“Test what you teach and how you teach it”
§
It is important:
§
To emphasize important objectives and
demonstrate ways in which they could be assessed.
§
To develop review tests.
§
To make
scoring system clear and familiarize students with it through self and peer
assessment.
The best way to overcome students ‘fear is: to prepare
them with test-taking strategies.
⬌The keys to success are: to use time wisely and to develop practical study habits.
Test-taking strategies are synonymous of effective learning strategies.
ª
Make sure students are familiar with…
ª
Formats and Rubrics
ª
All the scoring system
ª
Self-and peer assessment
Suggestions for Students are:
ü Make a
semester study plan including assessments and their due dates:
q Students should learn how to make schedules for
themselves.
q The schedules should :
q Be realistic
q Include a study place
q Include a daily study time
q Allow plenty of preparation time for important
assessments
ü Attend
Class Regularly:
·
Poor
attendance correlates highly with poor test results.
·
It´s
important to motivate students to attend regularly. Then, also you as teacher
could encourage them to monitor their own learning process through journals,
portafolios, etc.
ü Use
good review techniques:
Ø
Research
shows that the time spent reviewing SHOULD BE no more than 15 minutes for
weekly quizzes , 2 to 3 hours for a midterm exam , and 5 to 8 hours for a final
exam.
Ø
When
reviewing for a test students should:
Ø
Plan
review sessions.
Ø
Take a
practice exam.
Ø
Review
with friends.
ü Organize
pre-exam hours wisely:
§
Don`t
cram at the last minute.
§
Physical
and mental fitness are important considerations for good test-taking.
§
Teachers
should encourage students to practice stress-reducing activities.
ü Become
Familiar with Instructions and Formats.
- Transparency: teachers have the responsability to
share what they know about formats.
- Students: frequently fail to read directions or
read them superficially to save time.
- Teachers!: Students need to understand exactly
how they are suppposed to answer the questions.
