Review the information in "Is This a Trick Question?" which can be found in Course Documents. What do you think is the most common error in test-making? What will you do to overcome this?
In my experience the biggest mistake a teacher makes when writing test questions is by trying to trick the student. In other words, making it a memorization thing instead of a concept thing. Having two choices that are the exact same except one word just meant to trick the student. This is especially true when the meaning of that word is very similar and the question will ask specifically what the book says. Frankly, when I am teaching i don't believe the student should be penalized for not memorizing the material. The main thing would be that the student understands the concept of the subject matter. I believe that gets confused by instructors all of the time.
In my class, I will not do trick questions on a test. I will apply testing strategies that does not have a wrong answer when the concept is understood.
I do like some of the suggestions the article had regarding multiple choice. Or, as they put it, multiple guess. I remember thinking those were all true facts about multiple choice when I was in high school. I was one of those students who didn't study all of the time so I guessed away.
I am also finding by taking virtual classes a lot of teachers don't test so much. They give a lot of projects that force me to do the research and learn the material. I think that is also a good way to go. Some people just don't take tests well. I am one of them even when I study. However, I learn a lot by doing all of these projects. That can be applied in almost any subject.
From my experience with taking many different types of tests, I feel that there are two common mistakes made when making up tests. The first one is that the teacher makes the questions hard to understand and try to trick the students into second guessing their answers. Second, teachers make multiple choice answers so dumb, that the correct answer is obvious. The teachers also have a mistake to test over to much material at one time.
In my class, I would utilize a test that is not just one type of test. I understand that some students do better with multiple choice then with essay, etc. I would utilize tests that have sections of each type of test to help students perform better on tests. Also, like the article stated, I would have smaller tests/quizzes instead of having like two or four big tests.
I will also not make answers for multiple choice test obvious. The students will have to know the material, but the multiple choice section will help with recall of the correct answer from wrong answers (but they will have to think). I liked some of the suggestions from the article, but what I decide to do will depend on the students in the class.
I agree that teachers try to "trick" students with tests. I also agree that teachers rely on students memorizing what the books or notes say, not the concept of the material.
I also like the idea of having students learn the material with projects along with lecture. Some students are better test takers and other learn from experiences.
It seems you and I have a similar philosophy when it comes to this subject. I think a lot of teachers miss the point. We have put ourselves in a position that favorable test scores can make or break a school. It only seems fair that the questions that we have emphasized to be so important, should be fair and focused on the material at hand. Teachers need to keep a fresh outlook and remember what they are there to do, which is make sure the student leaves the class with knowledge of the subject matter. That doesn't have anything to do with test scores.
I think the most common error teachers make in creating tests is covering too much information in one examination. When this much information is being tested over it forces the students to memorize the information and then forget it after taking the test. Instead I think teachers should make their tests over less information so the student has the ability to learn the information and is able to regurgitate it later as well. In order to overcome this I plan to have smaller units in which I will test over, I also plan to incorporate testing material from the previous test in the last one in order to make sure the students are retaining the information and not just memorizing it for the examination. I also plan to make my final examination in this manner as well. I will pull information from all the tests as well as the new information. It will not be completely comprehensive, but there will be some questions that are.
I agree with some teachers making the answers too easy for students on multiple choice questions. I also understand making some of the answers so similar that the student struggles to pick an answer. I especially hate the answers, "A & B; A, C and D; or all of the above." These test questions should be written more clearly. I like that you are planning to do what the article said about incorporating multiple types of testing in your examinations. Such as multiple choice, true/false, and essay questions. This definitely evens the playing field and does not put any child at a disadvantage because of the type of testing used.
I also plan to have more than just one or two tests in a semester. I believe any less tests than that and the information is too much.
I agree with many of your statements, I also, do no enjoy having trick questions on tests. I have an example for you, one of my classes had a true/false questions that stated GIGO stands for garage in garage out. The actual answer is garbage in garbage out. I believe this was a trick question, I clearly knew the answer but read to fast and thought the question was true; everyone in the class missed this question.
I like your idea of allowing students to do more projects rather than tests. One reason why this is a good idea is because some students stress over test and struggle, even if they know the information. Having research projects or other projects allows the student to learn and the teacher is able to check for understanding.
As much as essay questions on test stress me out, I would pick that over true/false because I can explain my reasoning on the answer I choose.
I believe the most common error in test making at the high school level is twisting answers to cause the students to be confused. When a teacher tries to trick or confuse the student, this will cause them to second guess themselves when usually they know the right answer. This is why I personal am not a fan of true/false; I believe it confuses individuals and causes them to guess rather then apply their knowledge. One way you could fix this is have students explain why they choose true or false. In “Is This a Trick Question?” they discuss to mix it up. It is an advantage to mix types of items; weaknesses connected with one kind of item or component or in students’ test taking skills will be minimized.
Another problem I find some teachers have is trying to cover too much new information on one test. In the “Is This a Trick Question?” frequent testing helps students to avoid getting behind, provides instructors with multiple sources of information to use in computing the final course grade (thus minimizing the effect of “bad days”), and gives students regular feedback. It is important to test various topics in proportion to the emphasis given in class.
I plan to have test often to check for understanding and having the students focus on learning in sections. I plan on applying previous knowledge with new knowledge, but not forcing students to test over everything all at once.
The information I read about in the trick question book was something that I think every teacher should take a look at. Many of the problems that were discussed in the article were ones I have experienced firsthand. However, the biggest one that I see pop up in classrooms today is testing over too much information. Students retain more with smaller tests more frequently. Some of the hardest classes I have been in have been not because the material was too hard to comprehend, but the tests were over such large sections, that you didn’t know what you needed to know and what you didn’t. I think it is the teachers job to display for the student what exactly he or she wants the student to know. As long as the student knows what to study, then it is the student’s responsibility to know the information. As a Music Educator, I do not have many tests in the classroom. However, if I did want my students to know some information that required a test to be taken, I would make sure to split it up into small amounts. I would type up a study guide, so the students knew exactly what I wanted learned. I would walk them through the guide to make sure they understood the information and ask if they had any questions. Throughout the semester I would have little quizzes that tied into information on the test, to help them retain as much of the information as they could. I would also try to stimulate them in as many ways as possible with interesting visuals and hands on activities, that way focus would be less of an issue. Lastly I would try to make sure all my effort in creating quizzes and tests would go to make sure the students could apply their knowledge. I don’t want my students just to regurgitate the information I have presented to them. I want them to be actively involved when they learn information and be able to use it later in life.
Although I thought tests being too large were the biggest problem that I saw in school, I do have to agree that trick questions or twisting answers to confuse students is a close second. Most of the time I do not think the teachers even realize what they do. They obviously comprehend the subject matter, so they do not always think about what is making it hard for the student to learn. In one of my methods classes our teacher stressed using the same terminology to teach students ideas. Using too many different words to describe the same content only confuses students. It is not our job to make it hard on the student, it is our job to make sure our students are actively learning and less confusion will only facilitate this process.
In my experience as a student and test takers is that the questions are confusing. The question either isn't clear enough for the students to understand or there is more then one correct answer when the teacher only wants one answer. I myself have taken test where afterwards the teacher gives the test back and they say that the answer was wrong and I can prove that the answer was right according to the textbook. As a teacher I am going to make my best effort to make the questions clear cut so that the students can pick a clear answer or make it a short answer question or something of that type so that there can be more then one correct answer.
I agree with your statement about testing over to much information. I think that it is better to give more test that require less information as opposed to less test with more information. The students have a better opportunity to pass the test and not feel so overwhelmed with information. They have the mindset from the beginning that they can learn the information and pass the test. Instead of thinking there is to much information and they wont learn it anyways so why try.
Test taking is something that many students have difficulty with. As teachers I think it is our job to make sure the students are learning and retaining what we teach, but we should also be aware of the ways and styles of tests' that students tend to succeed in. After reading the article it is apparent that tests' given have many errors and need improvement. A couple common errors seen in tests' are trick questions, and too much information covered. When teachers are trying to trick students or make them guess about which answer to choose they are defeating the main purpose of test taking. When students are guessing they are memorizing and not retaining or learning the material. Another common error you see teachers make is trying to cover too much information. When studying for a test like this it is memorization rather than an understanding for what you need to know. As a future teacher I will try to remember the difficulties I had taking tests'. There is no perfect way to test but there are many ways to get the most out of your students and what you have taught.
RE: After reading through some of the posts' a common concern was teating over too much information. I could not agree more. When students have to test over too much they tend to memorize and crame. When they are doing this they are not learning the information. A way to avoid this is to test more but with less information.
Review the information in "Is This a Trick Question?" which can be found in Course Documents. What do you think is the most common error in test-making? What will you do to overcome this?
ReplyDeleteThis blog is due November 17.
In my experience the biggest mistake a teacher makes when writing test questions is by trying to trick the student. In other words, making it a memorization thing instead of a concept thing. Having two choices that are the exact same except one word just meant to trick the student. This is especially true when the meaning of that word is very similar and the question will ask specifically what the book says. Frankly, when I am teaching i don't believe the student should be penalized for not memorizing the material. The main thing would be that the student understands the concept of the subject matter. I believe that gets confused by instructors all of the time.
ReplyDeleteIn my class, I will not do trick questions on a test. I will apply testing strategies that does not have a wrong answer when the concept is understood.
I do like some of the suggestions the article had regarding multiple choice. Or, as they put it, multiple guess. I remember thinking those were all true facts about multiple choice when I was in high school. I was one of those students who didn't study all of the time so I guessed away.
I am also finding by taking virtual classes a lot of teachers don't test so much. They give a lot of projects that force me to do the research and learn the material. I think that is also a good way to go. Some people just don't take tests well. I am one of them even when I study. However, I learn a lot by doing all of these projects. That can be applied in almost any subject.
From my experience with taking many different types of tests, I feel that there are two common mistakes made when making up tests. The first one is that the teacher makes the questions hard to understand and try to trick the students into second guessing their answers. Second, teachers make multiple choice answers so dumb, that the correct answer is obvious. The teachers also have a mistake to test over to much material at one time.
ReplyDeleteIn my class, I would utilize a test that is not just one type of test. I understand that some students do better with multiple choice then with essay, etc. I would utilize tests that have sections of each type of test to help students perform better on tests. Also, like the article stated, I would have smaller tests/quizzes instead of having like two or four big tests.
I will also not make answers for multiple choice test obvious. The students will have to know the material, but the multiple choice section will help with recall of the correct answer from wrong answers (but they will have to think). I liked some of the suggestions from the article, but what I decide to do will depend on the students in the class.
RE: rhonda mulvaney:
ReplyDeleteI agree that teachers try to "trick" students with tests. I also agree that teachers rely on students memorizing what the books or notes say, not the concept of the material.
I also like the idea of having students learn the material with projects along with lecture. Some students are better test takers and other learn from experiences.
Mallory,
ReplyDeleteIt seems you and I have a similar philosophy when it comes to this subject. I think a lot of teachers miss the point. We have put ourselves in a position that favorable test scores can make or break a school. It only seems fair that the questions that we have emphasized to be so important, should be fair and focused on the material at hand. Teachers need to keep a fresh outlook and remember what they are there to do, which is make sure the student leaves the class with knowledge of the subject matter. That doesn't have anything to do with test scores.
I think the most common error teachers make in creating tests is covering too much information in one examination. When this much information is being tested over it forces the students to memorize the information and then forget it after taking the test. Instead I think teachers should make their tests over less information so the student has the ability to learn the information and is able to regurgitate it later as well. In order to overcome this I plan to have smaller units in which I will test over, I also plan to incorporate testing material from the previous test in the last one in order to make sure the students are retaining the information and not just memorizing it for the examination. I also plan to make my final examination in this manner as well. I will pull information from all the tests as well as the new information. It will not be completely comprehensive, but there will be some questions that are.
ReplyDeleteRe: Mallory K.
ReplyDeleteI agree with some teachers making the answers too easy for students on multiple choice questions. I also understand making some of the answers so similar that the student struggles to pick an answer. I especially hate the answers, "A & B; A, C and D; or all of the above." These test questions should be written more clearly. I like that you are planning to do what the article said about incorporating multiple types of testing in your examinations. Such as multiple choice, true/false, and essay questions. This definitely evens the playing field and does not put any child at a disadvantage because of the type of testing used.
I also plan to have more than just one or two tests in a semester. I believe any less tests than that and the information is too much.
Rhonda Mulvaney,
ReplyDeleteI agree with many of your statements, I also, do no enjoy having trick questions on tests. I have an example for you, one of my classes had a true/false questions that stated GIGO stands for garage in garage out. The actual answer is garbage in garbage out. I believe this was a trick question, I clearly knew the answer but read to fast and thought the question was true; everyone in the class missed this question.
I like your idea of allowing students to do more projects rather than tests. One reason why this is a good idea is because some students stress over test and struggle, even if they know the information. Having research projects or other projects allows the student to learn and the teacher is able to check for understanding.
As much as essay questions on test stress me out, I would pick that over true/false because I can explain my reasoning on the answer I choose.
I believe the most common error in test making at the high school level is twisting answers to cause the students to be confused. When a teacher tries to trick or confuse the student, this will cause them to second guess themselves when usually they know the right answer. This is why I personal am not a fan of true/false; I believe it confuses individuals and causes them to guess rather then apply their knowledge. One way you could fix this is have students explain why they choose true or false. In “Is This a Trick Question?” they discuss to mix it up. It is an advantage to mix types of items; weaknesses connected with one kind of item or component or in students’ test taking skills will be minimized.
ReplyDeleteAnother problem I find some teachers have is trying to cover too much new information on one test. In the “Is This a Trick Question?” frequent testing helps students to avoid getting behind, provides instructors with multiple sources of information to use in computing the final course grade (thus minimizing the effect of “bad days”), and gives students regular feedback. It is important to test various topics in proportion to the emphasis given in class.
I plan to have test often to check for understanding and having the students focus on learning in sections. I plan on applying previous knowledge with new knowledge, but not forcing students to test over everything all at once.
The information I read about in the trick question book was something that I think every teacher should take a look at. Many of the problems that were discussed in the article were ones I have experienced firsthand. However, the biggest one that I see pop up in classrooms today is testing over too much information. Students retain more with smaller tests more frequently. Some of the hardest classes I have been in have been not because the material was too hard to comprehend, but the tests were over such large sections, that you didn’t know what you needed to know and what you didn’t. I think it is the teachers job to display for the student what exactly he or she wants the student to know. As long as the student knows what to study, then it is the student’s responsibility to know the information.
ReplyDeleteAs a Music Educator, I do not have many tests in the classroom. However, if I did want my students to know some information that required a test to be taken, I would make sure to split it up into small amounts. I would type up a study guide, so the students knew exactly what I wanted learned. I would walk them through the guide to make sure they understood the information and ask if they had any questions. Throughout the semester I would have little quizzes that tied into information on the test, to help them retain as much of the information as they could. I would also try to stimulate them in as many ways as possible with interesting visuals and hands on activities, that way focus would be less of an issue.
Lastly I would try to make sure all my effort in creating quizzes and tests would go to make sure the students could apply their knowledge. I don’t want my students just to regurgitate the information I have presented to them. I want them to be actively involved when they learn information and be able to use it later in life.
Re: Mallory.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I thought tests being too large were the biggest problem that I saw in school, I do have to agree that trick questions or twisting answers to confuse students is a close second. Most of the time I do not think the teachers even realize what they do. They obviously comprehend the subject matter, so they do not always think about what is making it hard for the student to learn. In one of my methods classes our teacher stressed using the same terminology to teach students ideas. Using too many different words to describe the same content only confuses students. It is not our job to make it hard on the student, it is our job to make sure our students are actively learning and less confusion will only facilitate this process.
In my experience as a student and test takers is that the questions are confusing. The question either isn't clear enough for the students to understand or there is more then one correct answer when the teacher only wants one answer. I myself have taken test where afterwards the teacher gives the test back and they say that the answer was wrong and I can prove that the answer was right according to the textbook. As a teacher I am going to make my best effort to make the questions clear cut so that the students can pick a clear answer or make it a short answer question or something of that type so that there can be more then one correct answer.
ReplyDeleteAustin,
ReplyDeleteI agree with your statement about testing over to much information. I think that it is better to give more test that require less information as opposed to less test with more information. The students have a better opportunity to pass the test and not feel so overwhelmed with information. They have the mindset from the beginning that they can learn the information and pass the test. Instead of thinking there is to much information and they wont learn it anyways so why try.
Test taking is something that many students have difficulty with. As teachers I think it is our job to make sure the students are learning and retaining what we teach, but we should also be aware of the ways and styles of tests' that students tend to succeed in. After reading the article it is apparent that tests' given have many errors and need improvement. A couple common errors seen in tests' are trick questions, and too much information covered. When teachers are trying to trick students or make them guess about which answer to choose they are defeating the main purpose of test taking. When students are guessing they are memorizing and not retaining or learning the material. Another common error you see teachers make is trying to cover too much information. When studying for a test like this it is memorization rather than an understanding for what you need to know.
ReplyDeleteAs a future teacher I will try to remember the difficulties I had taking tests'. There is no perfect way to test but there are many ways to get the most out of your students and what you have taught.
RE: After reading through some of the posts' a common concern was teating over too much information. I could not agree more. When students have to test over too much they tend to memorize and crame. When they are doing this they are not learning the information. A way to avoid this is to test more but with less information.
ReplyDelete