In a perfect world, there would be no tests and no quizzes and no homework and maybe not even school. Maybe in this perfect world, we would just have a chip that we plugged into our brains to download the information we needed.
However that world seems extremely boring with absolutely no challenges, ever. Studying for Tests and even taking them is rarely a fun activity, but the feeling you get when you make a good grade on something you've worked really hard for is rewarding. But what about those people who we call "bad test takers," this "condition" is very common. I myself suffer from it and it drives me insane every night before a test. I can study and study and study and still end up with a worse grade than that annoying kid who walks in class and yells "WHAT? We have a test today?!"
If it were up to me, tests wouldn't be done away with completely, then anyone could walk right through school without even trying. What I do think should be enforced, is something most angel teachers practice, and that would be test corrections. Ain't nothing better than learning from your mistakes! Receiving half credit for figuring out the right answer is a very full filling process I believe.
I would also change class schedules. Every week there would be a day where you can come and talk to the teacher in a smaller group, or even one on one, and they can help work you through the current lessons. You would gain credit for coming to these classes and help heighten your grade. Teachers like teaching and helping they're students excel. Most teachers are extremely open to give students extra help, but I know that most students are often afraid to ask or don't even bother because they feel they'll never get it.
I think tests are important. However I think the level of effort you put into a class can be shown through homework, test corrections, and extra study days. That should be more percentage of your grade, rather then tests.
I think this is also a way for students to find their niche. Everyone has that class that no matter how hard they try they just aren't going to do as good as the kid next to them. But instead of focusing on a class and spending hours of studying to make a mediocre grade, they can focus on other things they are good at. Like theyre art class or english class.
My Ideal Testing System would be, to lower the importance of a test on your total grade, and heighten the value of hard work. We as human beings do not think on one level. We are differnt, we work differently, we walk, talk, and act differently and most of all, we learn differently, so why on earth should we all be tested the same and expected to excel the same?
A few qwestions: 1)Would putting more value (and I do mean more, not equal value) on hard work be fair to the few who don't have to work hard? That is not to say that they should not work, rather if it is a subject that comes naturally to them, like art or language, there simply may be less for them to show. A similar example is math classes where the teachers want every single step shown, regardless of how simple it may be. I have seen people lose a letter grade (or two!) because they got the correct answer for most of the questions, but never showed any work. To them, they didn't need to, the problems could be worked out in thier heads, as such it wasn't "work." How is that fair?
ReplyDelete2)Isn't every day a day to talk to your teacher if you are willing to take the time and reach out? You say yourself that teachers are happy to help students that ask. Why should the class schedules change for that? There is a long and sucessful history of staying either after class (small problem) or after school (large, time consuming problem) to get help. I understand that there may be extenuating circumstances (say... a job) but if students are deciding to neglect getting help from teachers to go do social things, that is their (the students, that is) decision.