Friday, October 26, 2007
Can test be too easy?
can you make test so easy that everyone bombs it...my kids don’t get issued books so they [books] have to stay in the classroom..i feel this is hardship on them so I give them a chapter handout of my powerpoint..then I review with them the day before the test (basically telling them every question on the test), then as a group I gave them 90 minutes to take the online practice test for a grade then study as a group..come test day about 90% bombed the test..do you think there is a point where they don’t think they have to prepare because I have "spoon fed" them the material? Should I make them work a little more on their own? My 3rd period class only had 4 kids that made an 80 or higher
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9 comments:
Perry,
Your comments sounds like my classes. I don't have enough books for my classes so I give specific notes to study, lecture and pop quizzes. This is to help them retain the information before the exam. More than 3/4 do not pass the exam and act as if it's my fault. They constantly complain it is too much work or it is too hard. Excuses,Excuses, Excuses. I wish I never the solution.
Julia
Sorry, I did not preview my comments before sending.The last sentence should read, I wish I knew the solution.
Julia
This is a tough question to answer without having more context-- i.e. knowing your students, your teaching style, your students' learning styles, your test/test format, etc. The best response I can give under this set of constraints is that students will only learn if they are compelled to think and reason. This requires cognitive processing on some level (think of Bloom's Taxonomy and the different levels of questioning/ cognitive processing). Also, I want to emphasize that you have to think of assessment as an ongoing process, not something that only happens at the end of an instructional unit. Assessment occurs throughout the learning process, and you can assess your students through observation, group response techniques (remember the "Ja" and "Nein" cards), questioning strategies, etc.
That being said, many students will try to worm their way out of thinking or out of taking any responsibility for their learning. These students are more than happy to let you (the instructor) do their thinking for them. However, if you want to impact your students' learning, you have to get them to think. In a nutshell, don't make it easy for them, just make it possible.
I have asked myself the same question. I normally review twice before the test because I like to see that everyone got it. However, I can usually tell which ones werent paying one bit of attention even though they looked like they did. A few of my IEP kids completely bomb it because they know that the school wont allow me to give them a failing grade at the end and chose not to care what so ever.
I love Jessie's comment, "Don't make it easy for them, just make it possible."
This sounds like my classes. I thought it was me at first. I made adjustments all last year. I took a look at my teaching style as well as changed the type of assessments. I have done everything you have named and they still don't do well. The one thing I did this year with my advance students was to give them a powerpoint of the chapter and told them that the test would be an essay. I do not like to grade essays because of the students writing issues and it is time consuming, but it worked. We completed the chapter on Becoming a Police officer and they had to explain to me the process including much of the information in the notes. They all did well, even the ones with poor writing skills. Now this didn't work for the other classes. So, I suggest that you keep doing what your doing.
I like Jessie's comments.The kids have to think for themselves.I gave a test recently. In one of the questions, I also gave the answer. I was surprised to see how many missed the question. My kids have also asked for a "word bank"on their medical terminology quizzes and to use their notes. I'm not doing either. I have noticed their studying habits improve. Life doesn't give you word banks.
last year i wront on the board before a test in letters about 2 feet "#2 is B" about half missed number 2...they really pay attention..i think next test i wont let them use their notes and not do much of a review...put the monkey back on their shoulders so to say
Same for me. I only have a class set of books. My kids keep on using the excuse - you didn't cover that and I didn't have a book to study from so why should I get that question wrong!! It is driving me crazy. Where is all our tax money going that we cannot purchase books for our students. I hear that it is the same even for math and science classes. Unbelievable!!!!!!!
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