Table of Specification

Sample Table of Specifications for Multiple Choice Exams
Sample Table of Specifications for Multiple Choice Exams in Medical School

To prepare a multiple choice exam or test you have to know the percentages of the
topics depending on their importance to the subject and the hours spent in their
discussion.
Lets say you are preparing an exam for the prelim period, for your subject in Human
Physiology in medical school; here are steps you can adapt.
1.
Assign the percentage per topic based on the course requirement:

Intro to human physiology 10%
The human body- 15%
The muscular system -25%
The skeletal system -25%
The cardiovascular system -25%
TOTAL = 100%
N.B. You can adjust the percentages according to your syllabus or academic
requirements.
2.
3.
Decide on how many items the test should be. Lets say you have decided that the
items for your Prelim exam are 150. The time allotted should at least be 2 hours for this
exam, if 1 minute per question and 3 minutes per problem is assigned.
Present your data in a table of specifications for clarity.
TOPIC
Intro
to
Physiology
The
Human
Body
The Muscular
System
The
Skeletal
System
The
Cardiovascular
system
TOTAL
4.
NO.
ITEMS
OF PERCENTAGE
10
15
25
25
25
100%
Solve for the number of items of each topic by multiplying the percentagedecimal equivalent with the total number of items.
Intro to Physiology = 0.10 (10%) X 150 = 15 items

The Human Body = 0.15 (15%) X 150 = 22.50 items
The Muscular System = 0.25 (25%) X 150 = 37.50 items
The Skeletal System = 0.25 (25%) X 150 =37.50 items
The Cardiovascular System = 0.25 (25%) X 150 = 37.50 items
For a total of 150 items. Since there are no 0.5 questions, you may decide to which
topic you would assign the 1 item excess.
Lets say you have the final items assigned:
Intro to Physiology = 0.10 X 150 = 15 items
The Human Body = 0.15 X 150 = 23 items
The Muscular System = 0.25 X 150 = 37 items
The Skeletal System = 0.25 X 150 =37 items
The Cardiovascular System = 0.25 X 150 = 38 items
You come up with this table
TOPIC
NO.
ITEMS
to 15
Intro
Physiology
The
Human
Body
The Muscular
System
The
Skeletal
System
The
Cardiovascular
system
TOTAL
5.
OF PERCENTAGE
10
23
15
37
25
37
25
38
25
150
100%
This is the simplest form of preparing for a table of specifications. You may want to
be more specific and prepare a more detailed table assigning easy, average and difficult
questions. The average questions should at least be 80% of your exams, while the easy
at least 20% and the difficult, at least 15 %. This is recommended but the final decision
still relies on the subject per se, and the learning ability of your students.
TOPIC
Intro
Physiology
Easy
qsns.
to 3
Average
qsns.
10
Difficult
qsns.
2
NO.
OF PERCENTAGE
ITEMS
15
10
The
Human
Body
The Muscular
System
The Skeletal
System
The
Cardiovascula
r system
TOTAL
6.
16
23
15
28
37
25
28
37
25
28
38
25
22
111
17
150
100%
You should be able to determine which questions are easy, average and difficult
based on an item analysis that you have done in previous exams. This is an analysis of
what questions were answered easily and correctly and which ones were difficult for the
students. There are available software for item analysis that maybe available from your
school or you could prepare one yourself through the semesters that you teach the
subject.
Another Sample Table of Specifications
Clinical Chemistry 1 subject Prelim Exams
Topic
Identification
2
Multiple
Choice
10
Problem
Solving
0
Number
Items
12
Intro
to
Clinical
Chemistry
Laboratory
Mathematics
Carbohydrates
Lipids
Total No. of
Items
of Percentage
14
20
36
30
3
3
10
33
33
90
0
0
20
36
36
120
30
30
100%
10
DECIDE THE NUMBER OF ITEMS FOR YOUR EXAM, BASED ON THE

HOURS AVAILABLE.
1.
You assign the percentage according to the importance of the topic to your subject,
or you can also refer to the required weight of the topic by your school or accrediting
institution.
2.
Decide on the total number of items for the exam depending on the number of hours
assigned.
3.
At least 1 minute is given for easy questions and 3-5 minutes for difficult questions.
In case analyses, you may want to increase the time.
4.
Based on your total items, you now get the number of items for each topic simply
by multiplying the total score with the percentage. Below is the computation for
this Table of Specifications.
How to solve the number of items for your Table of Specifications.
Introduction to clinical chemistry = 120 X 0.10 (10%) = 12 items
Laboratory Mathematics = 120 X 0.30 = 36 items
Carbohydrates = 120 X 0.30 = 36 items
Lipids = 120 X 0.30 =36 items
Total number of items = 120
Assign now the specific type of test for the items. As the instructor, you would know
what type of test could effectively test the knowledge of your students with the different
topics. Your Table of Specifications should reflect which topics are vital to your course.
1.
In this example, the Introduction to Clinical Chemistry would not use problem solving
but only multiple choice and identification. You can compose 10 items for multiple
choice and 2 items for identification.
What is a Weighted Mean?
A weighted mean is a kind of average. Instead of each data point contributing equally
to the final mean, some data points contribute more weight than others. If all the
weights are equal, then the weighted mean equals the arithmetic mean (the regular
average youre used to). Weighted means are very common in statistics, especially
when studying populations.
The Arithmetic Mean.
When you find a mean for a set of numbers, all the numbers carry an equal weight. For
example, if you want to find the arithmetic mean of 1, 3, 5, 7, and 10:
Add up your data points: 1 + 3 + 5 + 7 + 10 = 26.
Divide by the number of items in the set: 26 / 5 = 5.2.
What do we mean by equal weight? You can think of each number in the sum above to
contribute 1/5 to the total mean (as there are 5 numbers in the set).
The Weighted Mean.
In some cases, you might want a number to have more weight. In that case, youll want to
find the weighted mean. To find the weighted mean:
Multiply the numbers in your data set by the weights.
Add the numbers up.
For that set of number above with equal weights (1/5 for each number), the math to find the
weighted mean would be:
1(*1/5) + 3(*1/5) + 5(*1/5) + 7(*1/5) + 10(*1/5) = 5.2.
Sample problem: You take three 100-point exams in your statistics class and score 80, 80
and 85. The last exam is much easier than the first two, so your professor has given it
less weight. The weights for the three exams are:
Exam 1: 40 % of your grade. (Note: 40% as a decimal is .4.)
Exam 2: 40 % of your grade.
Exam 3: 20 % of your grade.
What is your final weighted average for the class?
Multiply the numbers in your data set by the weights:
.4(80) = 32
.4(80) = 32
.2(85) = 19
Add the numbers up. 32 + 32 + 19 = 83.
Weighted Mean Formula
The weighted mean is relatively easy to find. But in some cases the weights might not add
up to 1. In those cases, youll need to use the weighted mean formula. The only
difference between the formula and the steps above is that you divide by the sum of all
the weights.
The image above is the technical formula for the weighted mean. In simple terms, the
formula can be written as:
Weighted mean = wx/w
= the sum of (in other wordsadd them up!).
w = the weights.
x = the value.
To use the formula:
Multiply the numbers in your data set by the weights.
Add the numbers in Step 1 up. Set this number aside for a moment.
Add up all of the weights.
Divide the numbers you found in Step 2 by the number you found in Step 3.
In the sample grades problem above, all of the weights add up to 1 (.4 + .4 + .2) so you
would divide your answer (83) by 1:
83 / 1 = 83.
However, lets say your weighted means added up to 1.2 instead of 1. Youd divide 83
by 1.2 to get:
83 / .8 = 69.17.
Warning: The weighted mean can be easily influenced by outliers in your data. If you
have very high or very low values in your data set, the weighted mean may not be a
good statistic to rely on.
Weighted Mean: Formula: How to Find Weighted Mean was last modified: July 27th,
2015 by Andale

Table of Specification

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Table of Specification

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Table of Specification

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Sample Table of Specifications for Multiple Choice Exams

Sample Table of Specifications for Multiple Choice Exams in Medical School

Assign the percentage per topic based on the course requirement:

Intro to Physiology = 0.10 (10%) X 150 = 15 items

DECIDE THE NUMBER OF ITEMS FOR YOUR EXAM, BASED ON THE

You might also like