Test Construction

TEST CONSTRUCTION - ACHIEVEMENT TESTS
The term achievement is often understood in terms of pupil’s score on a certain school test. Achievement means one’s learning attainments, accomplishments etc. it is related to pupil’s growth in educational situations. Achievement test is an important tool in the school evaluation programme. It is necessary for the teacher to know how far the pupils have attained in a particular subject area.
Types of achievement tests
Achievement tests are of two types. Teacher made tests and standardized tests. Teacher made tests may be divided into oral and written tests.
Teacher made achievement tests
a. Oral tests: it is the oldest form of achievement tests. They are common in lower classes. Viva Voce is an example. An advantage of this test is that a large number of areas can be covered and knowledge of the student can be assessed. But it is difficult to test each pupil on the basis of total curriculum .The examiner does not have any written proof regarding the pupil’s attainment.
b. Written tests: These can be divided into 3 types Essay type, Short answer type, and objective type.
FUNCTIONS OF ACHIEVEMENT TESTS
• Provide basis of promotion to the next grade.
• Help in finding out at the beginning of the year where each student stands in the various academic areas.
• Help in determining the relative position of a student in a particular subject or area of learning.
• Help the teacher to sees for himself how effectively he is doing, what is getting across to pupils and what is not.• Helps the teacher in identifying pupil’s difficulties and arranging for remedial measures.
• Provides the teacher evidence relating to the realization of objectives, effectiveness of learning activities provided and mode of instruction employed.
• Motivate the students before a new assignment is taken up.
Characteristics of a good Achievement Test
• A good achievement test is tried out and selected on the basis of its difficulty level and discriminating power.
• It should have a description of a measured behaviour.
• It should contain a sufficient number of test items for each measured behaviours.
• It provides equivalent and comparable forms of the test.
• It is accompanied by norms which are developed at various levels and on various age groups.
• Its instructions in regard to its administering and scoring are so clear that they become standardized for different users.
PREPARATION OF AN ACHIEVEMENT TEST
If the test is to serve as an efficient and effective tool of evaluation its preparation should be based on a number of careful considerations. The preparation of a good test is a systematic process having well defined stages. The important steps envisaged in the preparation of a good achievement test are:
• Planning-preparation of Design and Blue- Print
• Designing the test items.
• Reviewing and editing.
• Arranging the items.
• Providing directions.
• Preparing the scoring key and marking scheme.
• Administering and scoring the test
• Evaluating the test
Planning the Test
Planning implies preparation of design for the test or preparation of blue print.
Preparation of Design
Designing is the first and most important step in the test construction. It is at this stage that we plan to build in the test the important qualities: validity, reliability, objectivity and practicality. In order to accomplish this, the test constructor has to take a number of decisions regarding selection of objective, the selection of the content, form of questions, the difficulty level of test items and the weightage to be allotted to them. The set of these decisions will be called the design of the test.
a) Identification of the objective and allotting weightage to the objectives
The most important step while planning a test or any evaluation tool is the identication of the instructional objectives and stating them in terms of specific observable behaviour .After the objectives are identified and stated, the test maker has to decide their relative weights in the test. The fundamental principle to be observed here is that the test should reflect the actual emphasis being given to various mental processes during instruction. The simplest basis for assigning the weights could be to weigh them in terms of time devoted for their achievement. Weightages could of course be given in numerical terms, distributing 100 points over the objectives, giving the greatest number to those that are to receive the greatest emphasis. Weightage to the Objectives
b) Selection of the content and allotting weightage to the content
Content being the means through which objectives are attained, it becomes very necessary to decide the weights to be given to its different parts. The importance of the unit, time devoted to it during instruction etc. will consider while giving relative weightage to units.
c) Selection of the form of questions and giving weightage to the questions
For testing different abilities and sub units different forms of questions-essay type, short answer type and objective type questions may be judiciously used. According to different objectives and different aspect of content the weightage to be given to each form should be decided the marks are allotted to each form in the basis of time needed for answering, difficulty level, and skill involving. However among the objective type questions multiple choice may be given more weightage.
d) Distribution of difficulty level
The distribution of difficulty level in a test will depend upon the purpose of the test as also on the group of students for whom it is designed to get optimum discrimination through a test; most of its questions should be of average difficulty level. A few easy questions, to motivate below average students and a few difficult ones to challenge the gifted.
e) Preparation of Blue Print
The preparation of the blue print refers to the final stage of the planning of a test. It is a document which gives a complete functional picture of the test. In other words a blue print is a three dimensional chart showing the weightage given to the objectives, content and the form of questions in terms of marks. The units or content spread along the vertical axis while the objectives are listed on horizontal axis. Each column is further subdivided into columns that indicate the forms of question. Thus we get a number of cells each cell having three dimensions, the objective, the content and the form of question. What is required on the part of the test maker is to fit in all the questions in different cells in such a way that the blue print reflects the decisions of the designer.
Uses of Blue Print
• Helps to improve the content validity of the test.
• Defines as clearly as possible the scope and emphasis of the test.
• Relates objectives to the content.
• It provides greater assurance that the test will measure learning outcomes and course content in a balanced manner.
Planning of the test will be completed by the preparation of design and blue print.
Designing the test items
Then comes to the framing of the test items according to the blue print. It is desirable to prepare more items than the requirement of the blue print (at least 20% excess) so that the test maker may be able to choose the best item to suit the allocation in the blue print.
Reviewing and Editing
The items can be reviewed with the help of experts keeping in mind the design and blue print and the qualities of good evaluation tool.
Arranging the items
When the final selection of items has been completed, arrange the items according to the following guide lines:
• The items should be arranged so that all items of the same type are grouped together.
• The item should be arranged in the order of increasing difficulty.
• It may be desirable to group together items of same pattern. Providing Directions
The direction of an achievement test should be simple and concise general instructions may be given at the beginning of the test. It also include purpose of the test, time allowed to complete the test, how to record the answers and mark allotted for each question and also for each section of the test.
Preparation of Scoring Key and Marking Scheme
Scoring key refers to the prepared list of answers to a given set of objective questions. The examiner compares the answers given by the students with those in the scoring key and thus awards marks to students.
A Marking scheme is essential in the case of short answer type and essay type questions. It indicates
a) The number of steps or learning points expected in the answer.
b) The outline of each point or step expected in the answer.
c) The weightage to e ach point or each step.
d) The level of accuracy expected of each step.
Question wise analysis
Question wise analysis is done by analyzing each question according to objective specification, content, form of question, estimated difficulty level, mark and time required. This helps the teacher to assess the effectiveness of the test item with reference to the blue print. It also gives an insight into the difficulties encountered by students in taking the test