Just wanted to see what everyone thought about this idea regarding testing.......
I thought of Lynn's presentation this morning as I was sitting in my Disabled Persons in American Society class. This class basically goes over in depth different learning disabilities. Today in particular my professor started talking about how testing really screws around with a students mind and how she understands the pressure that students go through even to the point that she told us today that all of our tests including our midterm and final are all take home tests. Right when she said this I was a little surprised becaue that is not something you hear very often especially in college but she had really good reasoning behind her choice. She started to tell us how so many students will just memorize either a few nights before the upcoming test or even cram the night before and then the second we hand in our test, it is completely forgotten. Then theres the student that will study so much but when the test is put in front of them everything is competley forgotten. So how much is testing really helping us?
My professor went on to explain how by letting us take home all of our tests she has a better chance of us actually learning the information, plus it takes off a lot of pressure knowing that we do not have to study crazy and then possibly have an anxiety attack when it comes time to take the actual test.
I just thought this was a little interesting and made me think of Lynn's presentation that she gave on Friday in refrence to Standarized Testing. So the question is....are take home tests better or worse for the students?
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9 comments:
Full disclosure? When I was in college sometimes I got my boyfriend to write my papers for me...how would we know if students took the tests themselves at home, or cajoled or paid someone else to do it for them?
I wish all classes were like yours. I would love take home tests. While I do well on exams for the most part, I condsider myself a horrible test taker because of the anxiety I feel before an exam. I threw up multilple times before an exam and I had a few hysterics in my day. It wasn't a pleasant feeling. So yeah, I love taken homes.
And with that, I go to bed. lol
I think if it was known that the students would actually do their own exams and take them seriously it's a good idea to have take home essays. Unfortunately I'm not sure it would really work out that way in general. I like the concept of take home exams as a way of lessening anxiety and therefore having the students learn more for the long term.
I have always preferred in class exams- this is for one reason only-they are always shorter/easier then a take home version.(the more time you have to complete something they harsher the grading will be)
If a student were given a take home test they can always pass it on to someone that is strong in that particular subject. Then again, there are a handful of honest students that will complete the test on their own. Taking home a test has it's advantages/disadvantages.
I think that take home test are great, but to me they tended to be a lot harder and more detailed. As for Prof. Tomich idea of someone doing your test for you is a very big problem I would imagine expecially in large univeristies. It is putting a lot of faith in students. Which I don't know that many prof. have. I propose that if you did a take home test you would not make it a high percentage of the final grade. There are other ways of testing people without mulitple choice, but it takes time. And I am sure as a teacher time is very valuable.
P.S. Go Prof. Tomich for getting your boyfriend to do your papers! I don't think my boyfriend would have ever done that for me.
I did not want to write another epic blog post but:
I think that having others do work for you is a skill. It is a social skill and it is good practice delegating work.(something many struggle with)
I do not think it is a crime to have others do your work because you have to know enough about the subject to make sure that your paper/take home test is correct upon review. If you don't know enough about the subject to make corrections then you deserve the resulting poor grade.
At the end of the day it is about knowing the subject matter (able to have a discussion on it/take an in class test) and respecting the deadline/ teacher enough to make sure your work is not handed in late. Who actually does the "grunt" work is less important.
Am I the only one who feels this way?
I think classes should have a blend of take home and in class tests. I personally get terrible anxiety before taking tests and feel that some people are not good test takers. I consider test taking to be absolutely learned and feel that many students have not been properly taught. Having a combination of take home and in class tests would give students that struggle with tests a better chance of doing well in the class. Another solution is to have tests carry a smaller percent of the overall class grade. Teachers should incorporate classroom discussion, papers, oral reports, and projects and weigh them more heavily. I feel what a student is able to answer on a test in no way determines how well they know and understand the material. Lastly, it is important to give all students the opportunity to do well by allowing them to meet and achieve their goals in the class.
I love the idea of take home test, only because I "freak out" when taking a test during school. I also can have more time and think more efficiedntly. A teacher usually gets to know his students and recieving papers from each student constantly throughout the semester should help him realize if that particular student wrote the paper themselves. That's how a teacher would know who if someone other than the student wrote that paper. Then again, you can't accuse the student for not writing that paper. You're right!
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