Abstract
Educational standards are often derided as promoting “teaching to the test” in which curriculum becomes narrowly focused and students are often deprived of instruction and activities that would broaden their understanding and integration of topics. Having some standard of knowledge is important for both portability (e.g., when students transfer between institutions) and learning certification (e.g., communicating the level of accomplishment to future employers), therefore the focus should be on the most effective ways to assess the learning objectives. This presentation examines the author’s experience with two different assessment strategies in university-level Computer Science courses. Both strategies provide students with the entire set of possible assessment questions, alleviating some of the anxiety often associated with testing. Furthermore, the assessment questions serve not only as study aids, but also provide an operationalized view of the learning objectives. As a result, “teaching from the test”, based on these assessment strategies, supports a more broadly focused curriculum, reduces student testing anxiety, and while providing an accurate assessment of students’ understanding.
Location
Room 1220 A
Recommended Citation
Eckart, J Dana, "Assessment Strategies to Support Teaching from the Test" (2015). SoTL Commons Conference. 76.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/sotlcommons/SoTL/2015/76
Assessment Strategies to Support Teaching from the Test
Room 1220 A
Educational standards are often derided as promoting “teaching to the test” in which curriculum becomes narrowly focused and students are often deprived of instruction and activities that would broaden their understanding and integration of topics. Having some standard of knowledge is important for both portability (e.g., when students transfer between institutions) and learning certification (e.g., communicating the level of accomplishment to future employers), therefore the focus should be on the most effective ways to assess the learning objectives. This presentation examines the author’s experience with two different assessment strategies in university-level Computer Science courses. Both strategies provide students with the entire set of possible assessment questions, alleviating some of the anxiety often associated with testing. Furthermore, the assessment questions serve not only as study aids, but also provide an operationalized view of the learning objectives. As a result, “teaching from the test”, based on these assessment strategies, supports a more broadly focused curriculum, reduces student testing anxiety, and while providing an accurate assessment of students’ understanding.
