TEST CONSTRUCTION

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

At the end of the Module, students should be able to:

Describe test construction, test items and how they are
classified;
identify the different phases of the evaluation process.
Explain how each phase should be carried out.
Discuss the stages of test construction.
Acknowledge the importance of knowing the steps in
constructing a test for efficient testing.
A. THE MECHANICS OF TEST CONSTRUCTION

Writing items requires decision about the

nature of the item or question to which we ask
students to respond, that is, whether discreet
or integrative, how we will score the item; the
skill we purport to test, and others.
What follows are descriptions of the varied
considerations for constructing items.
B. WHAT ARE TEST ITEMS?

A test item is a specific task test takers

are asked to perform. Test items can
assess one or more points or objectives,
and the actual item itself may take on a
different constellation depending on the
context.
C. THE SKILL TESTED AND THE INTELLECTUAL
SKILLS NEEDED

The language skills that we test include the more

receptive skills on a continuum – listening and
reading, and the more productive skills – speaking
and writing.
Non-verbal skills may also be assessed such as
gesturing, and this can be both receptive
(interpreting someone else’s gestures) and
productive (making one’s own gesture).
BLOOM’S REVISED COGNITIVE TAXONOMY

Knowledge (bringing to mind the appropriate

material);
Comprehension (understanding the basic
meaning of the material);
Application (applying the knowledge of the
elements of language and comprehension to how
they interrelate in the production of a correct oral
or written message);
BLOOM’S REVISED COGNITIVE TAXONOMY

Analysis (breaking down a message into its

constituent parts in order to make explicit the
relationships between ideas, including tasks like
recognizing the connotative meaning of words
and correctly processing a dictation, and making
interferences);
Evaluation (making qualitative and quantitative
judgments about a material).
BLOOM’S REVISED COGNITIVE TAXONOMY

Synthesis (arranging parts so as to produce a

pattern not clearly there before, such as in
effectively organizing ideas in a written
composition).
D. PHASES OF EVALUATION

1. Preparation phase > teachers decide what is to

be evaluated, the type of evaluation to be used
(diagnostic, formative, or summative), the criteria
upon which student learning outcomes will be
judged, and the most appropriate assessment
techniques for gathering information on the students
progress.
D. PHASES OF EVALUATION

2. Assessment phase > teachers select appropriate

tools and techniques, then collect and collate
information on students progress. Teachers must
determine where, when, and how assessments will
be conducted, and students must be consulted and
informed.
D. PHASES OF EVALUATION

3. Evaluation phase > teachers interpret the

assessment information and make judgments about
students progress. These judgments (or evaluation)
provide information upon which teachers base
decisions about students learning and report
progress to students and parents/guardians.
D. PHASES OF EVALUATION

4. Reflection phase > it allows teachers to consider

the extent to which the previous phase in the
evaluation process has been successful. Teachers
evaluate the utility, equity, and the appropriateness
of the assessment technique used. Such reflections
assists teachers in making decisions concerning
improvements or adaptations to subsequent
instruction and evaluation.
E. STAGES OF TEST CONSTRUCTION

Planning
 Goal. Establishing a test goal is a vital step in the development
process. If the goal is assigning students to a level before a course
begins, rather than evaluating them afterwards, your test design will
reflect this.
 Format. The test developer will have to consider a few format-
related dilemmas, such as paper based test versus digital one.
 Tasks. There are a myriad of possible test tasks, all of which can be
used in different formats for different levels. A non- exhaustive list of
commonly used tasks might include the following:
Multiple choice General term for any task type
where the appropriate answer
is picked from a list

Single response A multiple choice task where e.g. Tick the item with the
only one option is possible. correct spelling.

Multiple response A multiple choice task where e.g. Which of the following are
more than one option is the causes of global warming?
possible.

True/False The students is given a e.g. Does the journalist agree

statement and should indicate with the interviewee?
whether it is correct or not.
 Ranking In this task, students are given a e.g. Retrace the chronological
list of items which they are order in which these events
asked to rank (i.e. by dragging took place.
or assigning a number).

Matching A kind of multiple choice e.g. [Reading task] Connect

question in which the test taker
is asked to combine two or
more items that belong
together.
Hotspot On a drawing or a picture,
students are asked to select a
specific area
which statements to the
paragraph they summarize.
e.g. Indicate on the picture
where the dolphin’s vocal
chords used to be.

Open answer Any type of question in which

the test taker is asked to
produce written or spoken
sentences or texts.
 Text-numeric As an answer to a question, e.g. [Listening test] Fill in the
students fill in words, short omitted dates.
sentences or numbers.

Cloze In a running text, one or more e.g. Fill in the correct

words or numbers have been prepositions.
deleted. It is up to the test taker
to fill in the gaps.

C-cloze A cloze test which includes the e.g. Fill in the correct words.
first letter of each deleted
word

Extended response Students can be asked to reply e.g. Explain your opinion about
to an open question or to Johnson’s behavior.
produce longer.
E. STAGES OF TEST CONSTRUCTION

Design
Collecting testing material. Collecting material with
appropriate degree of situational and/or interactional
authenticity.
Writing a draft version. One or a few members of the test
development will go down to writing a draft version of the
test. This draft will often contain more questions and items
that are taken down to the final test version.
E. STAGES OF TEST CONSTRUCTION

Evaluating the draft version. The team members that were

not involved in writing the draft version have a close look
at the test and decide which questions will be omitted,
which items need further clarification, etc.
Rewriting the draft version. Based on the observations and
suggestions made by the reviewers, the draft version is
rewritten and refined until the whole team is happy with
the test.
E. STAGES OF TEST CONSTRUCTION

Development
Piloting. The test is distributed among a group of
representative and users (i.e. people who represent the
‘real’ test takers as accurately as possible) in the same
settings and circumstances as the live test.
Revising. Based on the results from the piloting and the
test analysis, the final test will be composed.