problem
identification may, in fact, be an important part
• We are now ready to put some “meat” on this test of the task,
and, of course,
“skeleton.”
there may be multiple ways of structuring
the problem and organazing a response.
• It is common to make a distinction between classroom tests
• Expert judgment is required to score the performances.
that consist of objective test items and performance
assessments that require students to construct responses
(e.g., write an essay) or perform a particular task (e.g.,
measure air pressure).
3. Selecting Appropriate Types of
Items and Assessment Tasks

• Objective test items are highly • Performance assessment tasks,

structured and require the such as essay questions, permit
students to supply a word or the student to organize and
two or to select the correct construct the answer in essay
answer from alternatives. They form. Other types of
are called objective because performance assessment tasks
they have a single right or best may require the student to use
answer that can be determined equipment, generate
in advance. hypotheses, make
observations, construct
something (e.g., a model), or
perform for an audience (e.g.,
give a speech).
3. Selecting Appropriate Types of Items and Assessment Tasks
• For most performance • Problem identification
assessment tasks, there is may, in fact, be an
not a single right or best important part of the task,
response-there may be a and, of course, there may
variety of responses that be multiple ways of
are considered excellent. structuring the problem
and organizing a
• For some instructional • Each approach should be
response.
purposes, objective items used where most
may be most efficient, appropriate, with
whereas for others, appropriateness
performance assessments determined by the
may prove most learning outcomes to be
satisfactory. measured and by the
advantages and
limitations of each
4. Writing
Items • Effective item writing is a skill that reflects both
science and art, and must be learned and
practiced. Most novice item writers create
flawed items that measure the ability to
recognize basic facts and concepts.
• All test items should be written according to test
specifications, and the item pool should consist
of many more items than are needed for the
creation of test forms.
5. Reviewing and Editing Items
• The test developer may write a large number of items from personal
experience or academic experience with the subject matter.

• If a test is designed to measure achievement and if the items are written in

a selected-response format, then examinees must select the response that
is keyed as correct.

• If the test is designed to measure the strength of a particular trait and if

the items are written in a selected-response format, then examinees must
select the alternative that best answers the question with respect to
themselves.
 • This review before the items are
5. Reviewing tried should ensure that we avoid
tasks which are expressed in
and Editing language too complex for the idea
Items being tested, avoid redundant
words, multiple negatives, and
distractors which are not plausible.
• The review should also identify
items with no correct (or best)
answer and items with multiple
correct answers. Such items may
be discarded or re-written.
6. Preparation of trial form and making trial application

• Item trial is sometimes called pilot testing – but in this context it does
not mean testing those who fly aeroplanes.

• As well as considering the best efforts of item writers and item reviewers
as a means of eliminating faulty items and improving the quality of
items, it is necessary to subject the proposed items to empirical trial with
students similar to those who are going to use the final form of the test.

• Since items involve communication with students, an evaluation of this

quality is required before the set of tasks can be used with a larger
group.
 6. Preparation of trial form and making trial application

Some very practical working rules should be adopted. The front page
should explain briefly which group has prepared the test, give the purpose
of the test, and give instructions to the candidate about:

• the number of items;

• the time available for them to attempt the test;

• how they are to show their answers (whether on the test paper, or on a
separate answer sheet); and

• what to do if they change their mind about an answer and wish to alter
it.
 6. Preparation of trial form and making trial application

• The options in multiple-choice items should be arranged in some logical

order (for example, from the smallest to the largest). The items should be
placed in order from the easiest to the most difficult (to encourage
candidates to continue the test).

• The layout of items should avoid patterns in the correct answers such as
three or more of the same letter in a row, or other patterns like ABCD or
ABABAB (which might lead to ‘correct’ responses for the ‘wrong’
reasons).

• Any materials required during the administration of the trial test should
be listed so the candidates know, explicitly, what they should have for
the testing session. Candidates must be informed that all test materials
must be returned to the testing supervisor.
 7. ADMINISTERING THE TEST

• The test is ready. All that remains is to get the students ready and
hand out the tests. Here is a series of suggestions to help your
students psychologically prepare for the test.
Maintain a Positive Attitude
• Try to create a positive test-taking attitude. It helps to keep the main
purposes of classroom testing in mind—to evaluate achievement and
to provide feedback to yourself and your students.
Maximize Achievement Motivation
• Try not to minimize the achievement aspect of the test.
• While you do not want to immobilize your students with fear, you do
want them to try to do their best on the test. Encourage them to do
so.
 Avoid Surprises
7. ADMINISTERING
THE TEST
• Be sure your students have
sufficient advance notice of a
test.
• “Pop” quizzes have little
beneficial effect on overall
academic achievement.
• They are especially
problematic in junior high
and high school where
students have five or six
different teachers.
• If each teacher gave pop
quizzes, students would be
hard pressed to be well
prepared for each class each
day.
 7. ADMINISTERING THE TEST

1 2 3

Clarify the Rules Rotate Distribution Remind Students to

• Inform students Check Their Copies
about time limits, Alternate beginning
restroom policy, After handing out the
test distribution at the
and any special tests, remind students
considerations left, right, front, and
about the answer to check page and
back of the class. This
sheet before you item numbers to see
distribute the tests. way, the same person
that none has been
will not always be the
• Students often omitted, and remind
last one to receive the
tune out the them to put their
instructor after test.
they receive their names on their
tests and may miss papers.
important
information.
7. Monitor Students
ADMINISTERING • Monitor students while they are
THE TEST completing their tests.
• While it would be nice to trust students
not to look at one another’s papers, it is
not realistic.
• Inform students about penalties for
cheating, and implement the penalties
when cheating occurs.
• After students learn they can’t get away
with it, there should be little need for the
penalties.
Minimize Distractions
• Try to keep noise and distractions to a
minimum, for obvious reasons.
7. ADMINISTERING Give Time Warnings

THE TEST • Give students a warning 15, 10, and 5 minutes

before the time limit is up, so they are not
caught by surprise at the deadline.

Collect Tests Uniformly

• Finally, have a uniform policy on collecting the

tests.
• Indicate whether you want all papers or only
some returned, where they are to be placed,
and so forth. This not only saves time, but
minimizes instances of lost papers.
 8. SCORING TRIAL PAPERS
• Following are some general suggestions to save scoring time and
improve scoring accuracy and consistency.

Prepare an Answer Key

• Prepare your answer key in advance, which will save time when you
score the test and will help you identify questions that need rewording or
need to be eliminated.
• Also, when constructing the answer key, you should get an idea of how
long it will take your students to complete the test and whether this time
is appropriate for the time slot you have allocated to the test.

Check the Answer Key

• If possible, have a colleague check your answer key to identify
alternative answers or potential problems.
01
Score Blindly 8. SCORING TRIAL
Try to score “blindly.” That is, try to PAPERS
keep the student’s name out of
sight to prevent your knowledge
about, or expectations of, the
student from influencing the score.

02
Check Machine-Scored Answer
Sheets
If machine scoring is used, check
each answer sheet for stray marks,
multiple answers, or marks that
may be too light to be picked up by
the scoring machine.
 8. SCORING TRIAL PAPERS

Check Scoring
Record Scores
If possible, double-check your
scoring. Scoring errors due to Before returning the scored papers
clerical error occur frequently. to students, be sure you have
There is no reason to expect that recorded their scores in your record
you will not make such errors. book!