i agree that it is hard to separate the wheat from the chaff when it come to people using it as a cope out and some individual, often more self-conscious about it, who really need some acomodation.
as a technical culinary school, we try to make them aware of the acomodation possible if they have documented learning disabilities as soon as the first day of the term. and we try to make it easier on them such as coming earlier and taking the quiz in a quiet space, extended length even read out loud quizzes (for auditory learners).
Hi Rachel - Welcome to Ed 103! I think that the assessment strategy you mention is much better than a one-shot test. Students do have "bad-days" and also as we all know often freeze in test taking. A more diverse assessment strategy gives a much better picture of actual learning. Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career! Susan
I think there is some validity to this complaint.
My husband does not test well ... I do. We took a lot of the same classes in school. And at times, I would be lost before a final and he would "cram" the information into my head. Guess who would get the "A", and who would get the "C"?
But I do agree that believing you don't test well lends itself to being a self-fulfilling prophecy. I tend to place more emphasis on my project and assignments than my tests, and I tell my students that I'm more concerned with what they have learned than whether they can memorize.
I've heard this one before, too, and I've had some success with eliminating large, objective tests and replacing them with "Assessment" projects, such as skits, brochures, homework assignments and quizzes that are oral and written. I found that the variety really reaches a large amount of students and it doesn't necessarily trick, but takes the pressure off of one-shot performance-based tests.
