Can we really assess our students accurately?
No, even with our best efforts at measuring our students’ learning precisely, we can’t be entirely accurate in assessment for a number of reasons. We can, however, alleviate measurement error. First, here are some ways we can lessen the “human error” in test takers. Next are some ideas for actively engaging in “good” assessment practices.
- There is such a thing as getting in a “mental rut,” blanking out, or being preoccupied so that we can’t access material in our long term memory, even though a we may understand the material. Stress or other emotional factors can compete for our concentration. My personal examples of the result of this phenomenon are walking out the classroom door and immediately remembering the answer/term/solution to a question, or being able to see in my mind’s eye the page of text and where the term in bold is located, remembering the term’s meaning, but not recalling the term itself. Some tactics for alleviating mental ruts/mental sets are sufficient reviews; preparing students in advance for the type of test items to expect; providing clear, well written items that clarify the expected response; and setting an “assessment climate” early in the year in which assessment is “show what you know” rather than “gotcha on that one!”
- When we are ill, assessment accuracy suffers. Recognizing when students are truly unwell can allow a teacher the discretion to test ill students at another time for more accurate measurement.
- Okay, maybe you’ll say there is no such thing as luck, but we all do tend to learn some material better than others and sometimes we can even “luck up” and guess the correct answer on multiple choice items. Providing sufficient reviews can assist students in sufficient preparation. Researching guidelines for writing/selecting appropriate test questions can reveal to us how to write “really good” items that aren’t as susceptible to guessing.
We can also engage in good assessment practices such as the following strategies.
- Vary the types of assessment used in class. For instance, some students are stronger writers than others which is a clear advantage on some types of tests. Using one type of assessment exclusively can penalize students for having different learning styles.
- Teach test taking skills and strategies to even the playing field for students who have not been privy to this instruction.
- Be sure to test on the cognitive level at which the student practiced the content in learning. Did they merely regurgitate the knowledge or did they apply or reflect on the learning?
- Be sure students are tested in familiar ways and know what your expectations for responses are. For example, be sure all students have practiced the type of test questions or formats you include in your assessments. Be sure to write clear directions for students, even though those directions may seem somewhat redundant to you. For example, let students know how to respond to true/false. I remember a friend showing me how to make t’s and f’s look similar!
- Provide students with sufficient time to take a test. We forget that the test can be taken in parts over more than one class period.
- Provide your students with practice on different types of test items.
- Collaborate with other teachers to review tests prior to using them.
- Be sure that what is on the test was covered in class or assigned.
- At all cost, eliminate unintentional bias in testing.
Good teaching!