Giving more tests that are electronic based or online to help with the scoring.
My school uses a very robust LMS system. I have designed a series of tests and quizzes that are effective at testing students with true/false and multiple choice questions. The students receive immediate feedback about how they did and can quickly research why a question was missed.
I teach a variety of classes and I do not think anyone format will work in all instances. Multiple choice questions may work for a facts based class but a resume writing assignment cannot be graded the same way. But the think the key is to have a rubric. This eliminates some of the subjectiveness and identifies if the assignment as completed correctly.
I have utilized Easytestmaker.com since I began teaching as an adjuct four years ago. I formulates the test for you but gives the option to use True/False, Short Answer, Multiple Choice, ect. I am know beginning to use their online testing and grading system. I am just new at this type of testing but it will be a huge time saver for grading when I get the hang of it. Students also like the use of technology in the classroom. Their stress level for taking exams seems to decrease by using the computer.
absolutely, I now have a better grasp as to what each tool should be used and how to make them work more for me. I will break down to more questions which are quicker to grade and quicker to take without loosing any test integrity. thank you very much.
After my first term of teaching, I learned the joys of scantron. I had started writing multiple choice/short answer/essay exams and spent hours grading those exams. Once I started using scantron and multiple choice tests, the grading process streamlined considerably.
Now, I occasionally use the new technology available through many publishers and create online, computerized exams and quizzes that grade themselves!
The majority of my test and quizzes ar in multiple choice and true/false format and some short answer. I do like the idea of having students underline key poits when writing out their answers.
For some of my tests it can be time consuming creating them, so I will look into some of the teset makers that were suggested in order to make better use of my time.
Looking for the key words and values is one thing that makes it alot easier and faster. I have also found that if you tell the student what you expect, and how you expect to them to answer the lab questions, the way they tend to write it out makes it easier and faster to grade.
Also, as you become more familiar with the material, you begin to know where most mistakes are made.
Jamie, Glad to hear you'll give the underlining method a try. It's a wonderful time saver and allows you to continue offering rigorous essay style testing formats.
Dr. Melissa Read
Vance, Excellent to hear! The underlining method is wonderful when it comes to grading efficiency. For me, what's even better about this method is the way it helps students focus on communicating the most important parts of their answer.
Dr. Melissa Read
Alan, I'm glad to hear your current direction has been validated by much of this course material. Sounds like you are absolutely on track. Do check out those additional websites. People share so many great tips there, you can probably find a few great ideas even if you are doing a lot right already.
Dr. Melissa Read
I'd never thought of asking students to underline key points in their papers or to replace essay questions with focused short answer questions. I will explore this.
Although the majority of the courses I teach have definate answers, the courses that I do have essay style questions for I think having them highlight the relavent parts makes the most sense.
I have reformatted my tests so that I can overlay and answer sheet over the bubble sheet and I grade the tests as the student hands it in. The student gets instant feedback and my tests are graded at the end of the day.
I am not teaching yet but I would format exams to be multiple choices, true & false questions and fill in the blank. Homework would be fill blacks and answers to some scenarios. It's a little bit tough to answer this questions since I haven't taught yet.
I going to check out those educational web sites for better course management. A lot of the information in this module I've already applied in the past. Which makes me feel good that I'm on the right track.
Deborah, Yes, it truly is an amazing time saver in grading. What I love about it too is the way that we don't have to change our testing style to get the savings in grading time. Some instructors - particularly those who test writing and critical thinking - can't change from essay formats. The underlining approach works quite well for them.
Dr. Melissa Read
Adrienne, That sounds like a wonderful approach, and one that's going to save you a lot of time. Sometimes just flipping through multiple pages can increase your grading time, your paper-cuts too! Sounds like this method will allow you to cut down on both of those things.
Dr. Melissa Read
I will ask my students to underline the key words in their essays to see if this works for the short and long essays I grade. It sounds like a wonderful idea.
I plan to incorporate test generators and online grading systems to expedite the grading process.
