- Reason 14,950 I love teaching freshmen: they write me little notes in the margins of their exams, with exclamation points and smiley faces, and make little jokes about the questions and their answers
- Quandary #1: if my students do very well, on average, on a section of their exam, is it because they studied effectively, I taught it effectively, or I mistakenly wrote the questions as to be too easy?
- Related: one of the many aspects of teaching that is much harder than people realize is the art of writing a useful exam, one that is sufficiently rigorous but within a well-prepared student’s reach. I find writing essay topics much easier.
- Quandary #2: is it fairest to put all students in the same type of testing environment–sitting in chairs at desks, no music, fluorescent lights, no snacks, in groups of 15-50 other test-takers–or would it be fairest to let them choose a few conditions they’d prefer to have during testing, and them group them in different locations accordingly?
- Even though I am completely convinced that it would be incredibly ineffective for my particular subject, sometimes I still wish I could do my whole exam on Scantron. This usually happens when I’m faced with a fresh stack of exams, oddly enough.
- I’ve never been the kind of teacher who collects all the exams and then sits right down to grade them; I usually take a break after the stress of exam week and semester’s end. However, this year, the English exam was the last in the week’s schedule, so my grading window is uncomfortably short.
Related articles
- 12 Funny Exam Answers You Won’t Believe Are Real (techeblog.com)
- Exams. You know you love them. (nameofexcessiveness.wordpress.com)
- First post/exams and what they are good for (thoughtofvg.wordpress.com)
- Preparing for Finals (parryed.wordpress.com)
