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Module 1 – Extension Activity
Read about Mr. Knott’s first exam experience and identify some areas for improvementfor him this year. What advice would you give him to improve his overall assessment
experience?
Then read the comments and suggestions offered by Mr Sanchez on the next page.
Mr. Knott’s first exam experience
Mr. Knott, now in his second year of teaching, found his first year quite challenging.Last year, he taught in a different school where assessment did not receive much
attention. In college, Mr. Knott took a testing course, but he still felt out of his depthwith assessment. He worried that if he admitted that he didn’t understand things like
specifications, he would get a poor evaluation. He avoided assigning portfolios and projects since he didn’t see the point of multiple measures assessment. He based
students’ grades solely on the midterm and final exams.
As the date of the midterm exam approached, Mr. Knott still hadn’t checked where heshould be in the syllabus because he advocated a “just-in-time approach”. He wanted to
see what he actually had covered by the midterm exam date. A few days before the testdate, Mr. Knott put together a midterm exam consisting of a reading from a well-known
TOEFL® practice book, a written expression section from a grammar book that he usedin college, and a listening from a recent unit in the students’ textbook. He left out writing
because he thought that the written expression section would suffice.. He didn’t want toleak details of the test, so he didn’t supply students with information about the exam.
Students were surprised by several new formats they had never encountered before.
Mr. Knott made all formats objective to make grading easier. He had students swap papers in classes to grade some sections, and his wife helped him grade the rest. He did
not use an answer key. Instead, when many students had difficulty with an item, he gaveeveryone full credit.
The scores were high, so Mr. Knott concluded that the test was good. He didn’t do anyanalysis or reflect on how the test could give him feedback on his teaching. He was too
busy to give students feedback or make notes about the exam. Besides, why would hewant to change something that worked so well?
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One of Mr. Knott’s new colleagues had these comments and suggestions:
Mr. Sanchez’s comments and suggestions
I was a new teacher not so long ago and I remember being overwhelmed by all the thingsI was supposed to know about but really didn’t. Mr. Knott is a talented teacher and open
to constructive feedback, so I hope these suggestions are helpful to him:
Comments Suggestions
He didn’t understand specifications Specifications are really important in our
assessment program, so attend a workshop
and get some experience using them.He didn’t see the point of multiple
measures assessment and based grades onlyon 2 exams.
Again, in our program we use many types
of assessment, not just tests and quizzes.Feel free to ask your colleagues to showyou examples of alternative assessment that
work for them.
He didn’t plan ahead or keep up with thesyllabus.
This is a disservice to students becausesome will miss out on important material.
In our lesson plans we have to show thatwe’re on target. We schedule a whole
range of regular assessments so our
students get regular formative feedback.He used material intended for different purposes and different course outcomes.
Without following specifications ormapping the actual course material, it is
unlikely that these materials were relevant.
He used a listening that students had
already heard and processed.
He didn’t really test listening as a skill.
Instead he tested students’ memories.
He left out assessment of writing. In our program, the development of writing
skills is very important. However, weassess it in many ways, so he needs to
consult the writing specifications fordetails.
He failed to provide information tostudents who were subsequently surprised
by a new format.
In our department, transparency is veryimportant, so we inform students about
what to expect. We always introduce newformats in a teaching context before using
them in exams.
He didn’t prepare an answer key in
advance.
No wonder some items didn’t work!
Students and his wife graded the exam. There are some real security and reliability
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issues here, made worse by the absence of
an answer key.
He didn’t conduct analysis because of high
scores.
The scores were inflated because of
grading procedures. The students’difficulty with certain items indicated a real
need for analysis.He didn’t give students feedback. Assessment is part of the teaching/learning
cycle and students should learn from eachassessment experience. They need
feedback presented to them in a useableform.
He didn’t have time for reflection, nor didhe make any notes about the experience.
Fortunately, Mr. Knott seems to realize thatthis was not the way assessment should be
developed. In our department, we set atime to talk about what we’ve learned from
major assessments. I hope Mr. Knott will
attend.