Summative tests, such as a final exam that measures how much was learned but offers no opportunities for a student to improve, have been found to be less effective. Teachers should tread carefully with test design, however, as not all tests help students retain information. Though multiple choice tests are relatively easy to create, they can contain misleading answer choices—that are either ambiguous or vague—or offer the infamous all-, some-, or none-of-the-above choices, which tend to encourage guessing.
While educators often rely on open-ended questions, such short-answer questions, because they seem to offer a genuine window into student thinking, research shows that there is no difference between multiple choice and constructed response questions in terms of demonstrating what students have learned. All students do not do equally well on multiple choice tests, however. Researchers hypothesize that one explanation for the gender difference on high-stakes tests is risk aversion, meaning girls tend to guess less.
Giving more time for fewer, more complex or richer testing questions can also increase performance, in part because it reduces anxiety. Test achievement often reflects outside conditions, and how students do on tests can be shifted substantially by comments they hear and what they receive as feedback from teachers.
When teachers tell disadvantaged high school students that an upcoming assessment may be a challenge and that challenge helps the brain grow, students persist more, leading to higher grades, according to research from Stanford professor David Paunesku.
Also harmful to student motivation are data walls displaying student scores or assessments. They do not have extra stress on whether or not they will finish the test on time. Having enough time to finish the tests will end up helping teachers know whether or not students actually know the subject too.
Therefore teachers should provide as much time as needed, and standardized tests should not be timed. Do you think tests should be timed? You are commenting using your WordPress. You are commenting using your Google account. You are commenting using your Twitter account. You are commenting using your Facebook account. Notify me of new comments via email.
Notify me of new posts via email. Share this: Twitter Facebook. Like this: Like Loading Leave a Reply Cancel reply Enter your comment here Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:. Sign In Subscribe. Reset Search. Assessment Opinion. By Alden S. Blodget — September 30, 5 min read. Share article Remove Save to favorites Save to favorites.
Alden S. Blodget was a high school teacher and administrator for 50 years. Our emphasis on speed in school is antithetical to stimulating meaningful learning.
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