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Test
is a tool which contains the series of questions and answers that are given to
the students/learners to check their abilities/knowledge or achievement level
under some specified conditions.
OR
Test
is a collection of questions, problems or tasks that are designed to see if a
person understands a subject or to measure their ability to do something. Test
refers to a trial, experiment or examination that is designed to determine the
qualities or characteristics of something.
Qualities
of a Good Test
(1) Reliability
When there is consistency in a test results, it is said to be
reliable. It is quality of a test which is related to test scores. The
characteristic of a test about the consistency with which a test yields the
same result in measuring whatever it does measure is called reliability. For
example, the students use a stopwatch to measure time for 15 vibrations of a
pendulum. They take the reading twice or thrice. If two or three times the
reading is consistent then they proceed with it further. It means that the
stopwatch provides reliable readings.
Methods of determining Reliability
·
Test-Retest
Test-retest is
a process through which a student will improve their scores/grades. The test is
administered twice on the same group to assess the test consistency of test
scores over a period of time. The two tests are similar but not the same. Then
the correlation between two sets of scores obtained by test and retest is
found. Test-retest reliability is best used for things that are stable over
time. For example, intelligence. Generally, reliability will be higher when
little time has passed between two tests.
·
Split-half
Method
In this method
the test is divided into two equivalent halves and a correlation for these half
test scores is found. The test is divided into even-numbered items such as 2,
4, 6…….. in one half and odd numbers such as 1, 3, 5 …….. in another half. Then
the scores of both the halves are correlated.
·
Equivalent/parallel
form Method
In equivalent
form method of determining reliability, the reliability is estimated by
comparing two different tests that were created using the same content,
difficulty, format, and length at the same test. The two tests re administered
to the same group within a short interval of time. Then the test scores of two
tests are correlated. This correlation provides an index of equivalence. For
example, in intermediate or secondary board examinations, two question paper
for a particular subject are constructed and named as paper A or paper B, and
sometimes paper C is prepared which show equivalent form tests.
(2) Validity
This quality of test is related to specific outcomes/objectives of
learning. When the test is achieving objectives, it is valid and when you ask irrelevant
questions, the validity of test will be low. Validity is interrelated to reliability.
Validity is the degree to which it measures what it is intended to measure. It is
always concerned with the specific use of the results and the appropriateness
of interpretation of test scores. For example in a test, students were asked to
write the advantages of heat to measure students’ knowledge about the
importance of energy. The students got good marks but the test did not measure
the students’ knowledge about the importance of different types of energy. This
means the test results or interpretation of scores had low validity.
(3) Usability
A test must have quality to use it. You should prepare such test
which can be understand to each and every student. Maintain the difficulty
level, sequence, no: of questions etc. usability is another important
characteristic of a good test. It deals with all practical considerations that
go into decisions to use a particular test. While constructing or selecting a
test, practical considerations must be taken into account.
(4) Objectivity
The quality of a test in which a test is free of biasness/personal
opinion. The degree to which a tests’ results are obtained the same by scoring
different scores without influences of their biases or beliefs on scoring is
known as objectivity. Most standardized tests of aptitude and achievement tests
are high in objectivity. In essay type tests requiring judgmental scoring,
different persons get different results or even the same person can get
different results at different times. For example, a student writes an answer
involving all required information to a particular question using different
headings and sub headings. Two persons check that response. One person likes
the answer in headings and subheadings and other person likes the answers in
essay form without headings.
(5) Interpretability
The test should must be interpreted which can be easily understandable
by learners, parents or any lay man. Interpretability is the degree to which
the scores of a test are assigned a meaning based on a criterion or norm for a
particular purpose is known as interpretability. The raw score is simply the
number of points perceived on a test when the test has been scored according to
the directions. To make a raw score means it is converted into a description of
the specific task that the student can perform is the process of
interpretability.