I have given the third test in my music appreciation classes. I have in fact tested myself on whether I can prepare a test and expect the outcome.
The first test I gave was a multiple choice "killer" in which 10% would earn A, 10% would fail. Indeed the test results came back as I expected. The second test was alright, I wanted to make it easy enough that the majority would fall into the A & B category. I again succeeded. I remembered one of my undergraduate professor that allowed us to bring a 3X5" notecard with anything our handwriting would fit in. I allowed my class to do the same and found many of them do not know how to measure. Have they heard of rulers and that you can cut a 4X6" notecard to a 3X5"?
The third test was planned as a closed book but before I began the test review I chnaged my mind. As I expected, nobody had really read the assigned texts. I gracefully set it as an open book test. On the day of the test, to my horror, some of my students have no test-taking strategies. I had warned them there would not be enough time to look up the answers to every question . Of course, some tried to find them in the order they were presented and ran out of time. They did not scan the whole test paper and answer those that they knew.
Conclusion: they don't know what they are asking for! Perhaps teacher knows best right? I haven't decided what to allow for the final. I wish I wasn't buried in paper and not contributing towards grade inflation. That's for another blog another time. Beethoven class....
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