by Mieder van Loggerenberg
What is a table of specification?
The table of specifications (TOS) is a tool that are used by teachers to ensure that a test or any type of assessment, measures the content and cognitive skills that the test aims to measure. So, in layman’s terms a TOS basically ensures that the test given to students measures what it intends to measure. It will make your test creation process more methodological and organized. Creating a solid term of specification will increase the probability of you creating a test that is valid and reliable.
How do you write a table of specification?
Step 1 - Determine the coverage of your exam.
The first rule in making exams and therefore in making a document called table of specification is to always ensure that the coverage of your exam is something that you have satisfactorily covered in class. Then, selecting the topics that you wish to test the students on. It is not always possible to cover all the topics covered in class so the teacher must select the most important one, and which can also be realistic completed in the exam.
Step 2 - Determine your testing objectives for each topic area.
In order to have clear objectives you need to be familiar with Bloom’s Taxonomy, specifically the cognitive domain. This taxonomy has identified the hierarchy of learning objectives, from the lower thinking skills of remembering (knowledge) to the higher thinking skills of creating (synthesis). The cognitive domain consists of six levels namely:
1. Remembering
2. Understanding
3. Applying
4. Analyzing
5. Evaluating
6. Creating
So, for each content area that you want to test the students, you first need to determine how you will test each area. Is your objective to simply recall knowledge, will you be testing their comprehension, or will you aim for more challenging objectives like critical thinking such as asking students to analyze or compare something. Your objectives for every topic should use very specific verbs on how you intend to assess the students using the bloom’s taxonomy.
For example, if you chose ‘understanding’ (2nd level), which is based on comprehension, the verbs that you will use to describe the learning objectives would be:
Identify and paraphrase the key points of the passage.
It is important that your terms of specification reflect your instructional procedures during the semester. If your main focus was only on ‘remembering’ and ‘understanding’, then you cannot test them on a higher level of the Bloom’s Taxonomy. Therefore, it is essential to align your test with your learning objectives.
Step 3 - Determine the duration for each content area.
The next step is to track how long you spent teaching a particular topic. This is crucial since the more time you spent the more points and questions should be allocated to that topic.
Step 4 - Determine the Test Types for each objective.
Once you have designed your TOS by aligning your objectives to Bloom’s Taxonomy the next step is to determine the test type that will accomplish your testing objectives. The important point is that the test type should reflect your testing objective. Here are the most common testing or assessment types:
A. Diagnostic Testing
This diagnoses what a student knows and does not know. Diagnostic testing typically occurs at the beginning of a course or topic. The test covers topics students will be taught in the upcoming lessons. Students are not expected to have mastered all the information in a diagnostic test. Teachers use this information to guide what and how they will teach and helps the teacher to anticipate which skills or areas students may have trouble with. In addition, it can also help benchmark student progress and teachers should consider giving the same assessment at the end of the unit so students can see how far they have come! Here are some useful examples to try:
· Mind maps
· Flow charts
· KWL charts
· Short quizzes
· Journal entries
· Student interviews
· Student reflections
· Graphic organizers
· Classroom discussions
B. Formative Testing
This is used for measuring students learning during a lesson and also give students the opportunity to demonstrate their comprehension on the material taught. It is informal, with little effect on their grades and students tend to perform better as the lesson or course progresses. Usually, no reports of the formative tests are given to parents and helps teachers understand student learning while they teach and adjust their teaching strategies accordingly. When incorporating formative assessments in your lesson, it is best to keep it short, easy to grade and consistent. Some examples of formative testing include:
· Portfolios
· Group projects
· Progress reports
· Class discussions
· Entry and exit tickets (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SoZh8Y7AFb8)
· Short, regular quizzes
· Virtual classroom tools like Socrative or Kahoot!
C. Benchmark Testing
This is used to check if students have mastered the unit or topic. This is given during or after a lesson that focused on a specific topic and can cover a part or all the content that has been taught up to that time. The assessments are designed to measure how much the students understand. The school will often give feedback based on the benchmark test, to parents. This will in turn give both parents and teachers better insight in what skills and concepts the students have mastered and where they need to improve. With benchmark testing teachers tend to use objective testing for lower grade levels and for higher grade levels it can be a combination of both objective and subjective testing.
Objective Tests
Objective Tests characteristics:
· Specific and clear with a single, definite answer is expected.
· To ensure perfect objectivity in scoring.
· Can be scored objectively and easily.
· Takes less time to answer.
Type of Objective Questions
· Multiple- Choice Items
· True- False Items
· Matching Items
· Assertion-Reason Items
Subjective Tests
Subjective Tests Characteristics
· Items are generally easier and less time consuming to construct.
· Different readers can rate identical responses differently, the same reader can rate the same paper differently over time.
Type of Subjective Questions
· Essay questions
· Short answers
· Definitions
· Scenario Questions
· Opinion Questions
D. Summative Testing
This used to measure student progress at the end of a course to assess how much content students learned overall and provide data for the teacher, school leaders and district leaders. It is similar to benchmark testing, but instead of only covering only one unit, it cumulatively covers everything students have covered throughout the course or academic year. These tests are given to all students at the same grade level in all schools across the county or country, to ensure everyone has an equal opportunity to demonstrate what they know and what they can do. Students are expected to demonstrate their ability to perform at a level prescribed as the proficiency standard for the test. At most schools this can be the midterm or final exam. However, specifically in Thailand this can also be the National test where students are tested in grade 6, grade 9 and grade 12. The table of specifications (TOS) is usually designed for summative testing. Summative tests can be:
· Objective tests.
· Cumulative work over a semester like project-based-learning where students must do a project or a portfolio.
· End-of-term or midterm exams.
· End-of-unit or chapter tests.
· Standardized tests like SATs, GCSEs, and A-Levels.
Step 5 - Polish your terms of specification.
After your initial draft of the table of specifications it is important to analyze the content and proofread it. Make sure that the topics you want to test are covered in the terms of specification. In addition, the number of items of the test should be sufficient or not too much for the allotted time of the test. It is important to involve the academic coordinator as they can give valuable feedback on any modifications needed for your table of specifications or even how to improve it. Once you have gotten the go ahead, then you are ready to create your exam.
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