I__. - International Military Testing Association

Test Design
As with any research project, the researcher must have a plan.
Without this plan, the researcher would be looking for information
with little or no direction. The test design is a plan for
ensuring that the objectives are tested and a plan for measuring
the student's success in accomplishing the objectives.
The process of designing a test builds upon the previous step
of determining criticality of the objectives.
There is no proven scientific method to determine the exact .
test design. 'It is an opinion based on experience. This opinion
can be strengthen through consensus. Therefore the design must be
based on the ideas of several subject matter experts and not one or
two individuals. If a consensus cannot be reached, then an average
should be taken. Consensus should be an underlying concern
throughout the test design process. Consensus of the right persons
improves the chances of producing a valid test.
Sten One. Group the objectives in the order in which they
will be tested. Factors to consider are:
(1) The difficulty of the material needed to accomplish the
objective.
(2) The length of the material needed to accomplish the
objective.
For more difficult material, fewer objectives should be
grouped for testing purposes. For example, an objective that is
very difficult to accomplish may require individual testing, while
several simpler objectives may be tested together. The longer it
takes to teach the objective, the fewer objectives should be tested
together. For example, an objective that is taught in three days
may ,require individual testing while the objective that is taught
in three periods may be tested with other objectives.
Step Two. Determine the number of test items per objective.
The concern is to have enough test items on a test to ensure the
measurement of each objective. Several factors to consider are:
(1) Criticalitv of the obiective. The more critical the
objective, the more items may be required.
(2) Tvne of obiective tested. If the test is comprised of
both critical and noncritical objectives, normally the critical
objectives should contain more items. The more items asked, the
more confident that the trainee has grasped the objective.
(3) Number of obiectives tested. If the test contains
several objectives, be aware of total number of items on the test
and the time constraints.
206