I do not like the standardized tests that come with books -- they often seem to miss their own objective mark for which they were designed, I do not believe in final projects -- it seems like a cop out, rubrics are popular today but seem too subjective (although I think the idea was for them not to be that way). I think a good old fashioned test created by the instructor who knows his/her objectives, knows his/her material, and knows what he/she wants the students to know at the end of the class is the best way to know who absorbed what.
I usually give a pretest which consist of 10 multible choice questions.
I use a variety of methods in each test. Generally, Matching or completion, plus multiple choice, and short answer. I don't like to use true/false much because students really are suspicious of them, and don't do well. Sometimes I write all false statements and have the students change the italicized word to make the statement true.
objective type to test the factual information like names, terms, numbers and established principle.
short answers to asses knowledghe about all the points / steps needed to reach the solution
essay to allow student to justify the solution by their reasoning skills in an experessive manner. oral question and answers to allow
them to express the idea about logical possible answers in circumsatnces when more than one answer is possible
Hi Ian - Thanks for your post to the forum. You have a comprehensive assessment strategy going on!
Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
Effective assessment methods can be such a tool for instructors. Assessing the ability of a student in a standardized test can be done through standardized tests that looks for subject knowledge. Applicable skills assessments can happen through practicals that students are asked to complete in the industry or in the classroom through demonstration. I enjoy having both of these assessment methods in my classroom along with Individual Projects and Discussion Forums for group communication. This offers a wide range of assessment for me to determine their mastery of the subject.
I have used mainly multiple choice since I can cover a lot of ground in an exam or interim evaluation of the progress. The interim evals (aka quizzes) allow me to see where I have left holes or not explained things as well as I think I have. In the exams they provide a means of broad assessment of the very large array of information in my courses (chemisty, pharmacy, microbiology, math) and I can customize them to the material I have been able to cover.
I have also used matching. I have found that I have to limit this to seeing how well students understand components of the course such as manipulation of fractions. I don't like to use that as much but find a limited and focussed area can show how well students understand these subjects.
Part of my assessment is a term paper. While not formally an exam or assessment, they will show how well a student can delve into a subject and convey the information to the class.
Hi Emily - Thanks for your post to the forum. You are using diverse assessment types. I agree that T/F can be tricky. We just need to be careful to make the question very clear. Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
The majority of the tests I use for classes are a combination of multiple choice, true/false, matching, and short answer questions. I think the area the students have the most trouble with are the short answer and true and false. When I have true and false questions on the test some students complain that I am trying to trick them with true and false. I tell them I just want them to think about the question. The students for the most part excel and tend to like the multiple choice questions the best.
Hi Jeff - Thanks for your post to the forum. The "situational assessments" that you mention are excellent and will enable your students to better recall the concepts when they are in the field. Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
I have implemented the use of situational assessments. For example, I pose a common situation that students may be faced with in the field. When posing the question I eliminate "easy" or "common" responses by saying they are assumed already and a more in-depth response is required. I have found that this type of assessment is extremely effective in assessing if the student is able to effectively apply what they have learned in class to real world applications.
Hi Richele- Thanks for your post to the forum. I agree that teaching adults can be a challenge. Their knowledge and experience is often much more diverse than the usual 18 year old. Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
Hi Kelli - I really like the way you help your students to manage their "Final Project"! They are indeed learning strategies that will be necessary in the workplace. Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
Personally, I like to assess my students with a final project instead of a 'test'. Throughout the course they are assigned certain tasks that will be placed in their final project. This works very well for my students as they do not have to worry about 'freezing' or 'stressing' about a big test. In addition it gives them time management skills in breaking down a project in pieces, research skills and most importantly utilizing what they are learning in my class and applying those skills into their final project.
Thanks!
Kelli
True or false questions, multiple choice and surprise quizzes work well for us.
Teaching adults is new to me, I am finding this challenging and rewarding each class I discover the diversity among the students . Asking questions to discover knowledge base among the students , reviewing material that is necessary to know in order to succeed in this particular course, questioniong if they are familiar with terms.
Hi Barbara- Thanks for your post to the forum. You are doing a terrific job assessing concept knowledge as well as skills! Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
Most of my books have standardized tests. Sometimes I customize them and re-format them to better meet my students' profile and learning abilities.
Since I teach computr application classes, my assessments are always a combination of multiple choice test questions taken from the textbook publisher, but customized, combined with hands-on exercises. If we just covered file management for example, students will have a folder of unorganized files they have to move into folders they create and name. If we covered Excel, they need to be able to create a spreadsheet with formulas, not just answer questions about them. The course content easily lends itself to a number of assessment methods for learners of various types.
Depending on the material being assessed, I have used multiple choice and short answer test as well as a panel discussion/interview. The panel discussion/interview can be useful when evaluating understanding of complex subjects and application of the material.
