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STUDY GUIDE FOR MODULE NO. 3

DESIGNING AND DEVELOPING ASSESSMENTS

MODULE OVERVIEW

If the goal of our collective craft is understanding, then the tools we use should  promote understanding, both
directly and indirectly. Assessment is one of those tools–one widely misunderstood by teachers, and causing
anxiety in the students we’re trying to serve. So then, can we do better with our assessments?

Assessment literacy involves understanding how assessments are made, what type of assessments answer
what questions, and how the data from assessments can be used to help teachers, students, parents, and other
stakeholders make decisions about teaching and learning.

In this module, you will continue the process of researching and designing the assessment tool, and will help
you select the appropriate assessment method for designing an assessment instrument that will gather quality
evidence that meets the rules of evidence and the principles of assessment. Developing your design skills is an
important aspect of this topic.

MODULE LEARNING OBJECTIVES

At the end of this Module, you should be able to:

1. develop assessment tools that are learner-appropriate and target-matched; and

2. improve assessment based on assessment data.

CHARACTERISTICS OF QUALITY ASSESSMENT TOOLS

INTRODUCTION:

Teachers need reliable assessment data to guide their instruction and make sure that every child meets
rigorous learning standards. But the data they get from a formative or interim assessment is only as good as the
quality of the instrument itself.

Without accurate information from an assessment, educators can misdiagnose a child’s learning needs
and spend time focusing on the wrong concepts as a result.

1. Flexibility
 In educator choice, based on their goals and needs
 To use either fixed-format or computer-adaptive assessment
 In educator construction and customization, with comprehensive item banks
 For students, to engage in an assessment experience that accurately reflects their
understanding by utilizing adaptive technology
 In purpose, with the capability to either evaluate a student’s individual growth or compare
against national standards

2. Validity
 In that it produces data that accurately reflects what an educator is looking to test
 At the form or item level – each question should measure the skill or standard to which it

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correlates
 In its content and its design
 Which can be proven and backed by research and experts, and is the result of rigorous
evaluation

3. Reliability
 In other words: if a student takes this test again and again, does the assessment system
produce consistent results?
 That can be proven by methodical and thorough research and testing

4. Variety
 In item types, that allow many opportunities for students to display their knowledge
 In item difficulty and subject range
 In the type of thinking that an item demand
 That accurately corresponds to the skill or knowledge that teachers are trying to evaluate

5. Insight
 In other words, student data that is actionable
 That empowers educators to become more effective
 That open new doors to understanding students, in their learning styles, pace, unique skills,
and needs
 That can be used to inform instruction, pedagogy, and further assessment
 That is accessible to all stakeholders, including parents and students

LEARNING ACTIVITY 1: CONCEPT MAPPING

Create concept maps and flow charts on the characteristics of quality assessment tools.

TEACHER-MADE TESTS

INTRODUCTION:

Carefully constructed teacher-made tests and standardized tests are similar in many ways. Both are
constructed on the basis of carefully planned table of specifications, both have the same type of test items, and
both provide clear directions to the students.

Teacher-made test is one of the most valuable instruments in the hands of the teacher to solve his
purpose. It is designed to solve the problem or requirements of the class for which it is prepared.

It is prepared to measure the outcomes and content of local curriculum. It is very much flexible so that,
it can be adopted to any procedure and material. It does not require any sophisticated technique for
preparation.

Features of Teacher-Made Tests

1. The items of the tests are arranged in order of difficulty.

2. These are prepared by the teachers which can be used for prognosis and diagnosis purposes.
3. The test covers the whole content area and includes a large number of items.

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4. The preparation of the items conforms to the blueprint.

5. Test construction is not a single man’s business, rather it is a co-operative endeavour.
6. A teacher-made test does not cover all the steps of a standardized test.
7. Teacher-made tests may also be employed as a tool for formative evaluation.
8. Preparation and administration of these tests are economical.
9. The test is developed by the teacher to ascertain the student’s achievement and proficiency in a
given subject.
10. Teacher-made tests are least used for research purposes.
11. They do not have norms whereas providing norms is quite essential for standardized tests.

A teacher-made test does not require a well-planned preparation. Even then, to make it more efficient
and effective tool of evaluation, careful considerations arc needed to be given while constructing such tests.

The following steps may be followed for the preparation of teacher-made test:

1. Planning
a. Determining the purpose and objectives of the test, ‘as what to measure and why to measure’.
b. Deciding the length of the test and portion of the syllabus to be covered.
c. Specifying the objectives in behavioural terms. If needed, a table can even be prepared for
specifications and weightage given to the objectives to be measured.
d. Deciding the number and forms of items (questions) according to blueprint.
e. Having a clear knowledge and understanding of the principles of constructing essay type, short
answer type and objective type questions.
f. Deciding date of testing much in advance in order to give time to teachers for test preparation
and administration.
g. Seeking the co-operation and suggestion of co-teachers, experienced teachers of other
schools and test experts.

2. Preparation of the test

Planning is the philosophical aspect and preparation is the practical aspect of test construction. All
the practical aspects to be taken into consideration while one constructs the tests. It is an art, a
technique. One is to have it or to acquire it. It requires much thinking, rethinking and reading before
constructing test items.

Different types of objective test items viz., multiple choice, short-answer type and matching type
can be constructed. After construction, test items should be given to others for review and for
seeking their opinions on it.

Types of Teacher-Made Test

1. Alternate-Choice Items
 Use simple declarative sentences
 Must be stated clearly to avoid ambiguity
 Have low reliability and validity

Guidelines:
 Avoid negative statement and double negatives.
 Ask something important and worth remembering.
 Don’t make false items longer than true items.
 Watch for the item-response patterns.

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 Be clear and concise.

 Limit each statement to only one central idea.
 Avoid using words – all, none, sometimes, and usually – can divulge the correct
response.
 Don’t use exact quotes from textbooks – can have different meaning when taken out of
context.
 Do not give a hint (inadvertently) in the body of the question.

2. Multiple-Choice Items
 Can cover many objectives
 Measures different cognitive behaviors – factual to the analysis to complex data
 Extremely versatile and easy to score
 Must be written in a straightforward, clear and concise way
 Can be modified after being administered
 Relatively insensitive to guessing – but more sensitive to guessing than supply items

Guidelines:
 Utilize language that even most unskilled readers will understand – write concise
stems and precise choices.
 Avoid using modifiers that are vague and whose meanings can differ from one person
to the next such as: much, often, usually etc.
 Avoid complex or awkward word arrangements and avoid the use of negatives in the
stem as this may add unnecessary comprehension difficulties.
 Avoid using negatives or double negatives as such statements tend to be confusing.
 Each item in the stem should be as short as possible.
 Distracters should be equally plausible and attractive.
 Alternatives should be grammatically correct.
 The length, explicitness, or degree of technicality of alternatives should not be the
determinations of the correctness of the answer.
 Avoid stems that reveal the answer to another item.
 Avoid alternatives that are synonymous with other or those that include or overlap
others.
 Avoid presenting sequenced items in the same order as in the text.
 Avoid using assumed qualifiers that many examinees may not be aware of.
 Avoid use of unnecessary words or phrases which are not relevant to the problem at
hand.
 Avoid using of non-relevant sources of difficulty such as requiring a complex
calculation when only knowledge of a principle is being tested.
 Pack the question in the stem.
 Use all of the above and none sparingly but best not to use them at all.
 Having compound response choices may purposefully increase difficulty of an item.
 Avoid pulling statements directly from the textbook.

3. Matching Type
 Designed to measure student’s ability to recall a large amount of factual information –
verbal, associative knowledge

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 Two lines of items are presented and students to select and item from one list that closely
relates to an item for the second list
 Intended for lower-level learning

Guidelines:
 Match homogeneous not heterogeneous items.
 The stem (longer in construction than the options) must be in the first column while the
options (usually shorter) must be in the second column.
 The options must be more in number than the stems to prevent the students from
arriving at the answer by mere process of elimination.
 To help the examinee find the answer easier, arrange the options alphabetically or
chronologically, whichever is applicable.
 Like any other test, the direction of the test must be given.
 Matching columns should be contained on one page.
 Make the length of statements consistent.
 Use complete names if names are to be matched.

4. Completion Type
 Require that students write responses in their own handwriting supplying a recalled
word/phrase
 Difficult to write
 Excellent for subjects that require the recall of unambiguous facts/perform certain
calculations

Guidelines:
 Avoid over mutilated sentences.
 Avoid open-ended item.
 The blank should be at the end of near the end of the sentence.
 Ask questions on more significant items not on trivial matter.
 Ensure that all blanks are of equal length.
 Give clear directions.
 Be definite enough so that only one correct answer is possible.
 Do not utilize direct statements from textbooks – it might encourage memorization.
 Items should be completed with a single word or brief phrase.

5. Essay Test
 Permits students to formulate answers to questions in their own words
 Measure what students know because they utilize their own storehouse of knowledge to
answer a question
 Determines student’s ability to: analyze, synthesize, evaluate, and solve problems

Two basic forms are:

a. Restricted/Brief Essay – requires a short answer solution of a problem
b. Non-Restricted/Extended Essay – requires several paragraphs of writing

Guidelines:
 Make directions clear and specific.
 Explain scoring technique to students before the exam – it makes explicit way you are
looking for.

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 Allow ample time for the completion of essays – suggest a time allotment for each
question.
 The worth of each question should be identified in the test instructions.
 Before exam – write a sample answer and assign points to the various components of
the answer.
 Skim the exam and identify a model paper – the anchor paper for grading.
 Grade each question for all students before proceeding to the next question.
 Grade papers blindly.
 Establish page limit and time limit for each essay item.
 If possible, read student responses several times.
 Emphasize higher level thinking skills.

Uses of Teacher-Made Tests

1. To help a teacher to know whether the class in normal, average, above average or below average.
2. To help him in formulating new strategies for teaching and learning.
3. A teacher-made test may be used as a full-fledged achievement test which covers the entire course
of a subject.
4. To measure students’ academic achievement in a given course.
5. To assess how far specified instructional objectives have been achieved.
6. To know the efficacy of learning experiences.
7. To diagnose students learning difficulties and to suggest necessary remedial measures.
8. To certify, classify or grade the students on the basis of resulting scores.
9. Skillfully prepared teacher-made tests can serve the purpose of standardised test.
10. Teacher-made tests can help a teacher to render guidance and counseling.
11. Good teacher-made tests can be exchanged among neighbouring schools.
12. These tests can be used as a tool for formative, diagnostic and summative evaluation.
13. To assess pupils’ growth in different areas.

LEARNING ACTIVITY 2: TEST CONSTRUCTION

Collaborative Learning Activity: You will develop table of specification and construct test items using
objectives you formulated in the previous unit and pilot test it within your class.

LEARNING TARGET AND ASSESSMENT METHOD MATCH

INTRODUCTION:

“One way you will know that your targets are clear and usable is if you can determine what kind of
learning is being called for. The accuracy of the assessments you develop will depend in part on your ability to
classify learning targets in any written curriculum in a way that helps ensure a dependable assessment”
–Chappuis et al. 2012

Types of Instructional Learning Targets

Classroom Assessment of Student Learning (Chappius et. al. 2012)

Target Types and Key Words Explanation

Knowledge “Knowledge targets represent the factual information,

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procedural knowledge, and conceptual understandings that

Know, list, identify, understand, explain underpin each discipline or content area…These targets form
the foundation for each of the other types of learning targets.”
Reasoning “Reasoning targets specify thought processes students must
learn to do well across a range of subjects.”
Predict, infer, summarize, compare,
analyze, classify Reasoning involves thinking and applying–using knowledge to
solve a problem, make a decision, etc. These targets move
students beyond mastering content knowledge to the
application of knowledge.
Skill “Skill targets are those where a demonstration or a physical
skill-based performance is at the heart of the learning. Most
Demonstrate, pronounce, perform skill targets are found in subjects such as physical education,
visual and performing arts, and foreign languages. Other
content areas may have a few skill targets.”
Product “Product targets describe learning in terms of artifacts where
creation of a product is the focus of the learning target. With
Create, design, write, draw, make product targets, the specifications for quality of the product
itself are the focus of teaching and assessment.”

Assessment Methods

1. Selected Response
Selected response assessments are those in which students select the correct or best response from a
list provided.

2. Written Response
Written response assessments require students to construct an answer in response to a question or
task rather than to select the answer from a list. They include short-answer items and extended written
response items. Short-answer items call for a very brief response having one or a limited range of
possible right answers. Extended written response items require a response that is at least several
sentences in length. They generally have a greater number of possible correct answers.

3. Performance Assessment
Performance assessment is assessment based on observation and judgment. It has two parts: the task
and the criteria for judging quality. Students complete a task—give a demonstration or create a product
—and we evaluate it by judging the level of quality using a rubric.

4. Personal Communication
Gathering information about students through personal communication is just what it sounds like—we
find out what students have learned through interacting with them.

Student responses are evaluated in one of two ways. Sometimes the questions we ask require students
to provide a simple, short answer, and all we’re looking for is whether the answer is correct or incorrect. This is
parallel to scoring for written selected response questions. Other times, our questions generate longer and
more complex responses, parallel to extended written response questions. Just as with extended written
response methodology, to evaluate the quality of oral responses we can use a rubric.

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Matching Assessment Methods to Learning Targets

The accuracy of any classroom assessment turns on selecting the appropriate assessment method that
matches the achievement target to be assessed. To begin thinking about the match between kind of learning
target and assessment method, “Target–method Match.” The acceptable matches between methods and kind
of learning target result in accurate information gathered as efficiently as possible. The mismatches occur when
the assessment method is not capable of yielding accurate information about the learning target.

The following table summarizes which assessment methods are generally best matched to the basic
types of instructional learning targets. Note that for most types of learning targets, there are multiple
assessment methods that can yield accurate, reliable information on student learning.

Target-Method Match

Selected Written Response Performance Personal

Response Assessment Communication

Knowledge Good Strong Partial Strong

Can assess Can assess Can assess elements Can assess
isolated elements elements of of knowledge and elements of
of knowledge and knowledge and relationships among knowledge and
some relationships them in certain relationships among
relationships among them contexts them
among them

Reasoning Good Strong Partial* Strong

Can assess many Can assess all Can assess reasoning Can assess all
but not all reasoning targets targets in the context of reasoning targets
reasoning targets certain tasks in certain
contexts

Skill Poor Poor Strong Partial

Cannot assess Cannot assess skill Can observe and Strong match for
skill level; can level; can only assess skills as they some oral
only assess assess prerequisite are being performed communication
prerequisite knowledge and proficiencies; not a
knowledge and reasoning good match
reasoning otherwise

Product Poor Poor* Strong Poor

Cannot assess Cannot assess the Can directly assess the Cannot assess the
the quality of a quality of a product; attributes of quality of quality of a product;
product; can only can only assess products can only assess
assess prerequisite prerequisite

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prerequisite knowledge and knowledge and

knowledge and reasoning reasoning
reasoning
* = modification

Assessment Tools Development

In developing assessment instruments, the candidates to be assessed should always be kept in mind at
each step of the process. Different scenarios to be assessed call for different tools and modes of evaluation.
Ensure that the instruments and procedures for assessing are relevant to the audience, the skills and the task
for which they are being evaluated.

1. Meet and Comply with the Assessment Principles of Assessment

When developing assessment tools, you need to ensure that the principles of assessment are met.

2. Choose Assessment Methods

You need to be aware of a range of different assessment methods, their purposes and uses, as they
form the framework on which you will base the assessment instrument.

3. Consider How the Assessment Instruments will be Administered

A crucial aspect of designing assessment tools is to work out how the assessment instruments will be
administered to collect the most appropriate evidence.

4. Understand the Assessment Context

The way the instrument will be delivered may affect the way it is designed. Once you have considered
these aspects, you can then determine the best way to administer the instrument.

5. Administer Assessment Instruments

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

Answer the following questions:

1. How will you enable learners to do well in the test?
2. What will your most used assessment or teacher-made test? Justify your answer.

SUMMARY

Here are some pointers to remember:

 Creating high-quality assessment forms (tests) and items (questions) takes time and expertise. Not all
assessment content will produce valid results.
 Quality assessment tools are composed of five characteristics: flexibility, reliability, validity, variety and
insight.
 After identifying characteristics of quality assessments, teacher need to select assessment approaches
and method. Teachers will choose from two-formats – selected-response format and constructed-
response format.
 Selected-response formats include multiple choice, alternate-choice and matching type which are

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widely known and used in educational testing, especially at the secondary and post-secondary levels
(Stiggins and Conklin, 1992).
 Constructed-response format refers to those assessment activities that call upon students to construct
a response, create a product, or perform a demonstration to show what they know and can do.
 Teacher-made tests are normally prepared and administered for testing classroom achievement of
students, evaluating the method of teaching adopted by the teacher and other curricular programmes of
the school.
 Throughout school years, both as students and as teachers have encountered thousands of different
assessments. Although the variations are endless, all of the assessments we have experienced and
give today fall into one of four basic categories of methods: Selected response, Written response,
Performance assessment and Personal communication
 The accuracy of any classroom assessment turns on selecting the appropriate assessment method that
matches the achievement target to be assessed.
 The acceptable matches between methods and kind of learning target result in accurate information
gathered as efficiently as possible. The mismatches occur when the assessment method is not capable
of yielding accurate information about the learning target.

REFERENCES

 Navarro, R.L. & Santos, R.G. (2012) Authentic Assessment of Student Learning Outcomes
(Assessment 1), 2e. Lorimar Publishing, Inc., Quezon City, Philippines.
 Jones, C. A. (2005). Assessment for Learning, London: Learning and Skills Development Agency.
Retrieved from https://dera.ioe.ac.uk/7800/1/AssessmentforLearning.pdf
 Chappuis, J., R. Stiggins, S. Chappuis, & J. Arter. 2012. Classroom Assessment for Student Learning:
Doing It Right—Using It Well, 2nd ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, p. 11.
 McTighe, J. & Ferrera S. (1998) Assessing Learning in the Classroom. Retrieved from
 Krathwohl, D.R., Bloom,B.S. and  Masia, B. B. (1964).Taxonomy of educational objectives, Book II.
Affective domain. New York, NY. David McKay Company, Inc.
 Kurt, S. "Using Bloom’s Taxonomy to Write Effective Learning Objectives: The ABCD Approach,"
in Educational Technology, April 24, 2019. Retrieved from https://educationaltechnology.net/using-
blooms-taxonomy-to-write-effective-learning-objectives-the-abcd-approach/
 Chappius, et. al. (2012). Classroom Assessment of Student Learning
https://www.mydigitalchalkboard.org/portal/default/Content/Viewer/Content?
action=2&scId=505706&sciId=15337
 Pearson Assessment Training Institute (2011), Portland, OR www.assessmentinst.com
 https://medium.com/inspired-ideas-prek-12/5-features-of-high-quality-assessment-content-
1322b8c3577a
 https://www.nwea.org/blog/2013/five-characteristics-quality-educational-assessments-part-one/
 https://www.theclassroom.com/develop-assessment-tools-7771843.html

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