| It has been the general rule since the | | | | dollars. The result, as you remember from |
| inception of the school system that the true | | | | experience, is thank goodness that class is over, |
| measure of a student’s grasp of subject | | | | which leads to a complete forgetting of subject |
| matter lies in memory. That is, students are | | | | matter. |
| tested on performance based on how good their | | | | So how can we do better? Performance |
| short-term memory is. Remarkably naive, but all | | | | should be measured much like in the work force. |
| schools are still using this method to date. This is | | | | Here your testing is done daily and you learn from |
| probably due to not having a better way of | | | | your mistakes. To implement this into the |
| testing. It is almost as ludicrous as giving a | | | | classroom, the teacher must give short |
| student that scored a 90% the same final grade | | | | ‘pop’ tests three or so times per week. |
| as the student that scored 100%. They both get | | | | These tests should hold the weight of the |
| A’s. Sort of left out the middle, huh? I never | | | | student’s grade with hands on labs or |
| have been able to understand why we test | | | | research comprising the balance. Testing like this |
| numerically and then grade alphabetically! But | | | | forces the student to pay attention. Simple, |
| that’s another paper. | | | | isn’t it? If the teacher handed out some 30 |
| The consequence of testing through rote | | | | ‘pop’ tests during the school session and |
| memory is that we are measuring one facet of | | | | showed each student how they were doing, there |
| human intellect and leaving out the other 200. A | | | | would be ample time for everyone to improve |
| good friend of mine in high school had the unique | | | | their grade. The research or lab work should be |
| ability of never showing up for class and | | | | graded on just how hard the student worked |
| memorizing the test material prior to test day. He | | | | toward their goal along with originality. The weight |
| would ask me what was on the test and I would | | | | placed on the research would give a poor student |
| show him, with explanation. On many occasions he | | | | the incentive for doing well to get the grade and |
| scored higher than I did! Which I thought was | | | | a good student the incentive for keeping their |
| really neat. Pardon my 70’s phrase. But this is | | | | grade. |
| not what really made an impression on me. You | | | | One of the grandest teachers I have ever |
| see, a week after a test he could not recall 10% | | | | had would teach from the test that he was to |
| of what he had scored so high on! I, on the other | | | | hand out. American History was the subject |
| hand, remembered just about all of it for quite | | | | matter and he made it a pleasure to listen. You |
| some time. | | | | couldn’t possibly get a bad grade, if you were |
| This paradox in testing is carried on | | | | breathing, because of his methodology. And, you |
| throughout college. The good memory students | | | | know, to this day I can recall the content of his |
| are rewarded while the others are left behind. | | | | class with ease! |
| Some teachers are more aware of this situation | | | | There are different ways of implementing |
| and try different techniques for measuring the | | | | this fragmented teaching method. The idea is to |
| student achievement. The teacher that tests | | | | break up the school year into smaller pieces and it |
| over multiple chapters, only to have their students | | | | won’t be quite as difficult a hill for the student |
| cramming the night before, is wasting their time | | | | to climb. |
| and that of the student along with your tax | | | | |