Analysis Of Test in The Seventh Grade Students

| Saturday, December 28, 2013


     I.               Analysis Based on Rules of Construction ( Multiple-Choice Test)
A.    Expert Theory About The Rules of Construction
1)      J. D. Brown ( 1996 )
Brown states that there are four step that should be considered in designing multiple-choice item test, those are:
a.       Design each item to measure a specific objective.
b.      State both stem and options as simply and directly as possible.
c.       Make certain that the intended answer is clearly the only correct one.
d.      Use item indices to accept, discard, or revise items.
2)      Internet Source
There are eleven steps in designing the multiple-choice item test, those are:
a.       The central problem of the item should be stated in the premise so as to make only one choice justifiable.
b.      All choices in the item should be grammatically consistent.
c.       The choices should be as brief as possible, and the correct response should be neither consistently longer nor shorter than the incorrect responses.
d.      A pattern of answer should be avoided.
e.       Negatively stated items should be avoided.
f.       Authority should be quoted when the item contains controversial opinion.
g.      The ambiguous item should be avoided.
h.      All choices should be plausible.
i.        Specific determiners should be avoided.
j.        Each item should contain an independent problem which gives no clues to the answer of other items.
B.     Analysis of Multiple-Choice Test
Multiple-choice is a form of assessment in which respondent are asked to select the best possible answers out of the choices from a list. Multiple-choice test is considered by the most expert to be the best type of objective test for measuring a variety of educational objectives.
The test that writer choose is the test that made by the English teacher of junior high school (SMP N 1 SUNGAI TARAP), Which is the test for seventh grade in second semester. It is a mid-term test.
The test has fifty questions and each question has four choices for the answer of the question itself. Students should complete the answer in 120 minutes. There are two type of the test; paket A and paketB. And the examination of the test is using computerization system. And also there are several item which is included in the test by the teacher, those are:
Ø  First item: contains about 10 questions.
Ø  Second item: contains about 4 questions.
Ø  Third item: contains about 6 questions.
Ø  Fourth item: contains about 13 questions.
Ø  Fifth item: contains about 12 questions.
Ø  Sixth item: contains about 4 questions.
Ø  Seventh item: contains about 3 questions.

C.    Analysis of Validity, Reliability, And Practicality
Validity is divided into five types; content, criterion, construct, consequential, and face validity.
The first is content validity. According to shuttleworth (2009:1), content validity is the estimate of how much a measure represents every single material. An educational test with strong content validity will represent the subject actually taught to the students, rather than asking unrelated questions.
Second, “criterion validity usually falls into one of two categories; concurrent and predictive validity” (Brown; 2004: 24). Concurrent validity is the degree to which scores on one test correlate to score on another test when both tests are administered in the same time frame. While predictive validity is the degree to which a test can predict how well individuals will do in a future situation.
Third, construct validity is one of evidence that can support validity. Brown (2004: 25) states that a testing should have construct validity if it can be demonstrated that it measures just the ability which it is supposed to measure.
Fourth, consequential validity usually encompasses all of consequences of the test, include; the considerations as its accuracy in measuring intended criteria, it is impact on the preparation of test-takers, its effect to the learners, and intended also unintended social consequences of a test’s interpretation and use.
The last is face validity. “Face validity can be defined as the degree to which a test looks right, and appears to measure the knowledge or abilities it claims to measure, based on the subjective judgment of examinees who take it, the administrative personnel who decide on its use, and other psychometrically unsophisticated observe” ( Mowsavi in Brown; 2004:26)
Reliability is the consistencies and dependence of the test. And there are two aspects in reliability; student-related reliability and rater reliability. Student-related reliability is caused by the students, while rater reliability is caused by the teacher.
There are several factors that operate to increase or decrease the reliability of a measuring instrument include: length of the instrument, variability of the tested group, age range of the test group, testing condition, and objectivity of scoring.
Practicality should be as economical as possible in terms of time and cost. Then the practicality should be; easy to administered, easy to score, economical to use, have meaningful norms, and easy to interpreted.
1.      Easy to administered: the consideration of the test practicality involve the ease with which the test can be administered.
2.      Easy to score: scoring procedure can have a significant effect on the practicality of a given instrument.
3.      Economical to use: as most educational administrators are very well aware, testing can be expensive.
4.      Have meaningful norms: the teachers have kept records of the performance of their previous classes on specific tests or test items have scale against which to compare the performance on their current class.
5.      Easy to interpretation
D.    Analysis of The Test Validity
Well, the writer has analyzed the test which constructed by the English teacher of SMP N 1 SUNGAI TARAP. Thus, can be said the test is not valid at all. Because, still there are several characteristic of a valid test that do not involved in the test by the teacher. To make clear the writer’s statement, here the detail explanation:
Content validity is the first part of validity which is not completed by the teacher. It can show on several items of the test that has classified.
Ø  First item: contains about 10 questions.
            In this item, the teacher gives greeting card as the topic or material for the test. Based on the syllabus and lesson plan, the greeting card is should taught to the students and evaluation of student’s understanding is need to do. Can be said teacher-made test has content validity criterion here.
Ø  Second item: contains about 4 questions.
            The next item of the test that designed by the teacher is about instruction. This material is stated in the syllabus and lesson plan by the teacher. So, teacher had taught the material about the instruction to the students. In this case, ones more the teacher makes a good test in part of content validity.
Ø  Third item: contains about 6 questions.
            Next item, the teacher includes the material or topic about shopping list into the test. The material or topic had not taught to the students yet based on the lesson plan that made by the teacher. But when writer check the syllabus, the material about shopping list is stated by the teacher. So, can be concluded that the teacher make the questions of the test which is not valid in content validity for this item. Certainly, the teacher can not evaluate the material or topic which is not taught to the students yet.
Ø  Fourth item: contains about 13 questions.
            In this item, the teacher gives many questions to the students. The material or topic is about announcement. As in the second item, the teacher do not stated the material or topic about announcement in the lesson plan. But in the syllabus, writer found that the teacher states the material about announcement. In conclusion, the teacher gives the question in the test about the material which is not taught to the students yet. The teacher test is not valid.
Ø  Fifth item: contains about 10 questions.
            The teacher uses the material about short message in the test for the questions. And this item make clear that the test that designed by teacher is not valid. Because the teacher gives the question about this material, but the teacher do not teach the students yet. And based on the syllabus, the teacher also does not write about this material or topic. Now, it is clear that the test of the teacher is not valid in the content.
Ø  Sixth item: contains about 2 questions.
            The teacher involves two arrange sentence in the test. Actually this type of test can measure the understanding of the students about words, phrase, and sentences. Based on the syllabus and lesson plan, the teacher make a right test in this item, because the students have learned about the material or topic. So the test is valid in content validity here.
Ø  Seventh item: contains about 5 questions.
            In this last item, the teacher use short message as the material or topic of the test given. But the teacher asks the students to complete the short message text that there are several words missed. So the teacher measure the students’ understands about the words. Actually this item is not to differ from the sixth item, but this item’s question measure the students understanding more specific in words. After compare this test item with the syllabus and lesson plan, it is valid test. Because in syllabus teacher states about the students ability in understanding the words. And the teacher also has taught the students about the appropriate words to the students.
            From that detail, it is clear that the test of the teacher is not valid in content validity.
            In the criterion validity, the test is not valid. Because the test that made by the teacher can not assess or measure the students ability in the future, or the students specialization. Writer thinks that the teacher has not objective to measure the future ability of the students.
            And then about construct validity, in this case the teacher-made test is not valid. The question of the test can not measure what should be measured to evaluate the students understanding of an appropriate topic. When the writer analyze the first item, the teacher questions is not measure the part of the topic that will be measured by the teacher. The teacher choose the greeting card as the material or topic, the teacher want to evaluate the students’ understanding about the greeting card, but the teacher questions do not measure the part of the greeting card.
            In this part, face validity is being a basic judgment. In doing the test that had been made by herself, the teacher create a test that clear in instruction for complete the questions. The questions are not make the students confuse. And also the answer choices are clearly good. There are no any clues or condition of the answer choices that help the students to answer the questions of the test easier.
            From the detail explanation above, it can be agreed that the test that made by the teacher of junior high school in Sungai Tarap is not valid. The validity of test will complete if all of the characteristic of validity have complete, without exception.
E.     Analysis of The Test Reliability
Every teacher must give an evaluation to the students whom he or she teaches. That process is an important process of learning process. Without the evaluation, learning process can not regard as a success or failed learning process. So, in order to provide a good test for the students, a teacher has to that the test must be a reliable test. Based on writer analysis, the test that made by an English teacher of SMP N 1 Sungai Tarap is can be said reliable at all.
When we want to know whether a test reliable or not, there are several things that should be considered. Here are these several things:
The first is every student has a cleanly photocopied of test sheet. In this case, the teacher conducted a test that provides a very clean photocopied of test sheet for each students. It is impossible if the students get difficulties in reading the questions of the test.
And then the condition of the class is also efficient for conducting the test process. There is no too much noise around the class. And that condition is equal for all students who take the test.
The last thing is about the scoring the answer. In scoring the answer of the students, the test will be reliable if the only one correct answer is provided by the teacher. It will help the teacher to avoid doubt in score the answer of the students.
F.     Analysis of The Test Practicality
When a teacher gives the students a mid-term test, it is mean the students had taught about several lesson. So, this is the mid-term test of a teacher in junior high school Sungai Tarap. And writer will analyze the test whether the test is practical or not. In order to know it, we have to answer these several questions:
1.      Are administrative details clearly established before the test?
2.      Can students complete the test reasonably within the time frame?
3.      Can the test be administered smoothly?
4.      Are all material and equipment ready?
5.      Is the cost of the test within budgeted limits?
6.      Is the scoring system feasible in the teachers’ time frame?
7.      Are methods for reporting results determined in advance?
Well, after writer analyzed the test, writer concludes that the test procedures are practical. To support that statement, here are several point explanations.
The first, the testing process of the test that made by the teacher in SMP N 1 Sungai Tarap is clearly established before the test given to the students. This type of objective, multiple-choices test is not too needed a preparation or planning before give to the students.
The second is about the time frame that the teacher made. The time frame of this test can apply to the students. However, the questions of this test are fifty, and the time is 120 minutes. In other word, the time frame for complete each question is 2, 4 minutes. For multiple-choices test, that time frame will not give the difficulties to the students in completing the answer sheet.
The third is about procedure administration of the test itself. Based on the test that made by an English teacher in SMP N 1 Sungai Tarap, it is will run well. When we consider, the procedure of doing the testing process is clearly simple.
The next is about material and equipment. The material and equipment that may be needed for the test process have prepared well by the students. And other material and equipment that should be prepared by the teacher is nothing. The only one thing that should be considered by the teacher is make sure the students already know what should prepare for testing process long before the testing process begin.
Next thing is budgeting limits for the test. This kind of test will not cause the problem in cost of conducting. The teacher just need to distribute several pieces of copies of questions to the students, its cost won’t expensive. It won’t made the teacher family needs incomplete.
And then about scoring the test, this is the easiest one and really objective in scoring the answer sheet. The test scoring designed by the teacher is using computerization system. All can guarantee that the answer of the students will score as it is. And the teacher also can not to score the students in biased condition.
From that explanation, we can conclude that the test is clearly practical to conduct. But, the teacher must be administered the test as well as possible.
      II.        Conclusion
Thus, there are three core part that must be complete to get a good test. Those three are; validity, reliability, and practicality. A test can be said as a valid test should when that test is fulfill the content validity requirement. And the test should has criterion validity; concurrent and predictive validity also. Construct validity is also the part of validity that important to has. Face validity and consequences validity are the part of validity also, with its a test is not valid.
Then, the test will be a good test if it reliable. It has a good consistencies and dependability that had been a standard for reliability of a test. Actually, if a test has valid, the test is also reliable.
Practicality is also needed in a good test. However, a good test will be given to the student with preparation and should be considered about anything that can help or disturb the testing process itself.

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