Assessing the Knowledge of Teachers in Objective Test Construction Procedure in the Teacher Education Programs

Abstract

Assessment of prospective teachers is seen as the most practical technique to improve and assess teacher candidates' abilities to make judgments to help their students learn when presented with diverse scenarios in the classroom. This study assesses teachers' knowledge in objective test construction procedures in the Teacher Education programs using descriptive – correlational research method with an adapted and modified questionnaire to determine the respondents' profile and their knowledge in objective test construction procedure. Results show that the ages of most of the respondents were from 20 to 29 years old and mostly female with 1 to 5 years of teaching experience and attended local pieces of training. Furthermore, it was revealed that they tend to place little value on the relevance of test items and has found no significant relationship between the respondents’ gender and professional training attended and their knowledge in objective test construction procedures. However, it was revealed that there exists a significant relationship between their age and expertise in assembling the test, and between and among their number of years in teaching and knowledge in developing test specifications, selecting appropriate item types and preparing relevant items. Thus, teachers have a good understanding of the objective test construction procedure. This inspired the administrators to conduct a seminar training in the procedures of objective test construction, highlighting checking the validity and relevance of the test items. The findings of this study can be used as a basis for further research in areas related to objective test construction procedures.