Get Your Students Hired
The institution I work for allows for online testing at Quia.com. The standardized tests that come with the IRG are easy to transfer to Quia. The program grades and provides a grade printout by class that can easily be transferred to the grade book. Our grade book is also online on the company intranet. This does streamline exams and quizzes but not homework.
Stacy, Sounds like a great plan. Many administrations invest in technologies that help their instructors speed the grading process. Learning more about what's available and utilizing the best resources can certainly help.
Dr. Melissa Read
Jeffrey, Both excellent approaches that can significantly speed grading! What I love about the underlining method is that we really don't change the format that the students must respond in.
Dr. Melissa Read
I have converted all my exams to Scantron (multiple choice). I plan on utilising our Portal so that students can upload their homework to me instead of paper copies that can get misplaced.
I will make my tests so that I can underline the answer and go right to it. I also like true and false which makes things mush faster. Grades I do like a electronic gradebook which makes things tidy and fast.
P O'Dwyer
Christopher, Real world tasks are great for deeply assessing knowledge. Yes, they may take more time but are worth it for many of us. Some of us have the luxury of grading real world tasks on the spot, in the classroom. For example, those that teach communication ask students to give speeches, and grade those speeches in class.
Dr. Melissa Read
Jason, So true! It's wonderful to be as high fidelity as possible in testing. This is great practice for the students and also helps us understand if we've really moved the needle on preparing them for the future.
Dr. Melissa Read
I rarely give exams - in most of my classes, students are compelled to demonstrate competency via practical (hands-on) examination and/or project-based learning...
the stakes are high in this sort of testing, but I find they better emulate real-world environments
My producing film class has a number of steps that must be followed in pre-production. I ask them to construct a pre-production work flow based on a script they have never read. Grading takes a bit of time but I feel like they learn more from the test asking them to do "real world" tasks
I am going to take a look at the quiz star and see if that will work in my class setting. Unfortunately not all of my students have access to technology. I will have to first check the hours of operation on the computer lab to see if that could be a viable alternative.
I have always used multiple formats in one exam for end of unit assessments: selected response, T/F, short essay, diagraming, etc. I grade the unit exams over the weekend and my technique is to have my wife and/or daughter help. We'll break it up so that I grade all of the written work (short essay). It cuts grading time down and my family doesn't mind helping me (for which I'm thankful!).
Rob
I would make a much higher use of the LMS system that we use. I would attempt to place as much of the homework there to include homework, discussion and exams. This will allow me to have one place to look for information instead of chasing papers and such.
SCAN TRON IS GREAT, BUT THERE ARE A FEW SUBJECTS THAT CANT USE SCAN TRON. PICK AND CHOOSE.
Katina, I think that's fair. In testing, we've got to provide multiple students, with different testing strengths, the chance to succeed. This may mean diversifying our approach to question formats.
Dr. Melissa Read
I try to stay away from Essay questions to keep it fair for everyone. Sometimes, you can interpret things differently, mark them wrong for one and not the other, then cause strife amongst the students.
My biggest concern with doing just multiple choice exams is that the students need different forms of assessments. Some may do better with an essay format. I am trying out a multiple choice format and it does streamline my grading.
We are undergoing a lot of changes now with our curriculum. Scantron tests are the way to go!!
the way i do it now is fill in the blank and essay, all written. but the questions aren't particularly needing in-depth discussion. however, i do have classes where i request essay papers and they can be a headache to grade. and when you don't grade them right away, procrastination kicks in. all downhill from there.
Robert, It sounds like your institution has already invested heavily in establishing testing formats that streamline grading. It's wonderful to hear your administration has taken such initiative. At a guess, there are many instructors in your institution who benefit.
Dr. Melissa Read
Vicki, Online testing software is wonderful for testing and grading efficiency. Most of the time, you can find software that gives you great options for balancing testing formats. Exams are graded instantly for formats that are not fill in the blank and essay, allowing students to get the fasted feedback.
Dr. Melissa Read