How to Make a Table of Specifications (TOS)
A Table of Specifications (TOS) is the blueprint of a test. It makes sure each competency gets as many items as the time you spent teaching it, at the right mix of thinking skills.
Step 1: List the competencies and days taught
Write each learning competency covered by the test, with its code and the number of days you spent on it. Add up the days.
Step 2: Give each competency its share of items
Round each result, then adjust by one item here or there so the column adds up to the total.
Step 3: Spread the items across thinking skills
Split each competency's items across the levels of the revised Bloom's taxonomy: Remembering, Understanding, Applying, Analyzing, Evaluating and Creating. Many schools follow a 60-30-10 mix (easy, average, difficult). Use your school's policy if it has one.
Worked example
A 50-item test covering 40 days of lessons:
| Competency | Days | Computation | Items |
|---|---|---|---|
| Competency 1 | 12 | 12 ÷ 40 × 50 = 15.0 | 15 |
| Competency 2 | 10 | 10 ÷ 40 × 50 = 12.5 | 13 |
| Competency 3 | 8 | 8 ÷ 40 × 50 = 10.0 | 10 |
| Competency 4 | 10 | 10 ÷ 40 × 50 = 12.5 | 12 |
| Total | 40 | 50 |
Competencies 2 and 4 both came out at 12.5, so one is rounded up and the other down to keep the total at 50.
Tips
- Make the TOS before writing the questions, then write items to fill each cell.
- Number the items in the TOS so a co-teacher or your school head can check the test against it.
Let ClassToolsPH compute this for you
In ClassToolsPH, tag each question with its competency and thinking-skill level and the TOS builds itself, with item numbers, days taught and percentages, ready to print.