FIAE+B1+Chapter+6



Wormeli really shines in this chapter, applying his knack for coming up with fresh, well-founded curriculum ideas to methods of testing. At first it is stressed that the key to a good test is good questions. Wormeli says, "Every test question should be important enough to ask and clear enough to answer" (75). According to Wormeli, the use of good[| questions] keeps the students from wasting time on their test, and they also make it easier for the teacher to grade. He then expresses a number of ideas that could be used to serve the testing system in this way. Among his proposals for changing the way we think about tests are such ideas as "Double Recording", maintaining variation and clarity in prompts, and avoiding confusing negatives in test questions. The "Double Recording" technique is geared toward students' satisfaction, allowing them to discover their scores nearly immediately after handing in their test. Other stratgies such as the use of clarity and variation in prompts have an emphasis on making the questions easier to read, comprehend and answer. In addition to shying away from timed tests (for fear of the havoc this would wreak on students who all work at different paces) Wormeli suggests that one make sure the test is assessing exactly what you want to be assessing. Also, he argues that the testing method should echo the methods used during instruction. For instance, a math class that uses calculators during class work and instruction should allow the use of calculators on the test. All of these ideas make for a chapter that may be used as a valuable resource for future classes and tests to come.
 * Abstract (John)**

It seems that everyone's personal favorite testing strategy was the double-recording method. This falls in line with the importance that has been placed on student self-assessment in previous chapters. Not only does this method allow students to view the outcome of their labor before they have had a chance to forget just why they answered questions the way they did, but it then allows them the time to wonder what they might do next time to improve their score. Not everyone was partial to the idea of tests to begin with, however, and that made this chapter mean something else to them. Though they may find tests generally tedious and subject to having their corners cut by the students, this chapter still was able to give them some ideas for making their own tests that will be better received. Also, a few students mentioned that they enjoyed the idea of one or two special questions in the test to get some feedback for the teacher. I chose to look at it from the other perspective and found [|this] "Benchmark Reflection", which is two pages, one for a student to point out one test question they missed and one question they got right, then explain why they think they either got it right or wrong. Something like this could then be given to the teacher for some one-on-one coaching about the content of the test or the student's preparedness.
 * Synthesis (John)**

toc

Rachel B.
It’s hard to not be bias and not highly consider your own personal views when reading these chapters. It is important to have in the back of your mind while reading, seeing, and listening to any sort of information, particularly as an education major, to be considerate to the fact that someone elses point of view may be valid. All without losing sight of your overall view, because you most likely have it for a reason. While reading, I initially was a little unwilling to agree with Wormeli’s knowledge regarding test questions. This was because my mind immediately jumped to the fact that tests make students feel nervous, nauseous and most sadly, cause students to memorize the information for the test and to then follow by dumping it out of their brain the very next week. What Wormeli did in this chapter though was gave great information on how to improve this particular type of assessment, tests. If clearer questions are proposed, if instead of guessing, the questions require you to know and understand the material, if confusing negatives are avoided, and the tests themselves are kept short and somewhat fun, they will be better tools of assessments. This is far greater then them being stressors and poor indicators of students gained knowledge.

Jen T.
I haven’t even finished the second page of this chapter, and I can already tell I’m going to agree with everything it says. How many times have I, as a student, wondered why teachers feel the need to confuse their students with ridiculously complicated and confusing multiple choice questions. Then again, tests aren’t for the students’ benefit, they’re for the teachers’. Their suggestions on the multiple choice and fill-in-the-blank questions are helpful, and the double recording of test responses, at first, seemed monotonous and just silly, but I would make it an option for students in my own classroom if they’re interested in knowing how they did immediately. Negatives are horrible. I think timed performance is unnecessary, and personally believe that Mt. Blue’s choice, to extend their deadlines for homework and such, is completely valid under certain circumstances and with responsible teachers that really care about their students.

Rachel F.
In chapter 6 “Creating Good Test Questions,” Wormeli starts out with a great quote: “Tests shouldn’t play games with students’ success” (p. 75). I loved this quote because it could not be truer. The first tip that Wormeli gives is to mix traditional with non-traditional test questions. Traditional test questions can be restricting to students’ knowledge because they only allow for forced choice answers. It’s okay to use traditional questions from time to time but not for a whole test. Using questions that use constructed responses will allow students to discuss and elaborate on what they know. Traditional questions can be used but must be monitored. For example, for true and false questions, provide a “T” and an “F” for students to circle so there is no question of what letter they wrote. An awesome way to allow students to have immediate feedback is to have them make two copies of their answers when they are taking the test. This way they keep a copy when it is time to hand it in and the teacher can go over the answers right away. The students will be able to see how they did right away. It is important to be as clear as possible because making students guess only hinders their achievement. Remember that less is more with questions. You do not need ten questions on the same topic to see if a student understands that topic. The last bit of information that I loved was using fun in your tests. By including student’s names and cultures in the test, they connect to the questions more. I will try to make sure my tests are created around great tips like those listed in this chapter. Traditional questions aren’t the greatest but if I must use them, I will adjust accordingly. My ultimate goal is the success of my students.

Megan
Right off the bat I was able to relate to this chapter. Like I said in my chapter 5 response, I am not a big fan of tests for two reasons. The first is that there are so many ways to get around knowing the material. For some kids they recognize a word or phrase and because they are given a prompt they can guess the answer. Also with true or false questions kids will just put down an answer. It doesn’t mean that they know the material. Sometimes it’s easy to tell when a kid is guessing but sometimes its not. The second reason is that it is so easy for teachers to come up with unclear questions. It’s easy to understand how kids could think teachers are trying to trick them. Some teachers do try to but others don’t. And unfortunately some teachers are not receptive to the fact that parts of their test maybe unclear to students and as a result students grades suffer. When I was in the schools my mentor teacher and I gave a test regarding stress. There was a short essay question on the test that asked the student to discuss what happens to the body when a stressor is presented. My mentor teacher and I knew what we wanted because we knew the material and the answers to the test. The kids should have put down things like heart rate increases, blood pressure increases, adrenaline is released, pupils dilate, hearing gets better, etc. Instead the kids talked about the stages of stress: alarm, resistance, and fatigue. It was easy to see how the kids could get confused. Fortunately my mentor teacher gave them a chance to express how they thought the questions were unfair and said he would work out a solution with them.

Karin
This chapter was all about the importance of creating clear, precise, and appropriate tests for your subject matter. I learned that test questions can be inappropriate, simply based upon the fact that they are not worded clearly enough, or if they contain too many variables. Essay prompts that are not clear enough are also very confusing to students; clarifying confusing prompts will create a much more insightful assessment of the students’ achievement. This will be very important to my future classroom because my assessment strategy determines how successful my students are in my class. Choosing an assessment strategy that allows my students to learn and be successful is one of the most important factors in my teaching.

Courtney
This chapter really opened my eyes to how difficult creating a test may be, there is plenty to think about. First of all a teacher should not include unclear questions, where there may be many answers that could be right in one way or another, you do not want to confuse the student with the question itself. A student may get bored with a true and false test, instead include many different types of questions like multiple choice and short answer responses. Also make the test as simple as possible when it comes to the questions, if not much writing is needed for the response then avoid it by simply having them circle the answer. The test needs to be as clear and as organized as possible to avoid confusion. Also the answer should not be given away by a grammar clue. Including the students names and something about them into a test question can spice up the test, as well as some humor with puns relating to the subject. Lastly making the test easily gradable for the teacher is not always best for the students.

Jen P.
This chapter was also chock full of helpful tips! I love the idea of “Double Recording of Test Responses,” (page 77). Not only do students get immediate feedback, which is great, but the book even gives tips on how to avoid cheating! I enjoyed the “Put Some Fun into Test Questions” on page 81. It offers some good ways to incorporate information about the students: “Incorporate students’ names and their cultures into the test items.” That is a good idea, especially after I gather information from them in the beginning of the year, including multiple intelligence tests. Besides that, I love the idea of relating to students and making learning fun. I thought that asking, on the test, what students thought would be on the test but was not was a brilliant idea. Students get to have an input and relate their feelings, and the teacher gets to find out, in a way, how much students studied. Those are probably the students I need to work extra hard to engage.

Stephanie L.
Question 153: What is the best way to describe chapter 6 of "Fair isn't Always Equal?" a. It provides //two// different ways to avoid creating "trick questions" on tests. b. It is important to be clear in how you word certain questions and don't not avoid using confusing negatives. c. Make tests fun and silly by using Billy's name or basing questions around current celebrity news (What is Britney Spears up to these days?) d. Only some of the above. e. All of the above. f. All of the above, plus a few more that I am too lazy to turn into possible answers and will discuss below.

All silliness aside (the answer is f, by the way), this chapter was very helpful! I have never been a fan of tests, especially multiple choice tests like the question I have created above. Sometimes it really does feel like teachers are trying to trick us into choosing the incorrect answer just by the way they word the question and possible answers. I really liked the ideas that were in this chapter, but as an English concentration, I feel like my main focus will be on short reading quizzes and major projects. At any rate, it is important to have a variety of questions in case there are students who struggle more with the types of questions they are asked than the material that they are trying to learn. I also like the idea of having students rewrite their answers on a separate sheet so they have a copy as well and can correct it along with you during class. This gives immediate feedback while preventing any cheating. In school I always hated timed tests. It is unfair to students who read slow or have a hard time concentrating during class. There were times in school where I knew that I knew the answer, I just needed the extra time to answer it properly! Another helpful tip they provided was to create tests in a way that makes grading easier on the teacher. Whether this requires using answer sheets or a pattern of answers, it is good to think ahead! Very helpful chapter overall!

Geoff
Chapter six in //Fair Isn’t Always Equal// is probably one that I will turn to pretty often when I begin creating tests and assessments. As a Supplemental Instruction leader, I came up with questions to be discussed during the session in order to give more practice and see where people were making mistakes in the Economics class. In doing so, however, I found myself having to go back pretty often to rewrite questions and change numbers, because I couldn’t understand/answer my own questions! I don’t imagine that being much different as a beginning teacher, so I appreciate the suggestions from Wormeli in this chapter. I do have one concern in this chapter, however, and it has to do with tiered testing? The one question I have is that if we tier tests for different groups of students, or have certain groups answer certain questions, do we grade them equally (I think this might be getting into the fair versus equal debate but I’m not sure.)? For instance, is it possible for a student in the lower tier to earn the same grade as a student in the higher tier? If so, how do we “sell” this idea to higher tier students? As a student, I have seen this happen; I have never had a problem with this lower tier/higher tier grading system, but I know other students who were infuriated with this practice. Perhaps there’s something in the chapter I didn’t pick up or understand, but I just want to know how we go about this practice without alienating an entire group of students (comments/suggestions on my blog would appreciated).

Tracey Hollingsworth
Chapter 6 - Creating Good Test Questions

In Chapter 6 of //Fair Isn't Always Equal//, Wormeli delved into the importance of successful test questions and provided great insight on what kinds of questions should and should not be asked, as well as acceptable formats for tests. As we all know from experience, there are good test questions and there are bad test questions. As future educators, we need to keep in mind that tests should not play games with students' success. When creating tests we can use the traditional methods like true and false or multiple choice, or the non-traditional methods like real life applications or critiques; a mixture of both methods creates a great variety of assessment. When creating test questions, teachers should avoid confusing negatives, keep questions short, make prompts clear and give parameters, include common errors as candidates, and put fun into them. Tests should be authentic to instruction and resemble how the information was given; They should be efficient for both the student and teacher. A few things in this chapter that I disagree with or don't understand are the following: 1) I disagree with posting tests on the class website that may be visible for the following years students to see. Why would you allow such easy access to your test? Finding a student who has already taken the class and saved their test is much more difficult than looking online. 2) I disagree with using a pattern with a "curve ball" for a more efficient way of grading a test. I think that many students are smart enough to look for this - I know I was. 3) I don't understand the purpose of teachers asking two "special" questions, one of which is impossible to answer. To me, it seems like a waste of time.

Sara
Ah, the infamous test. Often it seems teachers try to create the most difficult and inaccessible test possible just for the joy of watching students fail; that is NOT what tests are for. Tests are yet another assessment tool, and while the only offer a snap shot they allow teachers to see if students are processing and remembering concepts. Firstly tests should be accessible with clear directions and varied sections. If a student is good at writing out answers in essay form then an all true of false test would not be a good assessment tool for while the student may know the material he does poorly because of the form. Teachers should use multiple approaches such as a section of essays, a section of short response, and a section of true/false. Teachers should be careful about using timed tests because students work at different speeds, be flexible and offer time after class if needed to finish. I really liked the section about making test questions fun (if that is possible). When I make up tests I will attempt to use examples and questions students can relate to and even use my very cheesy sense of humor.

John
After watching my professors I've come to the realization that all of my best professors, not just those in my English classes, were able to ask really great, in-depth questions that encouraged rational, analytical thought. I always knew that I wanted my questions for my own classroom lectures to be great, but I hadn't thought about the correct way of coming up with test questions. The quote, "Every test question should be important enough to ask and clear enough to answer" (75). is going to be my mantra from now on. The "Avoid Confusing Negatives" section of the chapter had good advice, and it made me remember hating the questions that it refers to. I recall feeling as though the testing process were more some kind of cruel joke than a legitimate attempt at assessment. The use of students' names and activities in word questions is great. I wish that more of my teachers had gone the extra mile in that respect. All in all, for me this chapter seemed mostly to stress: testing is all about quality, not quantity, and one's goal should be not to overpower the negativity in a test, but adapt it to the students' needs.

Jordan
In this chapter, I really liked the idea of having students double record their answers. It is a technique that allows for instant feedback and knowledge of how the students did on their tests. I would have liked to have done something similar to this in middle or high school. I never liked having to wait for my grade on a test and having students double record their answers and then going over the answers eliminates that wait. The only issue I can see with this idea, is when the test is composed mainly of prompts, short answer questions, and essays. The process of recording your answers twice would get to be time consuming and tedious. I think this idea would work very well for a test that is mainly multiple choice, fill-ins, and/or true/false questions. I also liked the idea of having an extra question at the end of a test asking what the student thought was going to be on the test but was not. There have been plenty of times when studying for a test, I studied a few concepts more than others, that were not included on the test at all. having that end question would have been nice to give the teacher feedback on what they could maybe add to future tests and such.