SUBJECTIVE VS OBJECTIVE TESTS

This paper is submitted in order to fulfill one of the assignment

In the course English For Spesific Purpose

English department 4

5th semester

by

GROUP 4

JUHAIRAH ARFAH
NIM: 02174080

AIDA FIRDAYANA
NIM: 02174094

INSTITUT AGAMA ISLAM NEGERI (IAIN) BONE

TARBIYAH FACULTY

2019

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 CONTENT

COVER......................................................................................................................i

CONTENT.................................................................................................................1

DISCUSSION............................................................................................................2

A. Multiple-Choice Items....................................................................................5
1. Items.........................................................................................................6
2. The Correct Option...................................................................................8
3. The Distractors.........................................................................................8
4. The Test Directions..................................................................................9

REFRENCE...............................................................................................................11

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 DISCUSSION

Subjective and objective are terms used to refer to be the scoring of tests. All
test items, no matter how they are devised, require testees to exercise a subjective
judgment. In an essay test, for instance, testees must think of what to say and then
express their ideas as well as possible; in multiple-choice test they have to weigh
up carefully all the alternative and select the best one. In addition, all tests are
constructed subjectively by the tester, who decides areas of language to test, how
to test those particular areas, and what kind of items to use for this purpose. Thus,
it is only the scoring of a test that can be described as objective. This means that a
testee will score the same mark no matter which examiner marks the test.

Since objective tests usually have only one correct answer (or, at least, a
limited number of correct answer), they can be scored mechanically. The fact that
objective tests can be marked by computer is one important reason for their
evident popularity among examining bodies responsible for testing large number
of candidates.

Certain skills and areas of language may be tested far more effectively by one
method than by another. Reading and vocabulary, for example, often lend
themselves to objective methods of assessment. Obviously, the ability to write can
only be satisfactorily tested by a subjective examination requiring the students to
perform a writing task similar to that required in real life. A test of oral fluency
might present students with the following stimulus:

You went to live in Jakarta two years ago. Someone asks you how long
you have live there. What would you say?

This item is largely subjective since the response may be whatever students
wish to say. Some answer will be better than others, thus perhaps causing a
problem in the scoring of the item. How, for instance, ought each of the following
answers to be marked?

Answer 1: I’ve been living in Jakarta since two years ago.

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Answer 2: I didn’t leave Jakarta since two years ago.

Answer 3: I have lived in the Jakarta City for about two years.

Answer 4: For two years.

Answer 5: Since two years ago.

Answer 6: I came to live here two years ago and I still live here.

Answer 7: Since two years ago my home is in Jakarta.

Although the task itself attempts to stimulate to some degree the type of task
students might have to perform in real life, it is more difficult to achieve
reliability simply because there are so many different degrees of acceptability and
ways of scoring all the possible responses. Careful guidelines must be drawn to
achieve consistency in the treatment of the variety of responses which will result.

Conversely, reliability will not be difficult to achieve in the marking of the

following objective item. The question of how valid the item is, however, may
now be of considerable concern. How far do items like this reflect the real use of
language in everyday life?

Complete the sentences by putting the best word in each blank.

‘Is your home still in Jakarta?

‘Yes, I’ve been living in there…. Two years ago.’

A. for B. on C. in D. at E. since

Language simply does not function in this way in real-life situations.

Consequently, the last item tests grammar rather than communication: it is
concerned with students’ knowledge of forms of language and how language
works rather than with the ability to respond appropriately to real questions.

In general, objective tests require far more careful preparation than subjective
tests. Examiners tend to spend a relatively short time on setting the questions but

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considerable time on marking. In an objective test the tester spends a great deal of
time constructing each test item as carefully as possible, attempting to anticipate
the various reactions of the testees at each stage. The effort is rewarded, however,
in this case of the marking.

Objective tests are frequently criticized on the grounds that they are simpler to
answer than subjective tests. Items in an objective test, however, can be made just
as easy or as difficult as the constructor wishes. The fact that objective tests may
look easier is no indication at all that they are easier. The constructor of a
standardized or achievement or proficiency test not only selects and constructs the
items carefully but analyzes student performance on each item and rewrites the
items where necessary so that the final version of his/her test discriminates
widely. Setting the pass-mark, or the cutting-off point, may depend on the tester’s
subjective judgment or on a particular external situation. Objective tests, and some
subjective tests, can be pre-tested before being administered on a wider basis. This
procedure enables the test constructor to calculate the approximate degree of
difficulty of the test.

Another criticism is that objective tests of the multiple choice type encourage
guessing. However, four or five alternatives for each item are sufficient to reduce
the possibility of guessing. Furthermore, experience shows that candidates rarely
make wild guesses: most base their guesses on partial knowledge.

It cannot be emphasized too strongly that test objectivity by itself provides no

guarantee that a test is sound and reliable. An objective test will be a very poor
test if:

 the test items are poorly written;

 irrelevant areas and skills are emphasized in the test simply because they
are testable; and
 it is confined to language-based usage and neglects the communicative
skills involved.

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 It should never be claimed that objective tests can do those tasks which are not
intended to do. They can never test the ability to communicate in the target
language, nor can they evaluate actual performance. A good classroom test will
usually contain both subjective and objective test items.

A. Multiple-choice Items

Multiple-choice items are undoubtedly the most widely used types of items in
objective tests. Thus, it is useful to consider them in some detail. Multiple-choice
test is one of the most difficult and time-consuming types of items to construct.

The chief criticism of the multiple-choice item is that frequently it does not
lend itself to the testing of language as communication. The process involved in
the actual selection of one out four or five options bears little relation to the way
language is used in most real-life situations. Appropriate responses to various
stimuli in everyday situations are produced rather than chosen from several
options.

The optimum number of alternatives for multiple-choice item is five in most

public tests. The more alternatives are in an item, the more difficult it is to
construct. Four options are recommended for more classroom test. Many writers
recommend using four options for grammar items, but five for vocabulary and
reading.

Before constructing any test items, the test writer must first determine the
actual areas to be covered by multiple-choice items and the number of items to be
included on the test. The number of items included in a test will vary according to
the level of difficulty, the nature of the areas being tested, and the purpose of the
test.

The initial part of each multiple-choice item is known as the stem; the choices
from which the students select their answers are referred to as options, responses,
or alternatives. One option is the answer, correct option, or key, while the other
options are distractors.

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 Stay here until the teacher…you to come. Stem

A. told
B. will tell Option/Responses/Alternative Distractors
C. is telling
D. tells Answers/Correct Option/Key

The following general principles should be observed when multiple-choice

items are constructed.

1. Each item should have only one answer. This answer must be absolutely
correct unless the instruction specifies choosing the best option. Consider the
following example (two answers):
I stayed there until Taufik ………
A. had come B. would come C. came D. has come
2. Only one feature at a time should be tested. Sometimes both grammar and
vocabulary are tested simultaneously. Study the following example:
I don’t know where…….
A. had the boys gone B. the boys have gone
C. had the boys gone D. the boys had gone
3. Each option should be grammatically correct when placed in the stem, except
of course in the case of specific grammar test items. Examine the following
example and try to recast it:
Someone who designs houses is an…….
A. designer B. builder C. architect D. plumber
4. All items should be at a level appropriate to the level of the testees.
5. The items should be as brief and as clear as possible.
6. The items should be arranged in rough order of increasing difficulty.

1. The Stem
The primary purpose of the stem is to present the problem clearly and
concisely. From the stem the testee should be able to obtain a very general idea of

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the problem and the answer required. Although the stem should be short, it should
convey enough information to indicate the basis on which the correct option
should be selected.
a. The stem may take the following forms:
1) an incomplete statement;
I stayed there until Taufik….
A. comes B. would come C. came D. has come
2) a complete statement;
Fitri looked after her little sister because her mother went out.
A. played with B. took care of C. neglected D. helped
3) a question.
Which planet is the fifth from the earth?
A. Mars B. Venus C. Pluto D. Mercury
b. The stem should usually contain those words or phrases which would
otherwise have to be repeated in each option.
The word ‘astronauts’ is used in the passage to refer to……
A. travellers in an ocean liner B. travellers in a space-ship
C. travellers in a submarine D. travellers in a balloon
The stem here should be rewritten so that is reads:
The word ‘astronauts’ is used in the passage to refer to travellers in….
A. an ocean liner B. a space-ship
C. a submarine D. a balloon
c. The stem should allow for the number of choices which have been decided
upon. This is particularly relevant, for example, when comparisons are
involved in reading comprehension. There is no possible fourth option
which can be added in the following item:
Fadil was…..of all the boys in the classroom.
A. taller than B. the tallest C. as tall as D. –

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2. The Correct Options
The principles of the correct option or the key are given below.
a. This should be clearly the correct or best option. it can be argued that a
greater degree of subtlety is sometimes gained by having more than one
correct option in each item. Consider the following example:
Who…… you come here to see us?
A. ordered B. caused made D. asked let
C E

Such multiple-choice item above can be used if it actually

comprises a group of right/wrong items and, therefore, each alternative
should be marked in this way: e.g. the testee scores 1 mark for not circling
A, 1 mark for not circling B, 1 mark for circling C, 1 mark for not circling,
D, and 1 mark for circling E (total score -5)

b. The correct option should be approximately the same length as the

distractors. This principle applies specially to vocabulary tests and tests of
reading and listening comprehension, where there is a tendency to make
the correct option longer than the distractors simply because it is so often
necessary to qualify a statement or word in order to make it absolutely
correct. Consider the following example:
He began to choke while he was eating the fish.
A. die
B. cough and vomit
C. be unable to breathe of something in the windpipe
D. grow very angry
3. The Distractors
The options which are not correct that function to distract or divert the testees
from choosing the correct answer if they do not know the problem are called
distractors.
a. Each distractor should be reasonably attractive and plausible. It should
appear right to any testee who is unsure of the correct option. Items should
be constructed in such a way that students obtain the correct option by

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 direct selection rather than by the elimination of the obviously incorrect
options. Examine the following example:
The present tax reforms have benefited ….poor.
A. that B. the C. a D. an
b. For most purpose, each distractor should be grammatically correct when it
stands by itself: otherwise testees will be exposed to incorrect forms. The
following item contains two illogical items:
How did Picard first travel in space?
A. He travelled in a space-ship B. He used a large balloon
C. He went in a submarine D. He jumped from a tall building
Unless a distractor is attractive to the student who is not sure of the
correct answer, its inclusion in a test item is unnecessary. Reasonable
distractors are best based on (i) mistakes in the students’ own written
work, (ii) their answers in previous tests, (iii) the teacher’s experience, and
(iv) a contrastive analysis between the native and target languages.
c. Distractors should not be too difficult nor demand a higher proficiency in
the language than the correct option. If they are too difficult, they will
succeed only in distracting the good students, who will be led into
considering the correct option too easy and a trap.
You need a ….to enter that military airfield.
A. permutation B. perdition C. permit D. perspicuity
d. Capital letters are only used in options which occur at the beginning of a
sentence. Consider the following:
……. five principal colors.
A. There are B. They are C. Their D. They’re
4. The Test Directions
Where multiple-choice items are used, the testees may be required to perform
any of the following tasks:
1. Write out the correct option in full in the blank.
He may not come, but we’ll get ready in case he does
A. will B. does C. is D. may

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2. Write only the letter of the correct option in a box which appears at the
side of the question.
He may not come, but we’ll get ready in case he …….
A. will B. does C. is D. may
3. Put a tick or a cross at the side of the correct option or in a separate box.
He may not come, but we’ll get ready in case he ……
A. will
B. does
X
C. is
D. may
4. Underline the correct option.
He may not come, but we’ll get ready in case he ….
A. will B. does C. is D. may
5. Put a circle around the letter at the side of the correct option.
He may not come, but we’ll get ready in case he …..
A. will does C. is D. may
B
6. Choose one of the words or phrases that best complete the sentence.
Blacken the corresponding letter on your answer sheet.
He may not come, but we’ll get ready in case he …..
A. will B. does C. is D. may
Answer sheet: 1
A C D

The direction of a test should be as clear as possible otherwise the

testees will make different ways of answering the items or different from
the way the tester expects them.

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 REFERENCE

Jabu, Baso. 2008. English Language Testing. Makassar : The UNM publisher

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