Table 1. Test Specifications.

DOE-HDBK-1205-97

Table 1 shows test specifications developed from a list of learning objectives. The

objective statements indicate the type and level of performance expected of the trainee.

The instructor should select the objectives that will be tested on a given exam and establish

the relative emphasis each learning objective receives.

Table 1. Test Specifications.

Objectives for

Testing Emphasis

Objectives to be

Training

(item weight %)

Included in Test

Area A

Yes

II. Area B

Yes

III. Area C

Yes

As Table 1 shows, Objective III.2 is given twice as much weight on the test as III.1 and five

times as much weight as III.3. These different weights are based on the objectives'

comparable importance to success in job performance and should reflect the relative time

spent on the objectives during the course of the training program. There are no

preestablished rules for determining the specific weight assigned to various cells of test

specifications. However, the objectives that represent task elements that are critical to the

successful accomplishment of the task must be tested and those test items can not be

missed. The test developer should obtain input from other trainers, from subject matter

experts (SMEs), and from facility operations management and supplement this with his/her

own prior experience. Trainees will expect the testing emphasis to be comparable to the

emphasis stressed during training, and this should be the case. Learning objectives can be

assigned greater emphasis by increasing the number of test questions for those objectives.