The phrase mentioned above is found on a standardized test. the article is quite interesting because it demonstrates what happens when active students meet ineffective assessment. this phrase confused students, which sparked them o take action because they thought that it was crazy that a standardized test THEY paid for would contain something they could not understand. Students began to ridicule the exam, making a joke out of the expression. I found this interesting because my Assessment class is currently looking at how to create effective assessments. I think that this instance serves as a warning for teachers everywhere. We are charged with a responsibility to make assessments clear to students. We always should keep that in the back of our heads, and sometimes the students don't realize that we hold this power until they take the exam. Therefore, it is very important that we take preventative measures and try to create the most effective assessment for them that we can. If we learn that an assessment is not effective as in this case, then we must use that as a diagnostic tool, and create a better exam. This process is repeated until the exam has been made as most effective as possible. If you have time, I would suggest reading this short article about the dangers of creating assessments.
Arturo, I feel that the article you found is a very good example of what we discuss in our CURR314 class. I felt it was very interesting that the students didn't understand how to answer the questions - and even more so that the author of the short story agreed with them! Any story taken out of context can easily become too difficult to analyze properly, which is the normal failing in standardized tests concerning English. Further, I liked your points about what we must do as teachers for our students to ensure their success. Yes, making and remaking exams, as well as evaluating the success of individual questions will take a lot of time, but it is absolutely necessary for our students. Also, tests can show us, as teachers, how we are handling our lessons in the classroom. If there are a few questions that most every student gets wrong, then it would be a mistake to not ask ourselves how to improve. Not everyone can get 100% all the time, but as teachers, we can encourage their success and understanding of the material 100% of the time.
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