THE RELATIONSHIP OF THE ENGLISH CURRICULUM WITH THE

RESULTS OF THE CENTER FOR EDUCATIONAL MEASUREMENT

PRE-TEST AND POST-TEST FOR ENGLISH OF THE THIRD YEAR

HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS OF DON BOSCO COLLEGE

BASIC EDUCATION DEPARTMENT,

SCHOOL YEAR 2011 2012

A Thesis

Presented to the Faculty of

Don Bosco College

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for

English IV

by

Matthew S. Lopez

Chris Leuven P. Magampon

Marc Justine A. Magnaye

Vonn Jared V. Visande

February 26, 2013

 ii

Approval Sheet

This thesis entitled The Relationship of the English curriculum with the
Results of the Center for Educational Measurement pre-test and post-test for
English of the Third year high school students of Don Bosco College Basic
Education Department, School Year 2011 2012, prepared and submitted by
Matthew S. Lopez, Chris Leuven P. Magampon, Marc Justine A. Magnaye, and Vonn
Jared V. Visande, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for English IV, has been
examined and is hereby recommended for acceptance and approval for oral examination.

Mr. Artell L. Almonte

Subject Teacher

Approved by the Committee on Oral Examination with a grade of ____.

Mr. Erbert V. Dela Resma Mr. Ronan D. Vergara

Member Member

Mr. John August M. Mortera

Chairman

Accepted and approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements in English IV.

Rev. Fr. Arnold M. Sanico, SDB

Principal

Date: _____________
 iii

Acknowledgement

The researchers would like to express their gratitude to those people who helped

in the crafting of this thesis. The researchers would like to acknowledge the following

people whom have significance in forming this study:

Rev. Fr. Arnold M. Sanico, SDB, for allowing and approving the researchers

requests to obtain the essential data from the registrars office;

Ms. Shareena T. Manaig and Mrs. Marilyn P. Tamayo of the Guidance Office,

for giving their time and effort in providing the researchers the results of the CEM pre-

test and post-test for English, and also for giving their suggestions and recommendations

in order to have a substantial study;

Ms. Katherine O. Anillo and Ms. Melinda Y. Hernandez of the Registrars

Office, for giving their extra time and effort in providing the researchers the additional

data needed to support this study, which are the English final grades of this studys

population;

Mr. Artell L. Almonte and Mr. Ronan D. Vergara, for guiding and educating

the researchers in the steady creation of this study; and

Mr. Erbert V. Dela Resma, Mr. Michael L. Mangubat, Ms. Angelie Joyce S.

Gomez, and Ms. Joyce B. Bacuyag, for sharing their expertise in the field of statistics

and being the researchers statisticians for this study.

Additionally, the researchers would like to acknowledge their fellow classmates,

especially Michael P. Gonzaga and many others, who have been of assistance in

forming a complete thesis.

 iv

Dedication

The researchers dedicate this thesis firstly to God because He is the One who

constantly gives them strength, courage, perseverance and guidance in creating this

study; secondly to their parents for giving them enough moral support in order to finish

this thesis with pride; thirdly to their teachers, especially to their class adviser Ms. Fatima

Alarcon, Ms. Shareena Manaig, Ms. Joyce Bacuyag, Ms. Angelie Gomez, Mr. Erbert

Dela Resma, Mr. Artell Almonte, and many other teachers whom they have encountered

all throughout their high school years; and finally to their friends, loved ones, and their

class, IV-Cimatti, whom they consider as a family of brothers under the care of a loving

mother.
 v

Lopez, Matthew S., Magampon, Chris Leuven P., Magnaye, Marc Justine A., Visande,
Vonn Jared V., Fourth year Cimatti, Don Bosco College, Inc., The Relationship of the
English curriculum with the Results of the Center for Educational Measurement pre-test
and post-test for English of the Third year high school students of Don Bosco College
Basic Education Department, School Year 2011 2012. Subject Teacher: Mr. Artell L.
Almonte.

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to show the relationship of the English curriculum

with the results of the CEM pre-test and post-test for English of the third year high school

students of Don Bosco College Basic Education Department, School Year 2011 2012.

In order to show that such a relationship exists, the researchers logically presumed that

overall improvement in the post-test scores from that of the pre-test means that the

students have gained knowledge from the English curriculum. The scientific procedures

done by the researchers involve the T-test in which it verifies the reliability of the English

tests whether or not the students have improved scores in the post-test from the pre-test,

and the Pearson r in which it verifies the validity of the English tests by looking into the

correlation between the English final grades and the post-test. The outcome from these

two statistical treatments showed that indeed the students have overall improved scores in

the post-test than the pre-test, and that there is a substantial relationship between the

English final grades and the post-test scores of the students. This indicates that there is a

relationship between the English curriculum and the results of the CEM pre-test and post-

test for English of the students.

 vi

Table of Contents

Page

Title Page........................................................................................................................ i

Approval Sheet............................................................................................................... ii

Acknowledgement........................................................................................................ iii

Dedication...................................................................................................................... iv

Abstract.......................................................................................................................... v

Table of Contents........................................................................................................... vi

List of Figures................................................................................................................ viii

List of Tables................................................................................................................. ix

Chapter

1 Introduction....................................................................................................... 1

Statement of the Problem...................................................................... 3

Hypothesis............................................................................................. 4

Theoretical Framework......................................................................... 4

Conceptual Framework......................................................................... 6

Significance of the Study..................................................................... 7

Scope and Limitations.......................................................................... 8

Definition of Terms.............................................................................. 9

2 Review of Related Literature........................................................................... 11

Curriculum and Curriculum Development........................................... 11

Curriculum Implementation.................................................................. 12
 vii

Curriculum Alignment.......................................................................... 13

Examination.......................................................................................... 14

CEM pre-test and post-test for English III........................................... 15

Development of the Tests..................................................................... 16

Test Validity......................................................................................... 17

3 Methodology.................................................................................................... 19

Research Design................................................................................... 19

Population Sample................................................................................ 19

Instrumentation..................................................................................... 20

Statistical Treatment............................................................................. 21

4 Presentation, Analysis, and Interpretation of Data.......................................... 25

T-test formula....................................................................................... 26

Pearson r formula................................................................................. 35

5 Summary, Conclusions, and Recommendations.............................................. 42

Works cited.................................................................................................................. 47

Appendices................................................................................................................... 49

A. Request letter for obtaining data...................................................................... 50

B. Final grades in English of the third year students............................................ 51

C. CEM pre-test and post-test results for English of the third year students....... 53

D. Computation of the T-value............................................................................. 58

E. Computation of the Pearson r value................................................................. 59

Curriculum Vitae......................................................................................................... 60
 viii

List of Figures

Figure Page

1 Conceptual Framework..................................................................................... 6

2 Frequency distribution bar graph of the pre-test and post-test......................... 28

3 Frequency distribution line graph of the pre-test and post-test........................ 30

4 Scatter graph of the pre-test and post-test......................................................... 33

5 Normal distribution graph of the pre-test and post-test.................................... 34

6 Frequency distribution bar graph of English final grades................................. 37

7 Frequency distribution line graph of English final grades................................ 38

8 Scatter graph of the English final grades and post-test..................................... 41

 ix

List of Tables

Table Page

1 Quality Index.................................................................................................... 25

2 Table of CEM pre-test and post-test Standard Scores...................................... 27

3 Initially computed values for the T-test............................................................ 31

4 Table of English final grades and CEM post-test scores................................. 36

5 Initially computed values for Pearson r............................................................ 39

 1

Chapter 1

Introduction

Education is defined as the process by which people acquire knowledge, skills,

habits, values, or attitudes (Boit, Changach, & Njoki, Retrieved from:

www.aijcrnet.com, Retrieved on: November 29, 2012). It is generally known as the key

to success. It is the most fundamental building blocks of human development and poverty

reduction (World Bank [WB], Retrieved from: web.worldbank.org, Retrieved on:

November 29, 2012). It is also known as the way to ascend from poverty (Bird et al.,

2011, Retrieved from: www.chronicpoverty.org, Retrieved on: February 23, 2013).

Education not only is the key to achievement, but also is the way towards human

improvement.

A well-known part of education is assessment, commonly known as examination.

In general, examinations are held in order to test, assess, and check the capabilities of the

human brain to hold information. Examinations range from the common curriculum

assessment to institutional admission. Exams are not only used to test and assess if

students learned enough from what their curriculum covers, but also to make statements

about student competence and to make decisions about the next aspect of teaching for

particular students or group (Izard, Retrieved from: www.unesco.org, Retrieved on:

November 29, 2012).

It is an advantage that there are established organizations that nurture and assess

education here in the Philippines. These organizations create an understanding and

evaluation of the exams taken by the students. It helps educators to evaluate students in
 2

different subjects according to level of achievement. In this way, educators can create

plans of action in order to assess the students on their difficulties. One organization

known for this work is the Center for Education Measurement.

The Center for Educational Measurement, Inc., or CEM, primarily administers

assessment exams and evaluates students knowledge in different fundamental fields,

which include Math, Science and Language Proficiency. One of the many clients of CEM

is Don Bosco College, the researchers educational institution. Twice in a school year, the

employees from the CEM conduct exams to be taken by students of Don Bosco College

Basic Education Department. These exams include a pre-test or a diagnostic test, which

tests the students of their foreknowledge of their current curriculum, and a post-test or an

achievement test, which tests the students of their knowledge after taking up lessons in

their curriculum. The tests provide information to educators on the strengths and

weaknesses of students in specific learning competencies that are developed in the

classroom (Center for Educational Measurement [CEM], Retrieved from: www.cem-

inc.org.ph, Retrieved on: November 29, 2012).

Another part of education is the curriculum. The curriculum guides educators of

their teaching plans in order to relay information for students to learn. An implementation

of the curriculum is the exam. Exams that are inclusive of the school, for instance, the

quarterly exam, generally test students of their retained knowledge after taking up their

lessons. Other exams, like those administered by the CEM, generally test students of their

strengths and weaknesses about specific subjects, accompanied by statistical analysis.

Results of taking exams provide information for educators about the effectiveness of their

teaching and the achievements of their students.

 3

Organizations like the CEM help educators in teaching students well and make

them academically capable of performing efficient responsibilities. Examinations are

tools that help educators in the evaluation of students. This specific thesis topic will be a

discussion about one of the administered exams of CEM: the pre-test and the post-test.

This discussion would be focusing on the subject of English. Particularly, this study will

be a discussion of the relationship of the English curriculum with the results of the CEM

pre-test and post-test for English of the third year high school students of Don Bosco

College Basic Education Department, School Year 2011 - 2012.

Statement of the Problem

This thesis is about the relationship of the English curriculum with the results of

the CEM pre-test and post-test for English of the third year high school students of Don

Bosco College Basic Education Department, School Year 2011 2012. The purpose of

this study is to effectively distinguish and show findings of a relationship regarding the

English curriculum and the results of the CEM English tests. This study aims to show

proof of a connection between the curriculum and the results of an exam. Moreover, this

study aims to discuss the concepts involving the curriculum and exams. The researchers

intend on discovering new truths and understandings regarding the said two concepts.

Particularly, the researchers seek answers to the following questions:

1. Is there a relationship between the English curriculum and the results of the

CEM pre-test and post-test for English of the third year high school students of Don

Bosco College Basic Education Department, School Year 2011 2012?

2. Where does CEM base its pre-test and post-test for the subject of English III?
 4

3. Is there an improvement made in the results of the English CEM post-test

from the English CEM pre-test?

4. Does having a high score in the CEM post-test for English mean that a student

has a high final grade in English?

5. Does the final average in English III of the third year high school students

have a relationship with CEM test results?

Hypothesis

Null Hypothesis (HO)

There is no relationship between the English curriculum and the results of the

CEM pre-test and post-test for English of the third year high school students of Don

Bosco College Basic Education Department, School Year 2011 2012 because there is

no improvement made in the post-test scores from that of the pre-test.

Alternative Hypothesis (HA)

There is a relationship between the English curriculum and the results of the CEM

pre-test and post-test for English of the third year high school students of Don Bosco

College Basic Education Department, School Year 2011 2012 because there is an

improvement made in the post-test scores from that of the pre-test.

Theoretical Framework

The researchers cited the paper of Thomas Leitzel and Daniel Vogler to provide a

theoretical framework for this study. In their paper entitled Curriculum Alignment:

Theory to Practice, curriculum alignment refers to the congruence or connection

 5

between the curriculum, the instruction, and the assessment (Leitzel and Vogler, 1994,

Retrieved from: www.eric.ed.gov, Retrieved on: January 1, 2013).

According to Leitzel and Vogler (1994), the situation that exists when planned

content is delivered then evaluated is alignment (Retrieved from: www.eric.ed.gov,

Retrieved on: January 1, 2013). It can be analyzed in three ways, which are: Planning to

Delivery, Delivery to Evaluation, and Planning to Evaluation. These three ways are

depicted in a triangle, to which it was referred to as the alignment triangle, with

objectives, instruction, and testing placed at the corners. The objectives refer to the

curriculum; the instruction or delivery refers to the teaching of educators; while the

testing refers to the examination.

Leitzel and Vogler (1994) state that there are two distinctions of curriculum

alignment; one of which is called the design alignment, which is the relationship of the

curriculum to the assessment (Retrieved from: www.eric.ed.gov, Retrieved on: January 1,

2013). According to them, a unity exists between what is planned and what is tested. The

curriculum affects what is being taught, and subsequently, affects what is going to be

evaluated from the assessment, which is why educators avoid the concept of

misalignment, which is a condition wherein content planning and testing decisions are

not congruent.

An application of the design alignment is through the pre-test post-test.

According to Leitzel and Vogler (1994), pre-tests provide a baseline to evaluate the

changes over a semester's time and hence the effectiveness of the instruction that has

taken place (Retrieved from: www.eric.ed.gov, Retrieved on: January 1, 2013). Tests at

the beginning of a course serve as a pre-test of content knowledge so that educators can
 6

measure students' knowledge of the concepts to be covered in the course and can plan

their instruction accordingly. The post-test comes after the course proper to evaluate

whether the objectives of the curriculum are fulfilled.

Conceptual Framework

Improved results
Results of the
of the CEM post-
CEM pre-test for Curriculum test for English
English III
III

Figure 1. This figure displays the relationship between the English curriculum and the

two CEM tests for English III.

The curriculum of a particular subject is a guideline list of lectures that educators

teach to their students. Examinations test students of their knowledge in a particular

subject. According to the figure above, the CEM pre-test for English is a preview of the

forthcoming curriculum of the subject English III. The results from the pre-test would

then become the basis whether or not the post-test scores would improve. After taking up

the curriculum, the CEM post-test for English is held in order to check any improvements

made from the previous scores of the pre-test. The researchers predict that the post-test

scores of the third year students will be higher compared to that of the pre-test because

the students gained knowledge from taking the English III curriculum of the school.

Overall improved scores made in the post-test outcomes to having a relationship between

the English curriculum and the test scores. The researchers have taken into note that the

said CEM tests are not only exclusive exams for the school benefit; the exams are
 7

standardized, in other words, the exams distributed by CEM to different client schools are

all the same. This means that the CEM tests would not become the basis for revision of

the subject curriculum being evaluated.

Significance of the Study

This thesis is about the relationship of the English curriculum with the results of

the CEM pre-test and post-test for English of the third year high school students of Don

Bosco College Basic Education Department, School Year 2011 2012. Generally,

because this study is relatively new, this study is significant in a way that it will give new

understandings regarding the results of the two CEM tests.

Specifically, this thesis is regarded as significant by the researchers because of the

following reasons:

1. This study is significant to the researchers school, Don Bosco College, in a

way that it may serve as evident material for use in possibly making

improvements to educators instruction. This may in turn have an effect on

students taking examinations. It may also help in potentially developing and

improving exams other than the CEM tests that would fit and align with the

corresponding curriculum of students.

2. Apart from the school as a whole, this study is significant to the samples of

this study, which are the third year students of Don Bosco College Basic

Education Department, School Year 2011 2012, in a way that it may

become an informative reference material regarding the overall background of

 8

the respondents of this study. It may also become proof material that would

prove that there is a relationship between the curriculum and the CEM pre-test

and post-test results for English.

3. Finally, this study is significant to the researchers in a way that it will serve as

their preparation for writing other academic papers. Also, it will serve as their

legacy to the researchers Alma Mater, Don Bosco College, as they advance

for college.

Scope and Limitations

In this study, the researchers will discuss topics in relation to the English

curriculum and the results of the CEM pre-test and post-test. The population incorporated

in this study is focused on only one year level: the third year high school students of Don

Bosco College. In addition, this study includes only the students of School Year 2011

2012. The population includes all of the four sections of the said year level, namely, Rua,

Rinaldi, Calasanz and Cafasso, having a total of 136 students. Additionally, this study

includes the results of the CEM pre-test and post-test for English, to which it is primarily

the subject of focus of the researchers. Included also in this study are the English final

grades of the third year students. Finally, this study includes comparisons between the

English curriculum and the results of the CEM tests for English.

Given the time constraint, the main limitation of this study are basically the

factors that could have affected the English final grades and the results of the two CEM

tests. Another limitation is the lack of information regarding the scope of the English III
 9

curriculum of the said population. Furthermore, this study does not include topics

generally involving other subject matters, which include the CEM tests for Mathematics

and Science. Other matters that are not included in this study are the other high school

students of the year levels of First Year, Second Year, and Fourth Year of School Year

2011 2012. Also not included in this study is the population of high school students

from previous school years, e.g. S.Y. 2010 2011. The population of the study only

limits to high school students of Don Bosco College, which would not include students

from other departments, for instance, the College Department. This study does not

include students from outside institutions. Finally, the researchers did not include the

usage of surveys in order to collect data because of the time constraint and the readily

obtainable data needed for this study.

Definition of Terms

1. Achievement test Refers to the CEM post-test.

2. BED Refers to Basic Education Department.

3. CEM Refers to Center for Educational Measurement.

4. DBC Refers to Don Bosco College.

5. Diagnostic test Refers to the CEM pre-test.

6. English III Refers to the English subject of the third year high school level.

7. Feedback The information about reactions to an area which is used as a basis for

improvement.
 10

8. Formative Assessment Activities undertaken by teachers, and by the students in

assessing themselves, which provide information to be used as feedback to modify

the teaching and learning activities in which they are engaged.

9. GPA Refers to the final grade; acronym for Grade Point Average.

10. High Stakes Testing - Any testing program whose results have important

consequences for students, teachers, schools, and/or districts.

11. Reliability The measure of consistency for an assessment instrument.

12. Summative Assessment An assessment the result of which is used to determine a

final grade or mark.

13. SY Refers to School Year.

14. Validity The extent to which the measurement procedures accurately reflect the

variables being measured.

 11

Chapter 2

Review of Literature

Curriculum and Curriculum Development

The curriculum is a fixed program of courses. It is a body of prescribed educative

experiences under school supervision. It comprises all activities which are provided

inside schools to the student in order to achieve the predetermined goal (Conde,

Retrieved from: www.scribd.com, Retrieved on: November 21, 2012). Lunenburg and

Ornstein (1991) state that it is a plan of action, or written document, which includes

strategies for achieving desired goals or ends for the learners better education (p. 381).

It can be defined as dealing with the experiences of the learners. It can also be viewed as

a field of study, that is, an intellectual or academic subject that attempts to analyze and

synthesize major positions, trends, and concepts of the curriculum. The word curriculum

has Latin origin which means a runway; a course to which one runs to reach a goal

(Conde, Retrieved from: www.scribd.com, Retrieved on: November 21, 2012). This

educational program includes program of studies, program of activities, and program of

guidance.

Curriculum development is defined as the systematic planning of what is taught

and learned in schools as reflected in courses of study and school programs (Conde,

Retrieved from: www.scribd.com, Retrieved on: November 21, 2012). This process

involves planning, implementation, and evaluation. Within the curriculum, the single

most important instrument of structure in a course is the syllabus, which outlines the

goals and objectives of a course, prerequisites, the grading or evaluation scheme,

 12

materials to be used, topics to be covered, a schedule, and a bibliography (Kearsley &

Lynch, Retrieved from: www.asu.edu, Retrieved on: November 21, 2012). Each of these

components defines the environment of learning experiences. Goals and objectives

identify the expected outcomes and scope of the course as determined by the instructor or

course designer, restricting the domain of knowledge for the learner (Kearsley & Lynch,

Retrieved from: www.asu.edu, Retrieved on: November 21, 2012). The grading scheme

tells students what kinds of learning activities are to be valued, for instance, assignments,

tests, and projects. Topics to be covered specify the content that the instructor feels

important. A schedule provides a timetable for learning, usually with milestones in the

form of due dates or tests (Kearsley & Lynch, Retrieved from: www.asu.edu, Retrieved

on: November 21, 2012).

Curriculum Implementation

Lunenburg and Ornstein (1991) state that curriculum implementation is mainly

concerned with instructional activities that facilitate or put the design into practice (p.

392). It includes instructional methods, materials, and resources listed in courses of study,

unit plans, and lesson plans and often observed in classrooms as teaching and learning

processes (Lunenburg & Ornstein, 1991, p. 392). Additionally, it includes management of

instruction, teacher-supervisor planning and meetings as well as seminars. According to

Lunenburg and Ornstein (1991), the help teachers receive from resource personnel,

supervisors, and administrators is the basis of implementation (p. 392). On the other

hand, curriculum evaluation involves the procedures for evaluating student outcomes.

Evaluative data becomes the basis for decision making and planning among the
 13

administrators. The conceptualization and legitimization stage is unique from most

curriculum models because it allows questions, mission statements and school goals to be

raised and answered and relates those questions and answers to the stages that follow.

Diagnosis deals with the problems of the school, the needs of students and possibly staff,

and the transformation of goals into instructional objectives (Lunenburg & Ornstein,

1991, p. 392).

Curriculum Alignment

Auto mechanics perform alignments by lining up the direction of the wheels so

the vehicle is pointed in a straight line (District Administration [DA], Retrieved from

www.districtadministration.com, Retrieved on: November 6, 2012). The concept of

curriculum alignment follows the same principle, with the wheels being curriculum,

instruction, standards and assessment. Research indicates this kind of alignment can point

a school or district toward improved student achievement (DA, Retrieved from

www.districtadministration.com, Retrieved on: November 6, 2012). Curriculum

alignment has benefits which include improved student performance on standardized

tests. Additional benefits include better communication and collaboration among

teachers, and helping them understand how their instructional decisions contribute to

students' overall learning. An analysis of international studies shows implementing and

monitoring an aligned curriculum to result in a measurable impact in student achievement

(DA, Retrieved from www.districtadministration.com, Retrieved on: November 6, 2012).

Teacher involvement is essential because without teacher involvement, alignment

efforts can be a fruitless exercise (DA, Retrieved from: www.districtadministration.com,

 14

Retrieved on: November 6, 2012). They should be involved in curriculum development

and alignment, and professional development offerings should be able to address their

concerns, for instance, on how to combine individual teaching styles with effective

delivery of the curriculum. (DA, Retrieved from: www.districtadministration.com.

Retrieved on: November 6, 2012).

Examination

The examination evaluates students of their knowledge from the implementation

of the curriculum, which is teaching. Kubiszyn (2000) mentions that testing and

assessment are now widely accepted as necessary for students, teachers, parents,

administrators and other decision makers to determine whether the students are learning

increasingly (p. 2). In the assessment process, test results are subject to critical study

according to established measurement principles. If important educational decisions are

to be made, critically evaluated test results from a variety of other measurement

procedures, e.g., performance and portfolio assessments, observations, and checklists, as

appropriate and integrated with relevant background and contextual information, e.g.,

reading level, language proficiency, and cultural considerations, to ensure that the

educational decisions are appropriate (Kubiszyn, 2000, p. 2). According to Calmorin

(1994), these are the purposes of assessment and evaluation:

(1) Student achievement can be determined whether he has reached the

goals of the learning task; (2) The effectiveness and ineffectiveness of

instruction is ascertained through measurement and evaluation; (3) upon

knowing the results of the diagnostic and achievement test, the students
 15

interest is aroused especially if he gets high score; otherwise, if his score is

low, he strives hard to get higher score in the next examination; (4) The

weaknesses of the learner can be identified through measure and

evaluation, particularly the diagnostic test (p. 282).

Calmorin (1994) describes the kinds of assessment and evaluation, which are:

(1) Achievement test: a measurement of what has been learned by the

student from the subject matter taught in the school; (2) Diagnostic test: a

measure which identifies the weaknesses of an individuals achievement

in any given field and serve as basis for remedial instruction; (3)

Performance test: a measure, often making use of manipulative materials,

which involves no, or minimum of verbal instructions; and (4) Prognostic

test: a measure which predicts how well a student is likely to do a certain

school subject or task (p. 282).

CEM pre-test and post-test for English III

The Center for Educational Measurement, Inc., commonly referred to as the

CEM, administers examinations that generally benefit schools. Particular of these

administered exams for the high school are the Diagnostic test and the Achievement test,

the Diagnostic test or the pre-test being an exam to test students of their foreknowledge

of a subject curriculum, and the Achievement test or the post-test being an exam to test

students of their knowledge after taking up the subject curriculum. Some of the benefits,

according to CEM (2012), are: improvements in learning resources, determination of the

effectiveness of the learning program, identification of students who need support in their
 16

learning, and design of remedial measures to improve student achievement (Retrieved

from: www.cem-inc.org.ph, Retrieved on: November 6, 2012).

According to Center for Educational Measurement (2009), the CEM English

Diagnostic test for Year III is primarily designed to give parents, teachers or guidance

counselors information on the students level of achievement, specifically their strengths

and weaknesses in English, thereby identifying what content areas are to be taken up and

what specific learning competencies and cognitive skills are to be developed in the

classroom (p. 1). At the level of the student, the outcomes from the test can be used to

classify students into sections according to their knowledge and skills in English and also,

they can be used to determine a number of students who need to undergo remedial

instructions. At the level of the school, the test can be used to evaluate school

performance based on a national norm. The test results can also be used as guide for

faculty development programs aimed at upgrading teaching skills in English, specifically

on areas where majority of the students in the school got lower scores than the norm

group (p. 1).

Development of CEM English Tests

All of the CEM pre-tests and post-tests, including the subject English for third

year students, are based on test specifications which serve as a blueprint that defines the

achievement area and the behavioral objectives to be tested, the number of questions to

be included, and the types of items to be used in the third year level (CEM, 2009, p. 2).

According to CEM (2009), these test specifications are based on a survey of the high

school English curricula of a respective number of private schools in Luzon, Visayas, and
 17

Mindanao (p. 2). CEM works with subject area professionals to review various syllabi,

textbooks and the current curriculum for scope and sequence. CEM then contacts other

subject area professionals to write test items based on the final specifications after a

thorough discussion regarding the test specifications (CEM, 2009, p. 2).

The professionals who prepare the test specifications review and revise the test

items and are evaluated in terms of format, difficulty, accuracy and appropriateness. The

initially formed English test is then pretested and then the results of which are used in

statistical analysis to determine the acceptability of the items. Items with good statistical

characteristics are then selected for the final form of the test based on the test

specifications. The final form is tested to a sample of schools. The data from the tests will

then be used to determine test reliability and validity (CEM, 2009, p. 2).

Test Validity

According to CEM (2009), special care is taken in the selection of the consultants

to which the selection process insures that they are knowledgeable in the curricula and

various textbooks, syllabi, practices, and philosophies in the level of secondary education

assigned to them. These consultants are responsible for selecting and defining the content

areas covered by the tests based on the current secondary school curriculum, therefore,

the diagnostic tests have built-in content validities assured from the initial

conceptualization to the final draft of the test specifications (CEM, 2009, p. 8).

The CEM conducts validity studies in order to check the validity of the tests. The

non-uniformity of grading practices and implementation of existing curricula make it

advisable to conduct concurrent validity studies by school, in which a correlation is tested

 18

between the final grades and the test scores (CEM, 2009). This has been the practice at

CEM from the very beginning when it launched the diagnostic tests.

According to CEM (2009), the validity coefficients of the English test for third

year high school were obtained from schools in the norm groups of the specified year

level and range from 0.44 to 0.78. The correlations showed positive relationships

between the final grades and test scores. This indicates that the content specifications of

the diagnostic test and instructional objectives of the schools are closely related. The

higher the correlation, the closer the specifications of the CEM tests is to the instructional

objectives or the curricula of schools (CEM, 2009, p. 9).

 19

Chapter 3

Methodology

Research Design

In this study, the descriptive design is used. In the descriptive design, the purpose

is to find new truth, which may have different forms such as the discovery of a new

causal relationship (L. Calmorin & M. Calmorin, 2007, p.70). L. Calmorin and M.

Calmorin (2007) state that the descriptive design is divided into nine types, one of which

is the correlational design (p. 70). The correlational design is used in determining the

relationship between two variables, X and Y, whether the relationship is perfect, very

high, high, moderate, slight, or negligible (L. Calmorin & M. Calmorin, 2007, p. 73). For

this particular study, the correlational design is most appropriate because it determines

the relationship between two variables, in this case, the English curriculum and as a

whole, the results of CEM pre-test and post-test for English of the third year students.

Population Sample

The population sample selected for this study is the third year high school

students of DBC BED, SY 2011 2012. Four sections comprised the third year batch

of the specified School Year, namely Rua, Rinaldi, Calasanz, and Cafasso. These four

sections were heterogeneous, meaning that the students of the third year level were not

sectioned in terms of academic performance. These four sections are comprised of 34

students from Rua, 34 from Rinaldi, 33 from Calasanz, and 35 from Cafasso, having a

total population of 136 students. The students belonged to the age range of 14 to 16 years
 20

old. Students from this year level are all male in gender, for the reason that the school

DBC BED is exclusive only for male students.

Although the total number of students of the third year level of SY 2011 2012

amounts to 136, the researchers will not consider the number of students who did not take

either the pre-test or the post-test. Seven students were not able to take either test, which

amounts the number of samples to 129 students. The 129 students will be used by the

researchers as their population for this study.

Instrumentation

The data gathered for use in this study are the English final grades and the results

of the CEM pre-test and post-test for English of the third year high school students of

School Year 2011 2012. The researchers obtained the English final grades of the said

population as an additional measure to strengthen proofs in this study in order to see if it

has a relationship between the main variables being compared.

The data gathered for use in this study were all obtained with permission from

Mr. Artell L. Almonte, the subject teacher in English of the researchers, and approval of

the school Principal, Rev. Fr. Arnold M. Sanico, SDB. The scores in both the CEM pre-

test and post-test for English were obtained by the researchers from the Guidance Office

of the school, particularly from Ms. Shareena T. Manaig, the schools Guidance

Counselor, and Mrs. Marilyn P. Tamayo, the Head of the Guidance Office. On the other

hand, the English final grades of the said sample were obtained from the Registrars

Office, mainly from Ms. Katherine O. Anillo, the schools Records Keeper of the BED,

and Ms. Melinda Y. Hernandez, the Head Registrar of the school.

 21

Statistical Treatment

Because this study incorporates the relationships between two variables, the

statistical formulas to be used will be under that of the correlational analysis (L. Calmorin

& M. Calmorin, 2007, p.70). The statistical procedures used in analyzing and interpreting

the data include the T-test and the Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Coefficient.

The main statistical formula to be used will be the T-test, also referred to as the

Students T-test. The formula for the T-test is as follows (L. Calmorin & M. Calmorin,

2007, p. 120):

where:

stands for the t-test value;

stands for the mean of the first variable Y1;

stands for the mean of the second variable Y2;

stands for the variance of Y1;

stands for the variance of Y2;

stands for the total number of operations of the first variable; and

stands for the total number of operations of the second variable.

 22

This formula focuses on the two main variables in this study, which in this case

are the CEM pre-test results, denoted by the symbol Y1, and the CEM post-test results,

denoted by the symbol Y2. This formula is appropriate in determining any significant

difference found between the two variables. In other terms, this formula is appropriate in

finding an improvement of the second variable, the CEM post-test, from the first variable,

the CEM pre-test. The formula above is an example of a two-tailed, paired two-sampled

mean T-test, meaning that the rejection region in a T-test graph, or the area of rejection of

the Null Hypothesis, is located at two extremes of the range of values for the test

statistics (Montaa & Pagoso, 1985, p. 266-267). Also, it incorporates the usage of the

means of the two variables. The researchers will use a level of significance of 5%, or

0.05. This means that the probability of acceptance of the Null Hypothesis is very small,

implying that the study will have 95% probability of accepting the Alternative

Hypothesis.

For the purpose of strengthening proofs in this study, the second statistical

formula to be used is the Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Coefficient, which is also

referred to as the Pearson r. The formula for obtaining the Pearson Product-Moment

Correlation Coefficient is as follows: (L. Calmorin & M. Calmorin, 2007, p. 123)

( )( )
[ ( ) ][ ( ) ]

where:

rxy stands for the Correlation Coefficient between variables X and Y;

 23

as the sum of the variable X;

as the sum of the variable Y;

as the sum of the products of X and Y;

as the total number of cases;

as the sum of the squares of variable X; and

as the sum of the squares of variable Y.

This formula is used mainly in determining an interrelationship between another

two given variables, in this case, the final grades in English of the third year high school

students, denoted by the symbol X, and the CEM post-test, denoted by the symbol Y.

According to Montaa and Pagoso (1985), the value of the Correlation Coefficient ranges

from 1 to +1 (p. 337). A value of 1 signifies a perfect negative correlation, meaning

that as the variable X increases, the variable Y decreases. A value of +1 signifies a

perfect positive correlation, meaning that as the variable X increases, the variable Y also

increases. In-between values between 1 and +1, except zero, signify some degrees of

correlation, whereas a value of 0 signifies no correlation at all (Montaa & Pagoso, 1985,

p. 337-338). The in-between values between 1 and +1 have further detailed

interpretations. According to Calderon and Gonzales (1993), a value from .00 to 0.20

denotes an indifferent or negligible relationship; a value from 0.20 to 0.40 denotes a

present but slight correlation; a value from 0.40 to 0.70 denotes a substantial or
 24

marked relationship; and a value from 0.70 to 1.00 denotes a high to very high

relationship (p. 193).

 25

Chapter 4

Presentation, Analysis and Interpretation of Data

The gathered data about the population for this study were tabulated carefully by

the researchers and made sure that each test score of a particular student corresponds to

their respective final grade in the subject of English. The test scores of the two CEM

English Tests to be used as values for the statistical treatment of this study are the

Standard Scores (SS), which, according to CEM (2009), reports how many standard

deviations above or below the mean an examinee is. The Standard Scores range from 200

to 800 and has a mean of 500 with a standard deviation of 100 (CEM, 2009, p. 3). A

detailed interpretation of the Standard Scores is given through the quality index (QI) of

students, which is the corresponding qualitative description of the Standard Score and is

used as complement to enhance the interpretation of scores (CEM, 2009, p. 4). The range

of standard scores with their equivalent quality indexes is shown through the table below:

SS Range Quality Index (QI)

670 800 E Excellent
621 669 S Superior
573 620 AA Above Average
525 - 572 HA High Average
474 524 A Average
425 473 LA Low Average
375 424 BE Below Average
319 374 P Poor
200 318 VP Very Poor
 26

Table 1. The table above shows the Standard Score ranges with their equivalent quality

index, which range from Very Poor to Excellent.

The Standard Scores which are zero in both the pre-test and the post-test signifies

the absence of a student. For the first part involving the T-test formula, the population

number to be used will be 129 students for the reason that seven students werent able to

take either the pre-test or the post-test. For the second part involving the Pearson r, the

population number to be used will also be 129 students. The English final grades were

aligned with their corresponding students and post-test scores.

Statistical treatment using the T-test formula

The first part of the statistical treatment would involve the use of the T-test. The

variable Y1 would be the CEM pre-test Standard Scores, while the variable Y2 would be

the CEM post-test Standard Scores, both of the subject English. The components N1 and

N2 used for this particular formula both denote the same population number of the two

variables being compared, which would be 129 third year students. The table of the

gathered data is in the following page:

 27

40 485 587 85 362 362

41 595 643 86 422 411
Pre- Post-
Student 42 422 485 87 336 349
test SS test SS
No. 43 651 672 88 320 300
(Y1) (Y2)
44 623 694 89 587 614
45 387 453 90 547 580
1 280 300 46 595 485 91 300 362
2 375 259 47 494 485 92 474 443
3 474 411 48 362 433 93 531 539
4 564 643 49 715 737 94 587 684
5 522 539 50 512 587 95 349 643
6 422 320 51 474 512 96 564 572
7 494 512 52 411 411 97 555 512
8 580 614 53 595 662 98 422 422
9 422 485 54 485 572 99 411 485
10 399 411 55 433 399 100 485 399
11 643 694 56 531 564 101 280 399
12 433 547 57 474 623 102 463 463
13 349 387 58 485 453 103 485 555
14 474 474 59 387 380 104 651 572
15 320 411 60 387 494 105 474 503
16 539 595 61 443 411 106 225 494
17 715 726 62 485 595 107 422 595
18 225 399 63 399 387 108 672 715
19 512 547 64 672 672 109 433 539
20 443 463 65 531 651 110 564 643
21 375 387 66 485 539 111 443 555
22 422 453 67 580 623 112 433 572
23 539 547 68 422 485 113 411 614
24 555 547 69 411 443 114 485 547
25 453 453 70 375 433 115 547 633
26 336 433 71 474 453 116 633 737
27 387 399 72 422 411 117 547 512
28 474 539 73 503 474 118 604 684
29 349 362 74 433 474 119 463 555
30 672 672 75 336 362 120 399 443
31 463 453 76 564 614 121 411 485
32 564 564 77 737 800 122 443 474
33 225 336 78 503 485 123 512 512
34 411 329 79 300 387 124 580 614
35 411 411 80 422 512 125 587 604
36 411 580 81 614 662 126 422 422
37 411 387 82 336 362 127 633 633
38 522 433 83 336 375 128 399 433
39 623 694 84 547 539 129 572 587
 28

Table 2. The table below shows the gathered values of the CEM pre-test Standard Scores

and the CEM post-test Standard Scores of the 129 third year high school

students.

A way of interpreting the data given above is through the frequency distribution.

The frequency distribution allows a detailed interpretation of data based on a given range

of criteria, which is in this case, the quality index of the Standard Scores. Below is a bar

graph indicating the frequency distribution of the pre-test and post-test scores:

35

30
Number of Students

25

20 Pre-test

15 Post-test
Linear (Pre-test)
10
Linear (Post-test)
5

0
VP P BE LA A HA AA S E
Quality Index

Figure 2. This frequency distribution bar graph tells the number of students who fall

under the given quality indexes for both the pre-test and the post-test. Refer to

table 4.1 for the full definitions of the Quality Index.

Based on Figure 2, there is an overall increase of improvement made in the post-

test as shown through an increase in the number of students from the High Average to the
 29

Excellent quality indexes. In the quality index of Very Poor, the frequency of students

decreased from 7 in the pre-test to 3 in the post-test; the quality index of Poor showed a

slight decrease in the frequency of students, from 12 in the pre-test to 9 in the post-test;

the quality index of Below Average showed a significant decrease in frequency from 31

in the pre-test to 22 in the post-test; the quality index of Low Average showed a slight

increase in frequency from 13 in the pre-test to 16 in the post-test; the quality index of

Average showed a slight decrease in frequency from 25 in the pre-test to 21 in the post-

test; the quality index of High Average showed an increase in frequency from 17 in the

pre-test to 20 in the post-test; the quality index of Above Average showed a slight

increase in frequency from 11 in the pre-test to 14 in the post-test; the quality index of

Superior showed a slightly significant increase in frequency from 7 in the pre-test to 11 in

the post-test; and finally, the quality index of Excellent showed a significant increase in

frequency from 6 in the pre-test to 13 in the post-test. In the pre-test, the highest number

of students based on quality index falls under Below Average, having a value of 31,

while the lowest number of students falls under Very Poor, having a value of 7. In the

post-test, the highest number of students based on quality index falls also under Below

Average, having a value of 22, while the lowest number of students falls still under Very

Poor, having a value of 3. If the means of the two variables were computed, the pre-test

scores would have a mean of 473.379845 or 473 when rounded off to the nearest whole

number, while the post-test scores would have a mean of 511.372093 or 511 when

rounded off. If the two means were categorized according to quality index, the overall

pre-test scores would fall under Low Average, while the overall post-test scores would

fall under Average. Apparently, this indicates an overall improvement in the scores.
 30

The linear trend lines of the two variables were included in the chart above. It

shows two slopes that correspond to its variables. The pre-test frequencies have an

overall slightly downward slope towards the right, which indicates that the student

frequencies decrease as the quality indexes increase. The post-test frequencies have an

overall slightly upward slope towards the right, which indicates that the student

frequencies increase as the quality indexes increase. This apparently implies that more of

the students have scores in the post-test higher than the pre-test in terms of quality index.

Further below in the study, the scientific procedures involving the two score sets will be

shown in order to verify the reliability of the interpretations given above.

An easier illustration of the frequency distribution of the data above is shown here

below as a line graph.

35

30
Number of Students

25

20

15 Pre-test
Post-test
10

0
VP P BE LA A HA AA S E
Quality Index

Figure 3. This frequency distribution line graph is another illustration of the previous bar

graph regarding the number of students who fall under the given quality

indexes. Refer to table 4.1 for the full designations of the Quality Index.
 31

In order to verify the reliability of the interpretations given above, the scientific

procedure to be used will be the T-test. Through the process of calculation for use in the

substitution of values for the T-test, the average of the CEM pre-test 1, the average of

the CEM post-test 2, and the variances, or the squares of the standard deviations of the

two variables SD12 and SD22 were computed, as shown below:

473.379845
511.372093

106.1585178

111.0305545

11269.63091

12327.78403

Table 3. This table shows the initial computed values of the pre-test Standard Scores and

the post-test Standard Scores for use in computing for the T-value.

The degree of freedom, denoted by the symbol df, is the number of variables

which are free to vary (Blay, 2007, p. 74). For this kind of T-test, which is a paired two-

sampled mean T-test, the degree of freedom has a formula of N 1. The symbol N

denotes the population number used for this formula. Because the aforementioned

population variables N1 and N2 are both equal to 129, the singular variable N will also be

129. The degree of freedom to be used for this T-test would therefore be 129 1, which

is 128.
 32

The formula for the T-test is as follows:

Substituting the initially computed values would result to this equation:

( ) ( )
( ) ( )

( ) ( )

Simplifying the equation above yields to this answer:

The obtained T-value is -2.809038119. Getting the absolute value and rounding

off the obtained value to two decimal places results to 2.81. According to L. Calmorin

and M. Calmorin (2007), the algebraic sign of the T-value is not applied in getting the

difference between the means 1 and 2 (p. 168). The level of significance, denoted by

the Greek symbol , used by the researchers is only 5% or 0.05, and the type of T-test

used here is two-tailed. The critical value for a two-tailed test at 5% level of significance,

in accordance to the degree of freedom value of 128, is 1.9787, or 1.98 when rounded off
 33

to two decimal places (T Distribution Critical Values, 2011, Retrieved from:

www.easycalculation.com, Retrieved on: December 18, 2012). The obtained value of

2.81 is greater than the critical value of 1.98, indicating that the two variables, the pre-test

and the post-test, have a significant difference from each other. This indicates that the

post-test Standard Scores have improved over from the pre-test Standard Scores. Below

is a scatter graph illustration of how the value points are distributed when plotted:

800

700
Post-test Standard Scores

600

500

400

300

200
200 300 400 500 600 700 800
Pre-test Standard Scores

Figure 4. This scatter graph displays the closeness of the values between the CEM pre-

test (Y1) and the CEM post-test (Y2). Plotted value points which are showed

with a degree of closeness with each other and have a positive slope are said to

be in a positive, high relationship.

Figure 4 displays value points that are sloping upwards towards the right. This

shows that the relationship of the pre-test Standard Scores and the post-test Standard
 34

Scores is a direct relationship in which as one variable increases, the other variable also

increases.

Another illustration of the distribution of scores is the Normal Distribution, in

which plotted points are arranged in a bell-shaped curve according to the number of

frequencies of the scores relative to the mean and standard deviation. Below is a Normal

Distribution scatter graph of the pre-test and post-test Standard Scores:

Pre-test
Post-test

200 300 400 500 600 700 800

Standard Scores

Figure 5. This scatter graph displays the Normal Distribution curves of the CEM pre-test

(Y1) and the CEM post-test (Y2).

In the illustration from Figure 5, the pre-test scores show a peak higher than that

of the post-test scores. The height of the normal curves above is determined by the

standard deviation, or the average distances of the values from each other. A high peak

indicates a small standard deviation while a low peak indicates a high standard deviation.

The pre-test scores have values closer with each other, shown by a higher peak, while the
 35

post-test scores have values slightly scattered and farther from each other, shown by a

lower peak. The values of the two curves show a concentration at the peak of the

distribution, signifying that more of the students in the population got average scores.

The mean of a normal distribution is situated at the center of the curve the point which

has the peak of a distribution. In the figure, the post-test curve shows a shift to the right.

This indicates that the mean of the post-test scores is higher compared to the mean of the

pre-test scores. This further justifies the improvement of the post-test scores from the pre-

test scores.

Statistical treatment using the Pearson r formula

The second part of the statistical treatment would involve the use of the Pearson

Product-Moment Correlation Coefficient, or the Pearson r. The values for the variable X

would be the English final grades of the students. The values for the variable Y would be

the Standard Scores of the CEM post-test for English. The population number N used for

this formula would be 129 Third Year students. The table of the gathered initial data is

shown in the following page:

 36

40 86 587 85 79 362
41 90 643 86 85 411
Final Post-
Student 42 83 485 87 81 349
Grades Test
No. 43 92 672 88 79 300
(X) SS (Y)
44 89 694 89 83 614
45 87 453 90 89 580
1 83 300 46 82 485 91 81 362
2 82 259 47 85 485 92 85 443
3 81 411 48 86 433 93 86 539
4 93 643 49 96 737 94 81 684
5 82 539 50 88 587 95 78 643
6 79 320 51 84 512 96 92 572
7 88 512 52 80 411 97 82 512
8 94 614 53 95 662 98 82 422
9 84 485 54 87 572 99 77 485
10 82 411 55 81 399 100 81 399
11 92 694 56 90 564 101 83 399
12 86 547 57 81 623 102 80 463
13 75 387 58 84 453 103 82 555
14 86 474 59 82 380 104 80 572
15 78 411 60 84 494 105 80 503
16 91 595 61 86 411 106 79 494
17 88 726 62 81 595 107 81 595
18 80 399 63 80 387 108 90 715
19 84 547 64 89 672 109 87 539
20 78 463 65 89 651 110 85 643
21 79 387 66 85 539 111 84 555
22 83 453 67 88 623 112 85 572
23 82 547 68 84 485 113 75 614
24 85 547 69 80 443 114 77 547
25 83 453 70 79 433 115 77 633
26 79 433 71 81 453 116 96 737
27 81 399 72 79 411 117 89 512
28 85 539 73 78 474 118 96 684
29 83 362 74 88 474 119 85 555
30 94 672 75 78 362 120 83 443
31 85 453 76 85 614 121 80 485
32 85 564 77 93 800 122 84 474
33 81 336 78 87 485 123 82 512
34 82 329 79 79 387 124 89 614
35 83 411 80 79 512 125 89 604
36 85 580 81 86 662 126 82 422
37 81 387 82 80 362 127 88 633
38 82 433 83 82 375 128 82 433
39 90 694 84 89 539 129 84 587
 37

Table 4. This table above shows the gathered values of the English final grades and the

CEM post-test Standard Scores of the 129 third year high school students.

The frequency distribution is used once again to interpret the data given above,

specifically the final grades in English. The frequency distribution is a way of grouping a

given set of data based on a given range, which is in this case, the range of final grades

that would appear on a DBCBED, SY 2011 - 2012 report card. Those grades range from

70 to 100 70 being the lowest possible grade to appear in the said report card, and 100

being the highest possible grade. Below is a bar graph indicating the frequency

distribution of the final grades in English:

16
14
12
Number of Students

10
8
6
4
2
0
70 72 74 76 78 80 82 84 86 88 90 92 94 96 98 100
Final Grades in English

Figure 6. This frequency distribution bar graph tells the number of students who fall

under the corresponding final grades in English.

 38

According to Figure 6, the most number of students under a particular grade falls

under 82, with 15 as the number of students. The least number of students under a

particular grade falls under 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 76, 97, 98, 99, and 100, with 0 as the

number of students. If the mean, median, and mode of the final grades were computed,

the resulting mean would be 84.07751938, or 84 when rounded off to the nearest whole

number; the median, or the middle score of the data, would be 83, and the mode would be

82, as already indicated by the most number of students under a particular grade.

Another illustration of the frequency distribution given in Figure 6 is through the

line graph, which gives an easier visualization of the frequencies of the final grades in

English:

16
14
12
Number of Students

10
8
6
4
2
0
70 72 74 76 78 80 82 84 86 88 90 92 94 96 98 100
Final Grades in English

Figure 7. This frequency distribution line graph is another illustration of the previous bar

graph regarding the number of students who fall under the given final grades.
 39

The scientific procedure to be used will be obtaining the Pearson Product-

Moment Correlation Coefficient in order to see if there is a relationship between the final

grades in English and the CEM post-test results. Through the process of calculation for

use in the substitution of values for Pearson r, the summation of the English final grades

X, summation of the post-test Standard Scores Y, summation of the product of X and Y,

summation of the square of the variable X, summation of the square of the variable Y,

square of the summation of the variable X, and the square of summation of the variable Y

were computed, as shown below:

10846

65967

5588365

914646

35323967

( ) 117635716

( ) 4351645089

Table 5. This table shows the initial computed values of the English final grades and the

post-test Standard Scores for use in computing for the Correlation Coefficient.

The equation for finding the Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Coefficient is

as follows:
 40

( )( )
[ ( ) ][ ( ) ]

Substituting the initially computed values would result to this equation:

( )( ) ( )( )
[( )( ) ( )][( )( ) ( )]

Simplifying the equation above yields to this answer:

The obtained Correlation Coefficient is 0.636473384, or 0.64 when rounded off.

This value is positive number, greater than zero, and less than +1. Recalling the

qualitative description of the in-between values of the Correlation Coefficient, it states

that a value from 0.40 to 0.70 denotes a substantial or marked relationship. The

obtained value of 0.64 signifies that the English final grades and the Standard Scores of

the CEM post-test for English have a substantial relationship. To illustrate the

distribution and closeness of the above values, the scatter graph is used as shown below:
 41

800

700
Post-test Standard Scores
600

500

400

300

200
70 75 80 85 90 95 100
Final Grades

Figure 8. This scatter graph displays the closeness of values between the English final

grades (X) and the post test scores (Y). Value points that are nearly close with

each other are said to be in a high relationship.

The graph displayed above contains value points that are close to each other and

are sloping upward towards the right. This means that the relationship between the

English final grades and the post-test scores is positive and direct. If it were a perfect

positive relationship, the scatter graph would display a straight line, sloping upward

towards the right. The manner of sloping indicates that as one variable increases, the

other also increases. This shows that there is a relationship between the English final

grades and the post-test Standard Scores, and that the relationship is positive and

substantially high. According to the graph above, there are some points that are low in the

final grades but are high in the post-test. However, there are other points that display an

average in the final grade but low in the post-test. This indicates that there are variations

in the relationship between the final grades and post-test scores.

 42

Chapter 5

Summary, Conclusion, and Recommendations

Summary

The Center for Educational Measurement is a helpful organization whose primary

objective is to serve the assessment needs of schools throughout the Philippine setting.

The CEM administers tests of achievement in various subjects in the basic education of

schools. Through this study, the researchers have shown the different parts of education,

from the curriculum to the examination.

In the review of literature, the concepts regarding the curriculum and the

examinations were discussed, including the CEM. It is cited that the CEM pre-test and

post-test for English were developed by the preparation of test specifications based on a

survey on the English curricula of a number of schools. It is also cited that the said tests

are both reliable and valid, thus supporting the fact that the CEM bases its tests on the

established English curriculum. This fact answers the second question of this studys

problem, which states that Where does CEM base its pre-test and post-test for the

subject of English III?

Also in the review of literature, the researchers cited that the validity of the two

CEM tests was processed by correlating the test scores and final grades in English of a

particular number of schools. The validity coefficients were shown to be substantially

high, indicating that there is a relationship between the test scores and the final grades of

the said subject. This answers the fifth question of this studys problem, which states that
 43

Does the final average in English III of the third year high school students have a

relationship with the CEM test results?

Going back to the first chapter of this study, the Conceptual Framework of the

researchers indicated that the researchers predicted that the relationship between the

English curriculum and the CEM pre-test and post-test for English will exist if the

students have overall improved scores in the post-test than in the pre-test. This is so

because the curriculum is a guide that, through implementation, would result to students

having high post-test scores by consequently gaining knowledge from the curriculum.

In order to verify this, the researchers incorporated the usage of quantitative

methods, in which the study bases its conclusions by means of numerical processing. The

researchers tested the prediction by means of the main statistical treatment, which is the

T-test. The T-test is used mainly for this study because it verifies whether two variables

have differences from each other, in this case, the pre-test scores and the post-test scores.

The result of the T-test showed a value of 2.81, and it is shown that it is greater than the

equivalent critical T-value of 1.98, thus supporting the fact that there is a difference

between the pre-test scores and the post-test scores, in other words, the post-test scores

have overall improved scores than in the pre-test. This finding answers the third question

of this studys problem, which states that Is there an improvement made in the results of

the English CEM post-test from the English CEM pre-test?

Additionally, in order to verify the validity of the CEM Tests, the researchers

used the correlational statistical treatment, which is the Pearson r. This formula is used to

see if two variables, in this case, the final grades in English and the post-test scores of the

participants of the study, have a relationship with each other, whether it is direct, indirect,
 44

or negligible. The coefficient obtained through the Pearson r is +0.64, which is a

substantial relationship. This confirms the validity of the CEM Tests. If the values are

matched with each other and are shown through a scatter graph, the illustration would

display a positive, upward-rightward slope, but with some scattering points. There were

some points that displayed low English final grades but high post-test scores, while other

points displayed average English final grades but low post-test scores. This confirms that

not all the time low grades mean low scores; there is degree of variation between the two

variables, thus answering the fourth question of this studys problem, which states that

Does having a high score in the CEM post-test for English mean that a student has a

high final grade in English?

Conclusion

The T-test computations indicated that there is an overall improvement made in

the post-test scores of the students from the pre-test scores. This logically means that the

students learned enough and gained knowledge from the English curriculum, therefore,

the relationship exists between the two CEM test results and the English curriculum. In

the Pearson r computations, the correlation coefficient indicated that there is a substantial

relationship between the English final grades and the post-test scores of the participants.

This signifies that the specifications of the CEM tests are close to the instructional

objectives or the curricula of the school, thus concluding that the CEM tests are valid and

consequently, become related to the English curriculum. From the overall computations

in Chapter 4, the researchers conclude for this study that the hypothesis to be accepted is

the Alternative Hypothesis (HA) and the hypothesis to be rejected is the Null Hypothesis
 45

(HO). The Alternative Hypothesis (HA) indicates that There is a relationship between the

English curriculum and the results of the CEM pre-test and post-test for English of the

third year high school students of Don Bosco College Basic Education Department,

School Year 2011 2012 because there is an improvement made in the post-test scores

from that of the pre-test. The researchers have proven that there is a relationship

between the English curriculum and the results of the CEM pre-test and post-test for

English, thus answering the first question of this studys problem.

Recommendations

After the thorough analysis given through this study, the researchers would intend

on making recommendations based from their data. First, the researchers recommend to

DBC BED to encourage all the students to take the CEM pre-test and post-test with

complete attendance. This is for the reason that the researchers did not completely

consider in the computations all the students of this study, which are the third year

students of SY 2011 2012. There were a number of student absences present in the

originally obtained data, and because more accurate answers ideally require the complete

scores of the students for the pre-test and post-test, the researchers decided to eliminate

those absences and retained those with complete scores for use in the statistical treatment.

A benefit from this is that it can help all the students and the institution to know the

matter in which particular students are low-performing and who are in need of assistance,

especially in the English subject. Another benefit is that it can help future studies

regarding the two CEM tests to have possibly more reliable results because of the
 46

completeness of the scores in the pre-test and post-test. Additionally, the institution can

develop programs that can enhance student achievement in said subject.

Second, the researchers recommend to the students of DBC BED to study hard

and review for the CEM test for English III, especially for the post-test. This is to

produce overall higher scores in the post-test than those found by the researchers in this

study. Also, the researchers recommend that the students be aware of the scope of the

CEM tests and that they practice their skills in different fields through the curriculum, for

instance, reading comprehension, to have better chances of having a high score in the said

tests.

Finally, the researchers recommend including the study of factors which could

have affected the results of the CEM pre-test and post-test for English III, as well as the

English final grades. These factors are, for instance, the behavior of students while taking

the said exams, the conditions of the students during the exams, and the scope of the

exam. The researchers recommend the usage of short surveys in order to obtain the

factors affecting the results, though the surveys are optional. The factors affecting the

said two variables are the main limitation of this current established study. Additionally,

the researchers recommend including information regarding the scope of the English III

curriculum.
 47

Works cited

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http://www.scribd.com.
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 49

Appendices
 50

Appendix A

Request letter for obtaining data

Don Bosco College

Canlubang, Calamba City
Basic Education Department

November 20, 2012

Rev. Fr. Arnold M. Sanico, SDB

Principal
DBC BED

Dear Fr. Arnold:

Greetings of peace!

We, the Fourth Year High School students from the section of IV-Cimatti, are currently
working on our thesis entitled The Relationship of the English curriculum with the Results of
the CEM pre-test and post-test for English of the Third year high school students of Don
Bosco College Basic Education Department, School Year 2011 2012. In line with this,
we would like to ask permission from your good office to allow us to obtain the following
data:

1. The English CEM test results (both pre-test and post-test) of the Third year high
school students of DBC BED, SY 2011 2012.
2. The CEM Examinations Manual
3. The final grades in English of the Third year high school students of DBC
BED, SY 2011 2012.

Rest assured that the data obtained will be treated with utmost confidentiality. Likewise,
proper coordination will be done with the persons involved. Thank you very much.

Yours truly,

Matthew S. Lopez Chris P. Magampon Marc A. Magnaye Vonn V. Visande

Noted by: Approved by:

Mr. Artell L. Almonte Rev. Fr. Arnold M, Sanico, SDB

Subject Teacher Principal, DBC BED
 51

Appendix B

Final grades in English of the third year students

52
 53

Appendix C

CEM pre-test and post-test results for English of the third year students
54
55
56
57
 58

Appendix D

Computations for the T-test

( ) ( )
( ) ( )

( ) ( )

 59

Appendix E

Computations for the Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Coefficient

( )( )
[ ( ) ][ ( ) ]

( )( ) ( )( )
[( )( ) ( )][( )( ) ( )]

[ ][ ]

[ ][ ]
 60

Curriculum Vitae

Name: Matthew S. Lopez

Birthdate: March 9, 1997

Home Address: B29 L18 Yale St., Madison South, Calamba City, Laguna

Father's Name: Omar T. Lopez

Mother's Name: Daisy May S. Lopez

Educational Background

Pre-Primary Education: Integrated Montessori Center 2003

Primary Education: Integrated Montessori Center 2009

Secondary Education: Don Bosco College 2013

 61

Curriculum Vitae

Name: Chris Leuven P. Magampon

Birthdate: October 22, 1996

Home Address: B4 L4 Phase 1-C, San Lorenzo South, Sta. Rosa City, Laguna

Father's Name: Christopher V. Magampon

Mother's Name: Anabel P. Magampon

Educational Background

Pre-Primary Education: San Geronimo Emiliani School 2003

Primary Education: San Geronimo Emiliani School 2009

Secondary Education: Don Bosco College 2013

 62

Curriculum Vitae

Name: Marc Justine A. Magnaye

Birthdate: October 28, 1996

Home Address: Lourdess Street, Mayapa, Calamba City, Laguna

Father's Name: Melbino O. Magnaye

Mother's Name: Lailanie A. Magnaye

Educational Background

Pre-Primary Education: Don Bosco Children Center 2003

Primary Education: Asian Computer College 2009

Secondary Education: Don Bosco College 2013

 63

Curriculum Vitae

Name: Vonn Jared V. Visande

Birthdate: December 7, 1996

Home Address: B9 L17 Saturnina Drive, Amaia Scapes, Calamba City, Laguna

Fathers Name: Roberto E. Visande

Mothers Name: Precilla V. Visande

Educational Background

Pre-Primary Education: Child Garden School 2003

Primary Education: Canossa Academy 2009

Secondary Education: Don Bosco College 2013