When we talk about tests and teaching, people forget about what it was like when they were students. Education is vital and so are good teachers. Tests are also important both for the students and teachers.
People say that teachers should be solely evaluated based on how well they do. Teachers who have students that get As are better than students that get lower grades. There is some truth to that. Smart students get As.
I ask these people if they were straight A students. Most weren’t. I ask them about a class in which they didn’t get a good grade. They tell me that they had a bad teacher. So, I ask, what about the students that got an A in that class? Oh, they were the teacher’s pet.
**Really? Maybe they were good students and you weren’t. They seem to always be right, except on the test. It wasn’t their fault. **
Everyone is good with some subjects and everyone is bad at certain subjects.
I’m not saying that it’s never the teacher’s fault. There are good teachers and bad teachers. And, good teachers will have students that fail.
Teaching is not just talking. If that were the case, I’d be the teacher of the century.
I have a part-time job teaching adult immigrants English. Some like tests and some don’t. And interestingly, some that don’t like tests do better than those that like tests.
The type of test can determine how well a student does. For example, when I teach students the simple present and present continuous tenses, I explain when you use them and how to form them. If I give them a multiple choice test, everyone usually passes. If I ask them to write a few paragraphs describing an event or story, it now becomes difficult. If I give them a few paragraphs from a grammar book that uses these two tenses and I ask them why did the author use the simple present tense here and the present continuous over here? Many are stumped.
I’ve already told them when you use each tense and what the differences are. I will give them hints. Does the described action happen daily or is the described action happening in the moment? You can test the same concept differently and get different results. The best way to evaluate a student’s understanding is to give them a variety of different test types.
How do I test?
I use a standardized test. It is fair and consists of multiple choice questions, fill-in the blank questions, speaking, and reading.
How do I evaluate my students?
I evaluate my students on how well they can apply what they learned. So, when I submit test grades with how well they can apply what they learned. Both are considered when it comes time for the student to advance to the next level.
Is that fair?
Yes it is. Let’s look at an analogy. You can be an excellent music student who can read music. However, how well can you play? If you can’t play as well as your peers, you may not be ready for the next level.
So what is the key take away from this post?
How you test students have a major role on how students perform. Use a variety of different test types to determine how well a student understands and can apply what they learn and understand.