Sample test paper

A 20-item summative test in Grade 7 Science, from four topics and the days spent teaching them. Everything below was computed from those two things — the Table of Specifications, the paper written to fill it, and the analysis of how a class of 35 did on it.

These are real prints of the forms, not pictures of them. To make one for your own class, say what you taught and for how long.

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The Table of Specifications

Four topics, 18 teaching days between them, and a 20-item test. The share column is time spent; the item column is that share turned into whole items. It adds up to exactly 20 — that is guaranteed by how the items are handed out, not by rounding and hoping, which is the one thing a head teacher checks.

Republic of the Philippines

Department of Education

Region Region IV-A (CALABARZON)

SCHOOLS DIVISION OFFICE OF Batangas Province

District Tanauan City I

Tanauan City, Batangas

School: Mabini National High School (301234)

Table of Specifications

First Summative Test · Science · Grade 7 Sampaguita · Term 1

Content / Topic	Days	% of Time	No. of Items	Cognitive Level						Item Placement
Content / Topic	Days	% of Time	No. of Items	Rem	Und	App	Ana	Eva	Cre	Item Placement
The scientific method	4	22.2%	4	1	1	1	1			1-4
Matter and its properties	6	33.3%	7	2	2	2	1			5-11
Mixtures and separation techniques	5	27.8%	6	2	2	1	1			12-17
Elements and compounds	3	16.7%	3	1	1	1				18-20
Total	18	100.0%	20	6	6	5	3

Prepared by

Teacher

Noted by

School Head

The paper, and the key

Every item sits in the slot the TOS assigned it — its topic and its cognitive level were fixed before the question was written, which is what makes the paper and the sheet agree. The paper shows neither, because printed beside a question they tell a learner which items are the easy ones. The key follows on its own page.

Republic of the Philippines

Department of Education

Region Region IV-A (CALABARZON)

SCHOOLS DIVISION OFFICE OF Batangas Province

District Tanauan City I

Tanauan City, Batangas

School: Mabini National High School (301234)

First Summative Test

Science · Grade 7

Name: Section: Score: / 20

Read each item carefully. Write the letter of your answer, or the answer itself where there are no choices, on the line before the number. Do not write anything else on this paper.

1. Which of these is the first step of the scientific method?
1. A. Making an observation
2. B. Forming a hypothesis
3. C. Analysing the data
4. D. Drawing a conclusion
2. Why does a scientist repeat an experiment several times?
1. A. To check that the result was not due to chance
2. B. To use up the remaining materials
3. C. To make sure the hypothesis turns out correct
4. D. To finish the investigation more quickly
3. Ana wants to find out whether the amount of fertiliser affects how tall a plant grows. Which variable should she change?
1. A. The amount of fertiliser
2. B. The height of the plants
3. C. The kind of soil in each pot
4. D. The amount of water each pot receives
4. A learner concludes that fertiliser makes plants grow taller. She gave the fertilised plants more water as well. What is wrong with her conclusion?
1. A. More than one variable changed, so the cause cannot be identified
2. B. She should have used more plants in each group
3. C. Fertiliser has no effect on the height of plants
4. D. The investigation ran for too short a time
5. What term describes anything that has mass and occupies space?
6. The particles of a gas are packed closely together in a fixed arrangement.
7. Why does a solid keep its shape while a liquid takes the shape of its container?
1. A. The particles of a solid are held in fixed positions
2. B. A solid is always heavier than a liquid
3. C. A liquid has no particles between its layers
4. D. A solid cannot be compressed at all
8. A balloon left in the sun expands. Which statement best explains why?
1. A. The gas particles move faster and spread further apart
2. B. New air enters through the rubber of the balloon
3. C. The rubber of the balloon melts slightly and stretches
4. D. The gas inside changes into a liquid
9. A block of metal has a mass of 60 g and a volume of 20 cm³. What is its density?
1. A. 3 g/cm³
2. B. 0.33 g/cm³
3. C. 80 g/cm³
4. D. 1 200 g/cm³
10. A 50 g stone and a 50 g pillow have the same mass but different volumes.
11. Two liquids are poured into the same glass and settle into separate layers. What can be concluded about them?
1. A. They have different densities and do not mix
2. B. They are the same substance at different temperatures
3. C. One of the two is actually a solid
4. D. Both of them are pure elements
12. What do you call a mixture whose different parts can still be seen, such as a bowl of halo-halo?
13. Which method would separate sand from water?
1. A. Filtration
2. B. Evaporation
3. C. Distillation
4. D. Magnetic separation
14. Why can salt be recovered from seawater by evaporation?
1. A. The water turns into gas while the salt is left behind
2. B. The salt turns into gas along with the water
3. C. The salt is heavier than the container
4. D. Evaporation breaks the salt down into its elements
15. A solution is a homogeneous mixture.
16. A learner accidentally spills iron filings into a bowl of uncooked rice. Which is the quickest way to separate them?
1. A. Draw the filings out with a magnet
2. B. Pour the mixture through filter paper
3. C. Heat the bowl until the filings evaporate
4. D. Let the mixture settle and decant the rice
17. A liquid mixture is heated. One substance boils away at 78 °C and the other stays in the flask until 100 °C. Which technique is this, and why does it work?
1. A. Distillation, because the two substances have different boiling points
2. B. Filtration, because one of the substances is a solid
3. C. Decantation, because the denser layer settles first
4. D. Magnetic separation, because one of the substances is a metal
18. What is the smallest particle of an element that still carries its properties?
19. Which statement best distinguishes a compound from a mixture?
1. A. The parts of a compound are chemically combined in a fixed ratio
2. B. A compound can always be separated by filtration
3. C. A mixture contains only one kind of particle
4. D. A mixture must always contain a metal
20. Which of the following would you classify as a compound rather than an element?
1. A. Water (H₂O)
2. B. Oxygen (O₂)
3. C. Iron (Fe)
4. D. Helium (He)

Answer key — First Summative Test

No.	Ans	Correct answer
1	A	Making an observation
2	A	To check that the result was not due to chance
3	A	The amount of fertiliser
4	A	More than one variable changed, so the cause cannot be identified
5		Matter
6		False
7	A	The particles of a solid are held in fixed positions
8	A	The gas particles move faster and spread further apart
9	A	3 g/cm³
10		True
11	A	They have different densities and do not mix
12		Heterogeneous mixture
13	A	Filtration
14	A	The water turns into gas while the salt is left behind
15		True
16	A	Draw the filings out with a magnet
17	A	Distillation, because the two substances have different boiling points
18		Atom
19	A	The parts of a compound are chemically combined in a fixed ratio
20	A	Water (H₂O)

No.

Ans

Correct answer

Making an observation

To check that the result was not due to chance

The amount of fertiliser

More than one variable changed, so the cause cannot be identified

Matter

False

The particles of a solid are held in fixed positions

The gas particles move faster and spread further apart

3 g/cm³

True

They have different densities and do not mix

Heterogeneous mixture

Filtration

The water turns into gas while the salt is left behind

True

Draw the filings out with a magnet

Distillation, because the two substances have different boiling points

Atom

The parts of a compound are chemically combined in a fixed ratio

Water (H₂O)

What the marking revealed

35 papers marked item by item, averaging 11.8 out of 20, comparing the upper and lower 27% (9 papers each). Difficulty is the share who got the item right. Discrimination is whether it told the stronger learners from the weaker ones. 15 of the 20 items are worth keeping as they are.

The sheet is refusing item 7. It is the reason this table is worth printing: the weaker half of the class outscored the stronger half on it, which almost always means the answer key is wrong rather than the learners. Nothing about the wording of that question looks suspect — it is only visible once the marks are compared this way.

Item	Right	Difficulty	How hard	Discrimination	How well it sorts	Verdict
1	25/35	0.71	Easy	0.22	Fair	revise
2	19/35	0.54	Moderately difficult	0.33	Good	keep
3	22/35	0.63	Easy	0.22	Fair	revise
4	16/35	0.46	Moderately difficult	0.78	Very good	keep
5	27/35	0.77	Easy	0.44	Very good	keep
6	24/35	0.69	Easy	0.33	Good	keep
7	15/35	0.43	Moderately difficult	-0.11	Negative — check the key	reject — the weaker half did better on this than the stronger half, which usually means the key is wrong
8	21/35	0.60	Moderately difficult	0.56	Very good	keep
9	17/35	0.49	Moderately difficult	0.67	Very good	keep
10	25/35	0.71	Easy	0.44	Very good	keep
11	13/35	0.37	Difficult	0.56	Very good	keep
12	23/35	0.66	Easy	0.33	Good	keep
13	33/35	0.94	Very easy	0.00	Very poor	revise
14	20/35	0.57	Moderately difficult	0.56	Very good	keep
15	23/35	0.66	Easy	0.67	Very good	keep
16	18/35	0.51	Moderately difficult	0.56	Very good	keep
17	5/35	0.14	Very difficult	0.22	Fair	revise
18	26/35	0.74	Easy	0.44	Very good	keep
19	19/35	0.54	Moderately difficult	0.78	Very good	keep
20	21/35	0.60	Moderately difficult	0.78	Very good	keep

Which plan does what. Marking a paper item by item is free, on any number of tests. The table above comes with Starter. The Table of Specifications and the drafted questions come with Standard. See the plans for what each costs.

To make one of these for your own class, say what you taught and for how long — the sheet and the questions follow from that.

Create your account

Or see a finished report card, a Kindergarten Progress Report or a finished Lesson Plan.