COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
Professional Teacher Certification
Program
Lesson Outline
1. Desired Learning Outcomes
At the end of the lesson, the students should:
 Identify the different steps in developing test
items.
 Discuss the steps in developing table of
specification
 Construct a table of specification using the
different formats
3. Procedures / Instructional Activities
3a. Activity
 Three volunteer from the class.
 Each volunteer will have to put pieces of stones
in the assigned bottle with each corresponding
time allotment.
 The objective of the activity is to determine the
number of stones to be placed inside the
bottles with a given time allotment.
3b. Analysis
1. How many stones where placed for each
bottles?
2. What is your generalization about the
activity?
Date:
Course: Curriculum Development
March 10,
Program/Section: PTC 2019
Demo Teachers:
Calumpiano, Dymphna Ann C.
2a. Subject Matter
Topic: Steps in Developing Assessment Tools
Concept: It includes the different steps needed in
developing good assessment tools. Following the
different steps is very important so that the test
items developed will measure the different learning
outcomes appropriately. In this case, the teacher
can measure what is supposed to measure.
2b. Materials / Resources
Materials: Power Point Presentation, TV
References:
Gayubo, Yonanda (2015). Assessment of Learning 1.
Lorimar Publishing, Inc.
3c. Abstraction
The steps in developing assessment tools are as
follows:
1. Examine the instructional objectives of the topics
previously discussed.
 It is needed so that the teacher can match his
instructional objectives with the test items to be
constructed.
2. Make a table of specification (TOS).
 Table of Specification (TOS) – is a chart or
table that details the content and level of
cognitive level assessed on a test as well as
the types and emphases of test items (Gareis
and Grant, 2008).
 TOS is important in addressing the validity and
reliability of the test items. The validity of the test
means that the assessment can be used to draw
appropriate result from the assessment because
the assessment guarded against any systematic
error.
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 TOS provides the test constructor a way to
ensure that the assessment is based from the
intended learning outcomes.

 It is a way of ensuring that the number of

questions on the test is adequate to ensure
dependable results that are not likely caused by
chance.

 It is also a useful guide in constructing a test in

determining the type of test items that you need
to construct.

 Preparing a Table of Specification

a. Selecting the learning outcomes to be

measured.

 Identify the necessary instructional

objectives needed to answer the test items
correctly.

 The list of the instructional objectives will

include the learning outcomes in the areas
of knowledge, intellectual skills or abilities,
general skills, attitudes, interest and
appreciation.

 Use of Bloom’s Taxonomy or Krathworth’s

2001 revised taxonomy of cognitive domain
as guide.

b. Make an outline of the subject matter to be

covered in the test.

 The length of the test will depend on the

areas covered in its content and the time
needed to answer.

c. Decide on the number of items per subtopic.

 Use this formula below to determine the

number of items to be constructed for each
subtopic covered in the test so that the
number of items in each topic should be
proportioned to the number of class
sessions.

d. Make the two-way chart as shown in the format

2 and format 3 of a TOS.

 Grounlund (1990) listed several examples

and format on how a TOS should be
prepared.
1. Format 1 of a TOS
 It composed of the specific
objectives, the cognitive level, type
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 of test used, the item number and
the total points needed in each item.

 Specific Objectives – refers to the

intended learning outcomes stated
as specific instructional objective
covering a particular test topic.

 Cognitive Level - pertains to the

intellectual skill or ability to correctly
answer a test item using Bloom’s
Taxonomy of educational objectives.
It is sometimes refer to as the
“cognitive demand” of a test item.
Thus, entries in this column could
be “knowledge, comprehension,
application, analysis, synthesis and
evaluation”.

 Type of Test Item – identifies the

type or kind of test a test item
belongs to.

 Item Number – identifies the

question number as it appears in
the test.

 Total Points - summarize the score

given to a particular test.

2. Format 2 of TOS (one-way TOS)

3. Format 3 of TOS (two-way TOS)

e. Construct the test items.

 The teacher should always follow the

general principles of constructing test
items. The test items should always
correspond with the learning outcome so
that it serves whatever purpose it may
have.
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3. Construct the test items.

 General Guidelines for Constructing Test Items

(Kubiszyn and Borich, 2007)

1. Begin writing items far enough or in advance

so that you will have time to revise them.
2. Match items to intended outcomes at
appropriate level of difficulty to provide valid
measure of instructional objectives. Limit the
question to the skill being assessed.
3. Be sure each items deals with an important
aspect of the content area and not with
trivia.
4. Be sure the problem posed is clear and
unambiguous.
5. Be sure that the item is independent with all
other items. The answer to one item should
not be required as a condition in answering
the next item. A hint to one answer should
not be embedded to another item.
6. Be sure the item has one or best answer on
which experts would agree.
7. Prevent unintended clues to an answer in
the statement or question. Grammatical
inconsistencies such as a or an give clues to
the correct answer to those students who
are not well prepared for the test.
8. Avoid replication of the textbook in writing
test items; do not quote directly from the
textual materials. You are usually not
interested in how well students memorize
the test.

 Determining the Number of Test Items

 Consider the following average time in
constructing the number of test items. The
length of time and type of item used are
also factors to be considered in
determining the number of items to be
constructed in an achievement test.

 The number of items included in a given

assessment will also depend on the length
of the class period and the type of items
utilized. The following guidelines will assist
you in determining an appropriate
assessment.

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  Checklist for Constructing Test Items

4. Assemble the test items.

 There are two steps in assembling the test: (1)

packaging the test and (2) reproducing the test.

 Guidelines in assembling the test

a. Group all test items with similar format
b. Arrange test items from easy to difficult
c. Space the test items for easy reading
d. Keep items and option in the same page
e. Place the illustrations near the description
f. Check the answer key
g. Decide where to record the answer

5. Check the assembled test items.

 It is very important to proofread first the test

items for typographical and grammatical errors
and make necessary corrections if any. If
possible, let others examine the test to validate
its content.

6. Write directions.

 Check the test directions for each item format to

be sure that it is clear for the students to
understand.

 It should contain the numbers of items to which

they apply, how to record their answers, the basis
of which they select answer and the criteria for
scoring or scoring system.

7. Make the answer key.

 Be sure to check your answer key so that the

correct answers follow a fairly random
sequence.

8. Analyze and improve the test items.

 Analyzing and improving the test items should

be done after checking, scoring and recording
the test.

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 3d. Application

Construct a table of specification using the format

below:

Additional information:
1. Subject is Basic Accounting
2. Topics for preliminary period is as follows:

4. Evaluation 5. Assignment / Homework

DIRECTIONS: Answer the following questions. DIRECTIONS:

1. Construct a table of specification based on the test

2. questions provided. (Use the two-way TOS)
3.
Enumerate the steps in developing
4.
assessment tool
5. Demo Teacher’s Notes / Remarks

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6.
7.
8.
9. It is a chart or table that details the content and
level of cognitive level assessed on a test as well
as the types and emphases of test items.
10. The formula to determine the number of items to
be constructed for each subtopic covered in the
test.
11. Compute the number of items in each topic.
 Number of items for the topic: Synthetic
division
 Number of class session discussing the topic
is three (3) hours
 Desired number of item is ten (10)
 Total number of class sessions for the unit is
ten (10)
12. Compute the number of items in each topic.
 Number of items for the topic: Addition
 Number of class session discussing the topic
is five (5) hours
 Desired number of item is twenty (20)
 Total number of class sessions for the unit is
fifteen (15)

13. Enumerate the three format of

14. table of specification
15.

Answer key:
1. Examine the instructional objectives
2. Make a table of specification
3. Construct the test items
4. Assemble the test items
5. Check the assembled test items
6. Write directions
7. Make the answer key
8. Analyze and improve the test items
9. Table of specification
10.
11. 3
12. 6.66 or 7
13. Format 1
14. Format 2 or one-way TOS
15. Format 3 or two-way TOS

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