Testing in College Classroom
How Do You handle testing in the traditional post-secondary classroom where time limitations are imposed with ELL students?
Ian,
My answer may not have registered so I will repeat it here in this reply. I have written the book How to Survive and Maybe even Love Health Professions School Retention and Career Placement Guide. I have written a chapter on testing, How to Take a Test and even understand test anxiety. It is important for all ages to understand how to take a test. It is even more important for a lower skilled student to understand the basic concepts in testing. All styles of questions are covered and explained.
Arlene Muller
When creating exams, the terminology is so important. Students from other countries are not only learning medical terminology, but also local phrases (words) which we take for granted that everyone understands.
Virginia,
Yes so true. I am excited that you are aware and are taking the time in test preparations. I have written the book: How to Survive and Maybe Even Love Health Professions School, Retention and Career Placement Guide. You will find a chapter on How to Take a Test which will show multicultural students on how to understand the different style of test questions. You can find some used books on Amazon.com.
Arlene Muller
I agree, many of my students are first or second generation Americans where Spanish is their first language, and is spoken at home. Our culinary school teaches a lot of French techniques, and uses French cooking terminology in great depth and frequency. I use a system of feedback from my ELL students after a test has been taken to insure a level of comprehension and understanding is achieved, and then use their feedback to make more effective and understandable tests.
David,
Excellent, teaching is knowing the students are learning. If the students are not learning then it is just lecturing. Excellent comprehension technique.
Arlene Muller
My college offers numerous classes in medicine, all of which emphasize medical terminology. I always enjoy this subject, because it is universal, and does not require English as a native language to master. In fact, many students prefer this subject, due to the fact that most terms are Latin based, and no student has an advantage in this language.
Benjamin,
Yes, I can see your reasoning. I have been a Director of a medical school and it is true that everyone is equal when learning the medical terminology.
Arlene Muller
The limitations of time imposed by the ELL students can be overcome by allowing extra time per question and also making the environment comfortable so that these students anxiety levels are reduced and give them some encouraging words thus giving them that little self confidience, which will help overcome the time lemitations.
Anthony,
Yes, time is a precious element in the classroom. You are on the right track by allowing more time for questions. Here is an idea. At the end of class ask the students to write down what they understand and then ask them to answer what was confusing. A 3x5 card works well or just a half sheet of paper. The next day start the class by going over what is confusing.
Arlene Muller
I have practied a ten minute warm-up rule. This is where the students can overcome the butterflies, test anxiety and being so anxious to take the test. Once the student is relaxed his or she become more comfortable and confident in test taking.
Vatina,
I love this idea. You approach the test in the right way. Have you seen a better performance level? My suggestion is to keep a chart of the performance on one subject with the warm-up and compare it to another subject without the warm-up. It would be great to have documentation to show the improved results.
Arlene Muller
Thank, I will make sure to do this in the future. Yes. The student in my opinion score much better when he or she is experiencing all the issues that goes along with test taking.
Vatina,
I am sure your opinion score is correct. In my book How to Survive and Maybe Even Love Health Profession Schools which is a Retention and Career Placement Guide, I have a chapter on How to Take a Test. I give hints on how to read and answer the True and False, Multiple Choice, Fill-in and Short Essay questions. I also list some exercises to lower test anxiety.
Arlene Muller
I definitely will be adding this to the closing of my A&P I and II classes. I always recap and we go over key questions in the chapter. I then end with a round robin of what stood out to them the most.
Always a positive response to that! But having them write what may be confusing to a student is brilliant.
Deborah,
Yes, I also love your Round Robin idea. You can also use a 3x5 card and have the students write down what they really understand from today's class and then on the other side of the card the most confusing concept or information. I have found the 3x5 card works really well and easy to handle.
Arlene Muller
I have also allowed the students additional time on testing. Sometimes I have started the test in class and then given them another portion of the test as a take home assignment and either averaged the two grades or taken the higher of the two.
Stewart,
Outstanding! I also agree with this techniques. Students need to see short activities that reveal success. You are building their confidence in learning and soon learning will be comfortable process.
Arlene Muller
Time limiataions on ELL can be difficult. Since my students have to complete a timed comprehensive licensing exam at the end of their program, I do not give my students extra time during exams to compensate for reading difficulty. Instead, I believe that practice taking timed exams will help prepare for the licensing exams. However, I work to ensure that the exam questions are worded appropriately without slang and encourage my students to ask me if they run into a word they can't identify. If the word is not reflective of the knowledge I'm testing, I'll attempt to clarify the term for the students.
Becky,
Wonderful idea Becky, to give your students timed exams. I agree with you that they need the experience to help them pass the timed licensed exam. You take the fear out of the timed exam by teaching your students to be comfortable with a timed exam.
Arlene Muller
