Tests and More Tests.

This week I got to witness my first test. It was incredibly BORING!!! My CE said that giving tests wear her out, she would much rather teach. I can understand. I got so sleepy. When they first got in the room she had them review for the tests quietly at their desks. It was so funny because all of the students were silent. I guess they were worried about their test because the usual chattiness was gone. The test was multiple choice, true/false, matching, fill in the blank, and free response. I thought it was good how there were a variety of questions options but I absolutely DETEST true/false questions. I think they serve no purpose other than to trick the person trying to answer the question. I can see the benefit in having to correct false statements but I hate when you just have to answer true or false.

I noticed that she went around and answered any questions they had during the test. She would read the questions to them or explain what it was asking but would not give them the answers. There were very few questions but some of the students who usually struggle, or need affirmation, asked a question or two. It made me think about when it is my turn to teach. How much "explaining" a question is too much. I tend to over explain and I am afraid I might give away an answer by accident. I will just have to be very careful about what I say I guess. There was a student who finished in fifteen minutes when they had about 45 to complete the test. There were about 25 questions and some of them required some effort so I was worried about how he did. She encouraged them to take their time but there are always a few who do not take advantage of the time they are given.  She also gave them extra credit questions about things they had been talking about outside of the curriculum (current events, etc.). Each class had their own set of extra credit questions. I mean, they were the same questions but they were worded differently or in a different form. For third block, she gave them a question and then gave them two options for the answers but for fourth block, the same question was worded differently there were no options for them to choose from. This was a unique way to differentiate that I would have never thought about. I suppose this is also a way to keep them from sharing answers, which is also smart.

After the test she let them make up any missing work they had on their progress report. She said that this was the only time they would be able to do that because they were supposed to have it in on time but since it was the beginning of the year she would give them one chance to redeem themselves. I thought this was a good way to show them some mercy and teach them responsibility as well. They have a notebook check every 3 weeks so they have to keep up with each piece of paper they are given and keep it in the correct section of their binder.

Watching the test got me thinking about next semester when I will be giving those tests on my own. It made me think about how I will handle students who have multiple questions and students who finish too quickly. I have also been thinking about extra credit and how I will handle differentiating with that between the classes.