ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT TABLE OF SPECIFICATION (TOS) Author: Egie Boy Cauba, LPT, MBA (CAR) Date: December 8, 2020 Preparing for an examination paper to be taken up by students can be little bit tricky especially when you want it to be methodological and compliant with the guidelines set by your school or institution. As a teacher, you cannot be so careless in preparing for an examination paper because considerable amount of factor must be overviewed in crafting the whole assessment. Oriondo and Antonio (1984) were clear, that in preparing a good test, one must have a mastery of the subject matter, knowledge of the pupils to be tested, skills in verbal expression and the use of the different test format.” What does TOS really mean and how does it help teachers in a broader perspective? In an academic parlance, TOS means both “Terms of Specifications” or “Table of Specifications”. This tool is not just a mere table to be filled but a map that will serve as a directory of the competencies and lessons being taught by the teacher and how he/she distributed it in a form of assessment. It is a two-way chart that relates learning outcomes to the course content. TOS allows a teacher to create a test in a technical manner where process is being observed. When a comprehensive TOS is created, it amplifies the validity and reliability of the test papers. To better understand how TOS works, I advise you to remember this acronym: VIRUSE which stands for validity, interpretability, reliability, usability, scorability, economical.  Validity – means that the test should carefully measure the extent of what it intends to measure.  Interpretability – signifies the interpretability of the test results or simply saying the “probability to be interpreted” properly. This is important to make the results as bases of interventions.  Reliability – this refers to the “consistency” of the test. There should be coherence with the topics being asked, in this way, the test measures what it supposed to measure.  Usability – entails that friendliness of the test should also be considered. Questions like; “what type of students will take the test?”, “Will they be able to grasp the directions of the test?” should be taken into consideration.  Scorability – this does not only benefit the student but also the teacher. Ease of scoring a test should be ideal.  Economical – when making a test, it should not turn into “disposable questions” after administering it. The capability of the test questions to be reused is an indication of a good test.