Table of Specifications in Assessment

Table of Specifications

• A table of specifications is also known as a test blueprint.
• It is used to ensure that a test or assessment measures what it is supposed to measure.
• It is a two-way chart which describes the topics to be covered in a test, the type of questions and the number of items and points associated with each topic.

Purposes of a Table of Specifications

• The purpose of a table of specifications is to help teachers with test construction decisions, to improve the effectiveness of their teaching, and to improve the validity of teacher-made tests.
• It ensures alignment between the items or elements of an assessment and the content, skills, or constructs that the assessment intends to assess.

Benefits of a Table of Specifications

• Table of specifications provides students with self-confidence about the justice of the test by ensuring that the test is balanced and covers all topics.
• It achieves reliability and validity in the test by ensuring the correct weighting of each lesson.

Constructing a Table of Specifications

• To create a table of specifications, you need to know Bloom's Revised Taxonomy, and how to create a TOS following the standard format.
• Some simple mathematical computation will be used to calculate the proportional allocation of test items per topic.
• Steps to construct a table of specifications:
  • Secure a copy of K to 12 Curriculum Guide.
  • Copy the Learning Competencies allotted for each grading period in the TOS.
  • Allocate the number of hours needed in each learning objective and the percentage using the formula:
    • No. of hours/ total no. of hours x 100%

  Bloom's Taxonomy

  • Bloom's Taxonomy is a classification of thinking categorized by levels of complexity.