I thought I would start out my post being positive and remind everyone that there is only 50 days and 4 hours until the end of fall semester (at least for this class)! Three cheers for everyone who has made it till now, I know that I am barely hanging on right now. However, I thought that since I have a midterm tomorrow (one that I am pushing off studying for currently) I thought that I would talk about test taking in this post.
As an English major I never take tests and so I’ve grown to hate them, but I know not everyone is like me so my first question is..yey or ney? And why? I know I hate test taking because I don’t think that it is an accurate sample of what I know. It is more of a “let’s see what all she can memorize and cram into her brain the night before” kind of sample. Way long ago when I was a freshman I was in a Jewish Studies class that was about the Holocaust. At the end of the semester our professor told us that we had learned (for me memorized) over 115ish dates. I don’t know about you, but when I think about the Holocaust dates really don’t come to mind. I think about the stories, what is was, who was in charge, why it was happening, etc. To be really honest I couldn’t tell you 95% of the dates that I “learned” what I could tell you was some incredible stories. This is just one example of many that I have experienced where I felt that my test was only testing me on what I knew at the moment.
There are a few exceptions to this of course, my ASL classes there is no chance in h-e-double hockey sticks that I could learn everything that are on my exams the night before. It is something you either know or you don’t depending on how frequently you’re using the signs. I still hate these tests though, but for a different reason. The pressure. I don’t feel as though I succeed well under pressure and my nerves get to me very easily. Just recently I took a small quiz for ASL and I threw up the night before because I was so nervous. That kind of pressure is no good for a student like me. I don’t thrive on late night paper writing or all nighters. I fail.
So as a future teacher I ask myself, “will I give out tests?” Well for me it is a simple answer, probably not very often only because I am focused more on writing but I feel as though if I were to teach a literature class I would most definitely have comprehension quizzes. So does that make me a hypocrite or does it make evil for placing the burden on my students that I have always hated. I am not really sure what it makes me, maybe you can tell me.
So does testing make us better or worse? I would have to say it is neither here nor there because I am sure there are some people who would rather take a four hour exam then write a two page paper and then there are some who would end up in tears and throwing up their dinner when they are forced to take a twenty minute quiz.
My future teachers what kind of teacher do you want to be? Will you be understanding of your students who are like me or will you hold them to higher standards because you know that they can do it (because if I can, anyone can). Curious about everyones thoughts on test taking regardless of it they are related to my questions and for those of you who have upcoming midterms may the odds be ever in your favor! (:
LOL. Elyse, you are not a hypocrite, testing is a necessary, (although, agreed, stupid) part of education. Indeed, it is a “let’s see what all she can memorize and cram into her brain the night before” sort of sample, it is not accurate and it is abuse (LOL?). But seriously, abuse. I’m not even sure if testing is a healthy process for developing children, teens and young adults. There have to be studies out there that prove that testing sucks, right?! There has to be, I know there are somewhere, Google just seems so far away right now to prove myself right. Therefore, testing makes us worse. I can guarantee that the first link I find will tell me what I already know: testing increases stress levels. The whole process is just so unnecessary, and half the time, students don’t even prepare, they cram, therefore, the whole process is just so POINTLESS, WORTHLESS, MEANINGLESS, and any other synonym of pointless that Microsoft Word offers. The reason being…stress leads to situations like the example you provided. It causes anxiety, which might even lead to other horrible, terrible, diagnosable disorders (maybe not, but it sounded accurate). But really, testing only hurts students. I believe that if students were to actually attend class, pay attention and be able to regurgitate information, then testing shouldn’t be required. It is actually funny that you bring up such a topic and write a post about this because I think of what my future teaching habits will be like all the time. I wonder what kind of teacher I will be and wonder if my students will dislike me because of how much I love research writing. I wonder if I will make them research write until their fingers fall off. Probably. But I likely won’t test them; I don’t want to test them. I want to accommodate all of the students needs and if they can prove to me they are listening and understand what I’m teaching them then that should be enough of an indicator that they don’t need tested. Maybe a part of it lays in my trust (in?) (of?) them, which could be a very deceiving thing. I’d like to be able to trust my students and believe they are interested in what I am teaching them, THAT THEY LOVE WHAT THEY ARE LEARNING AS MUCH AS I LOVE WHAT I AM TEACHING. Who knows? Time will tell.
I prefer tests to writing papers, especially in class essays. Papers always make me extremely nervous, and I am never able to find a way of starting them unless I stare at a blank word document for hours (sometimes even that doesn’t work). The exams I’ve taken have rarely been based on memorization unless it was for a gen ed requirement. Most of my exams are based on understanding and application of concepts learned in class. Any class for my major which requires memorization generally allows note sheets to be taken in with us during the exams. I agree that testing isn’t fun and can be very stressful, especially when several exams are given to students simultaneously, such as during finals week. And as kristieteorsky said, the stress can be detrimental to students’ grades and even their health. I still think exams are necessary for gauging how students are performing in certain classes. Nevertheless, I don’t think all students should be taking the same format of exam if they are somehow unable to do so. For example, exceptions should be made for students that might have a disability by giving them a longer time to complete exams or by giving them oral exams instead of written ones. As a teacher, I would certainly test my students. Instead of one or two exams which would determine a large portion of the students’ grades, I would probably include more quizzes and homework assignments than most teachers. I understand that students have bad days and their understanding of a subject shouldn’t be determined solely on their performance on a written exam taken on one day in an allotted amount of time. I don’t think there would be a way around exams, especially in the sciences. Therefore, I think testing depends on the subject being tested. Maybe it is a necessary evil for some students while a preference for other students (like me).
This is great. I’m so sorry that you got sick over a test! I agree that I would much rather write a paper than take a test. I feel that it much better represents what I am capable of. I’m always worried I will forget information when taking a test or get too nervous to answer questions to the best of my ability. No student should ever feel stressed out from education because it is about bettering yourself. I want my students to be excited about learning (I know, optimistic, but I’m just excited).
I will definitely use different types of assignments in my classroom. I want my students to figure out what their strengths and weaknesses are and get a chance to show me their best work through their favorite mediums (projects, papers, maybe a test or quiz). Feeling confident in the work that you do is always important and if a student gets particularly nervous for tests (like Elyse) then every grade should not come from a test.
I love to write essays and papers so I feel that my classroom will reflect this. However, all of my students will not love writing the way I do. I have to be sensitive to this and make sure to incorporate as many different types as possible because I would never want to be in a class with only the type of assignment I hate. I suppose there is no way to know until I actually become a teacher what types of assignments I will use. Hopefully I will change year to year based on my students . I think we (“we” being the future educators in this class) all just want to be as effective as possible while teaching and want our students to enjoy learning. This is an excellent start! As long as we all remain passionate we will never be those teachers we hated.