Techniques for Testing

By B. A. Mey Reynolds Panton

Since assessment is a very important part of the learning process, teachers must use a specification chart to construct their tests. A specification chart is a guide that contains the specific objectives developed in the classroom. Also, it indicates the amount of points that teachers should assign to each item, based on the given lessons.

The test items should be related to the course objectives. These items are classified in objective and subjective questions. Objective items are short answer-closed response items. On the other hand, subjective items are based on production.

As a whole, there are some tips that educators need to take into account to build tests: First of all, the type of assessment should match the purpose and objectives. Second, vary the levels of difficulty, going from easy to difficult. Third, avoid grammatical inconsistency between the stem and the response options, materials that have a negative emotional impact on students and the use of distractors such as none of the above, or a, b, and sometimes c, but never d options. Finally, but very important give students clear instructions.