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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.