MSU Teaching Thoughts # 16: How Was I Supposed To Know What You Wanted?: E ecti!

e Testing" #$ading and %ssess&ent

Ill teach for free, but youll have to pay me to grade. Dr. Virginia Johnson nderson !uoting a colleague "ho had been as#ed to teach a course after retiring.

n incredibly bright and articulate $%& undergraduate student 'the #ind I "ished that I had been "ay bac# then( approached me in tears a couple of "ee#s ago. )his student had performed very poorly on a history e*am and had +ust received her grade. In surprise, I as#ed her "hy she thought things had gone poorly. %he responded that she didnt understand the !uestions, she did not #no" "hat her teacher "anted. s it happened, the ans"ers she had provided in no "ay matched the professors or ) s e*pectations. -e parted "ith her e*claiming, .ut Id "or#ed so hard to prepare for this test/ I believed her. Do our students test results accurately 'and fairly( indicate that they are getting it0 re "e creating assignments that are "orth grading0 1o" are "e organi2ing and using our grading time0 1o" often do "e as# during a semester, Is this class really "or#ing0 -hy or -hy not0 t a recent $%& 3illy 4aculty %eminar devoted to effective grading and assessment, )o"son %tates Virginia nderson, 5rofessor, Department of .iological %ciences, as#ed these and a host of other thought-provo#ing !uestions. )his $%& )eaching )hought reflects some her seminal points. I used to thin# of grading and assessment as being generally the same things, as means to achieve the same sorts of ob+ectives. Dr. nderson believes differently. 4or her, grading plays important evaluative, motivational, communicative, and organi2ational roles. %he defines assessment as )he systematic gathering and analy2ing of information 'e*cluding course grades( to inform and improve student learning . . . in light of goaloriented e*pectations. 6rades do not +ust measure performance. )hey can also help influence course direction. ssessment isnt about grades. It is about as#ing yourself and your students sincerely 'regularly(, -hat do "e need to change to ma#e this course better0 ssessment is also about paying genuine heed to that !uestions ans"ers.

-hat do you thin# your students ran# as the most import criteria for tests and grading0 If you said, 4airness/ youre spot on '1o" many of you first thought, 7ase0(. 8our students "ant to #no" "hat you e*pect of them. )hey "ant to #no" "hat s#ills to employ "hen completing the tas# at hand. In addition, they really "ant to believe that they are going to do "ell if they put in the time to study. 9f those three concerns, "e handle the first t"o pretty "ell. -e tell them "hat chapters our e*ams "ill cover, right0 -e give them the e*am format. %ome of us even provide study sheets "ith !uestions that resemble "hat students "ill see on the e*am. %o, "hen bad grades occur in spite of our help and their preparation, "hats the problem0 5erhaps the problem is that it is often difficult, if not impossible to meet students demands that teachers re"ard effort, particularly in cases "here students test results and teachers e*pectations do not +ibe. :ote my friends last comment in the first paragraph. %tudents vie" grades e!ually as re"ards for performance :D effort, 5rofessor nderson claims. 6rades are their ;tic#et for a better life. <onsider too that our students increasingly are considering their education as a commodity. )hey are paying for "hat you give them, and grades are in some measure a reflection of their investment. If they have put in ten hours of study for an e*am, they e*pect to do "ell. -hat happens "hen they dont0 -ho is to blame0 nderson provided seminar participants "ith a considerable amount of useful information, much of it from her and .arbara -alvoords 7ffective 6rading= )ool for 3earning and ssessment 'see >esources belo"(. I have culled from her handouts these t"elve important points to consider "hen creating assignments and tests, grading them, and assessing student learning?course effectiveness. @. .egin by considering "hat you "ant your students to learn. A. %elect )ests and assignments that both teach and test the learning you value most. B. <onstruct a course outline that sho"s the nature and se!uence of ma+or tests and assignments. C. <ollaborate "ith your students to set and achieve goals. D. 5rovide e*plicit assignment directions. Do not "ait si* "ee#s before assigning the first grade. E. <reate comprehensive rubrics to assist you in grading. F. 7valuate student "or# fairly and consistently against established criteria. G. -or# smarter, not harder/ pportion appropriate grading time to the tas# at hand. 7*ample= $id terms should ta#e up more of your time !ualitatively and !uantitatively than one-minute essays. H. 4rame your comments to the students use. @I. ssessment "or#s best "hen it is ongoing, not episodic. @@. ssessment re!uires attention to outcomes, but also and e!ually to the e*periences that lead to those outcomes. @A. 3earning is a comple* process. ssessment is most effective "hen it reflects an understanding of learning as multidimensional, integrated, and revealed in performance over time.

-hether or not you are in a position to create your o"n e*ams, you are undoubtedly in a situation "here you are responsible for grading students "or#. 7ven if you are re!uired to use othersJ tests, you can al"ays find "ays to improve "hat you have been given. 4ile your ideas a"ay until you get a chance to ma#e up your o"n evaluative instruments. s# to "or# "ith your professor "hile s?he creates e*ams. 6et a feel for their ob+ectives. s# yourself if you thin# you are meeting those ob+ectives "ith the instrument you are using. ) s, dont "ilt under the )hats-+ust-your-opinion ga2e I #no" you get occasionally from your undergraduates. It is your opinion and by virtue of your appointment, you deserve to ma#e it #no"n. 1o"ever, listen carefully. %tudents comments can help you create a better e*am, assignment, lab, etc. In short, dont as# for orange ans"ers using apple !uestions. %imilarly, ma#e sure you are measuring performances using the correct tools. 5rofessor nderson claims that in many respects, -hat you cover in a class doesnt matter, "hat students get matters. It is up to us as teachers and graders to find "ays to ma#e sure that our students leave class #no"ing the most meaningful material. .e diagnostic, not punitive in your grading. )ry something other than that red pen "ith "hich to "rite comments. %eparate you comments from your grades. 4inally, as# your students after handing bac# their grades on an assignment, -hat "ould you do differently if you had to do this again0 Do not accept, Ill study more. as their only ans"er. 'esou$ces 'If you "ould li#e information from Dr. ndersons "or#shop, or from 5rofessor 7meritus %teve 8elons "or#shop concerning test creation, please let me #no". Ill send it to you.( 4or more information about the 3illy %eminar and -or#shop series http=??""".provost.msu.edu?facdev?3illy%eminar?about.htm 9ry, John <. and Katherine 7. >yan. )ips for Improving )esting and 6rading. :e"bury 5ar#, < = %age 5ublications, @HHB. -alvoord, .arbara and Virginia Johnson nderson. 7ffective 6rading= 3earning and ssessment. %an 4rancisco= Jossey L .ass, @HHG. )ool for

8elon, %tephen 3. 1o" to &se L and <reate L <riterion <hec#lists. 5erformance and Instruction Journal ' pril, @HGC(= @-C. MMMMMMMM. &sing )est Nuestion 4ormats for )ests of Kno"ledge. 5erformance and Instruction Journal '%eptember @HGG(= CA L CD. (e)t: -hat are 8our %tudents Really )hin#ing about -hen )hey 4ill out <lass 7valuation 4orms0