Use of Standardized Testing
It has been my observation that there is widespread use of "test banks" in the career colleges. The test banks are provided by the publisher of the textbooks. Instructors also draw from other sources.
Some programs are writing their own tests.
One big problem is content validity. The tests are really supposed to match the course objectives. Sometimes instructors simply "teach to the test" in so called "reviews" in order to patch over the problem and avoid post testing riots!
Professional teachers know that "teaching to the test" scientifically skews the results. It is better to discard questions post test based upon statistics. (Of couse one can argue that it is better to throw them out before the test is given.)
David Leon Cooper, MS (Ed Adm)
I feel standardized testing has it's pro's and con's. I feel that if you have several different instructors teaching a class, at least w/standardized tests they are all teaching the major objective of the class yet there should be room for instructors to be able to add their own tests as well because each instructor teaches a little different.
Many publishers are producing tests w/their textbooks, I have found the wording and structure of some of these are not written well, I wonder if they have an expert in the field helping to write these.
Hi Audrey- Thanks for your post to the forum. It seems that you and your fellow instructors have come up with a good compromise! Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
As a program, we all seem to have difficulty using each other's tests! There is a need for each instructor to develop their own test, which takes a lot of precious time. The only way that we have been able to avoid this is to create our own test bank, so that instructors can use other test questions if they refuse to use the entire test.
Hi Jeanna- Thanks for your post to the forum. I certainly understand the reasoning of your Program
Director. Especially in larger programs that is the best way to manage content and assessment. Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
Although I agree with your observatons, my campus uses standardized tests, actually to make the testing more even between the instructors. At first we were all writing our own tests and administering them to our individual classes. But it became apparent that some teachers were "undertesting" with a very few amount of easy questions while others were using "overkill" creating tests which contained 150-200 questions per week. Our program director requested standardized testing so that the courses were more even and fair on the part of the student. Plus she has the ability to ensure that all the appropriate material is covered.
I agree. Teaching to the test inhibits the learning process and smacks of lazyness on the part of the instructor.
