Testing has become such a popular topic to discuss I was glad to see that the textbook focused on it so much. It is important that teachers make sure that students understand the material that they are going to see on standardized tests, but I also feel that teachers need to make sure that when they have the opportunity to have a moment with one student or even the whole class that they make sure to jump at it. We as teachers came into this profession because it is one that gives back in the sense that it gives us the feeling of doing something meaningful with the knowledge that we have obtained throughout our years of schooling. What also is important to know as well is how to write an effective test. I’ve heard that tests should be written by the teacher themselves and I believe that to be true. It allows the teacher to ensure that the test is covering the information that they have been using. I also believe that there should be multiple test items on each test, not just multiple choice or short answer. A balance of these questions will create a test that will allow the students to show their mastery of the material to the best of their abilities. All of the different types of learning styles will be benefitted and you can really see if the students truly mastered the material that has been presented to them.
I agree that tests should be written by the teacher or examined and tweaked prior to the teaching of the unit. So many times teachers use the textbook tests without thinking about each question, the type of questions and whether or not it is a true assessment of what has been covered in class. Assessment is part of the planning process. If you understand and know what the learning objectives are before teaching then you should also consider what the learning outcomes should be. They need to be aligned.
ReplyDelete