Semester Exam Takeaways: My students took their semester exams this past week. As I reflect on the week, there are so many positive things I saw during these exams. Students need to take tough semester exams to showcase what they have learned. These exams remind them of how much they have actually learned. It is an opportunity for them to feel good about themselves. Some of my students who struggle were so pleased to learn they had passed or even made a B on the exam, because they studied for it. This reinforced the “hard work pays off” value we try to instill. It is also a longer test than usual. Many of my students seldom have to sit still and focus for an hour and a half, and work intensely and purposefully on any task with no cell phone or other device interruptions. This is good for them, not only to do this but to be made aware afterward that they did it. My test is primarily a skills test, though there were some content-based questions as well. As I graded the skills portion of the tests, where my students had to read an article I gave them and write an SRA (summary, response, and analysis) as we have been doing all year, I became aware that some students have not mastered the skill of summary. This is something they groan about doing but there are a few that will need more work on this in January. It’s ironic that children learn “main idea” and summary skills so early in school, but some still struggle, especially with articulation, even in 12th grade. Certainly it is important for college and for life that students can read something and reflect on it accurately. On the other hand, there were students who did so well on the SRA on the exam, that I went back and examined their previous SRA grades. It is apparent they have mastered these skills and I wanted to be sure their grades reflect this mastery. Sometimes they don’t do assignments well (or at all) during the semester, but when push comes to shove, they actually do have the ability. I think we should reinforce the “show me what you know” opportunity exams give students, and the value of studying for and taking these tests. We as teachers must ensure our exams measure the skills we want to measure, that reflect the TEKS and our goals for our students. Semester tests help our students grow up, and what I saw this past week reinforced that. Merry Christmas, all.
Posted on: Fri, 19 Dec 2014 20:26:33 +0000
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