Prior to the actual creation of an exam, there are steps that need to be taken. First of all a master test plan will need to be created. This plan will include the number of exams during the course, the weight of each exam, and the number of items on each exam.

Prior to the actual creation of an exam, there are steps that need to be taken. First of all a master test plan will need to be created. This plan will include the number of exams during the course, the weight of each exam, and the number of items on each exam.

Such a master plan may look something like this:

Date Exam Content Area # of items Final Grade Weight
1/1 Exam 1 Unit 1
Unit 2

50 items 25%
2/1 Exam 2 Unit 3
Unit 4

Unit 5

50 items 25%
3/1 Final Exam Unit 1
Unit 2

Unit 3

Unit 4

Unit 5

Unit 6

Unit 7

100 items 50%
Adapted from: Mac Donald, M. (2002). Systematic Assessment of Learning Outcomes. Boston, MA: Jones and Bartlett. Pp. 65.

Now, looking at the master plan above, there are some concerns. Note that exams 1 and 2 each cover areas of never before tested content. The final exam covers previously tested content as well as newly tested content.A question arises as to the significance of the newly tested content in this exam and the need to re-test the previously tested content. The answers to these questions will play a part in the final test blueprint. The debate often rages in schools: ?should the final exam be a comprehensive exam??

Discussion question: What are the advantage/disadvantages of a comprehensive final exam from both student and faculty perspectives?

You will then need to identify the objectives and content to be assessed by the test. ?What do you want to test?? The content and course objectives are then weighed to aid the decision. A content/objectives worksheet commonly results.

Content/Objectives Worksheet

Number of unit exams 2
Number of items per unit exam 50
Total unit exams (a + b) 100
Number of final exam items 100
Total number of exam items 200
Content Lecture Hours % Of total hours Number of items per semester Obj 1 20% Obj 2 25% Obj 3 30% Obj 4 10% Obj 5 15%
Unit 1 24 19% 36-40
Unit 2 20 16% 30-34
Unit 3 22 18% 34-38
Unit 4 18 14% 26-30
Unit 5 14 11% 20-24
Unit 6 14 11% 20-24
Unit 7 14 11% 20-24
Total 126 hrs 200 items 38-42 48-52 58-62 18-22 28-32
Adapted from: Mac Donald, M. (2002). Systematic Assessment of Learning Outcomes. Boston, MA: Jones and Bartlett. Pp. 69.

You will next need to make the decision of how to assign items in proportion to the course content they represent, and this will form the basis for establishing test blueprints.

Sample content item worksheet:

Number of unit exams 2
Number of items per unit exam 50
Total unit exams (a + b) 100
Number of final exam items 100
Total number of exam items 200
Lecture Hrs 126 Total Exam items 200
Content Area Lecture Hrs % of total lecture hrs % of exam lecture hrs Total # of items per unit Exam 1 items Exam 2 items Final Exam items
Unit 1 24 19% 55% 36-40 25-29 7-15
Unit 2 20 16% 45% 30-34 21-25 5-13
Exam 1 50
Unit 3 22 18% 55% 34-38 27-29 7-11
Unit 4 18 14% 45% 26-30 21-25 2-8
Exam 2 50
Unit 5 14 11% 20-24 20-24
Unit 6 14 11% 20-24 20-24
Unit 7 14 11% 20-24 20-24
Total 126 200 50 50 100
Adapted from: Mac Donald, M. (2002). Systematic Assessment of Learning Outcomes. Boston, MA: Jones and Bartlett. Pp. 71.

Developing a Test Blueprint

A blueprint is a test plan that links the test items to the content and instructional objectives of the course, and provides a foundation for establishing content-related evidence of validity. A blueprint consists of a two way chart that relates the instructional objectives to the course content. . A Blueprint worksheet follows:

Questions Obj 1
20%

Obj 2
25%

Obj 3
30%

Obj 4
10%

Obj 5
15%

Total
Range 38-42 48-52 58-62 18-22 28-32 200
Unit 1 25-29 5 4 7 4 6 26
Unit 2 21-25 5 8 8 1 2 24
Exam 1 50 10 12 15 5 8 50
Unit 3 27-29 7 10 1 2 7 27
Unit 4 21-25 4 4 10 3 2 23
Exam 2 50 11 14 11 5 9 50
Unit 1 10-14 5 2 3 0 2 12
Unit 2 6-10 4 0 2 4 0 10
Unit 3 7-11 4 1 0 0 2 7
Unit 4 3-7 0 0 3 3 0 6
Unit 5 20-24 2 8 10 0 4 24
Unit 6 20-24 6 5 6 2 2 21
Unit 7 20-24 0 8 8 2 2 20
Final 100 21 24 32 11 12 100
Total 200 42 50 58 21 29
Adapted from: Mac Donald, M. (2002). Systematic Assessment of Learning Outcomes. Boston, MA: Jones and Bartlett. Pp. 72.

The crucial concerns in the testing are that the assessment methods reflect the emphasis of instruction and that provisions are made to assess every learning objective and learning outcome. This will then relate to a curricular worksheet developed to determine the teaching/learning activities relate to the course objective. So, you would refer to a worksheet or a course outline that may look something like this:

Objective: At the conclusion of this module, student will safely perform basic nursing procedures:

Module Objectives:

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