Verified Document

Exams Are Not The Best Way To Measure Students Abilities Research Paper

Related Topics:

Education Recently, Harvard professors ceased giving final exams as part of their overall assessment of student performance (Strauss, 2010). In a radical transformation of official college policy, the Faculty of Arts and Sciences voted to eliminate exams and require professors who wish to administer them to file an application form. The reverse used to be true: exams were the norm and professors wishing to opt-out would have to ask for permission.

What has caused this startling turn of events? Evidence, for one. In Test Problems: Seven Reasons Why Standardized Tests Are Not Working, Sadker & Zittleman (n.d.) outline empirical evidence supporting a shift away from examinations as the primary measure of student success. Examinations do measure a certain type of achievement, but they should not be used as the only method of gauging student progress and performance. One of the core reasons cited by Sadker & Zittleman (n.d.) include student stress.

Examinations are only one of many different types of academic assessments that...

"We know that the typical multiple-choice and short-answer tests aren't the only way, or necessarily the best way, to gauge a student's knowledge and abilities," (How Should We Measure Student Learning? The Many Forms of Assessment," (n.d.). Application-based assessments are one alternative to examinations. Papers and creative projects are other types of end-of-year assessments that can and will replace examinations as the means of assessment. Formal examinations, including multiple choice and short answer tests, are becoming only one of a plethora of ways educators practice assessment.
Doing away with examinations does not mean doing away with assessments. Quite the contrary, assessments are necessary for measuring not just the student's performance but also the teacher's. It is important to know what methods are working, and what resources or tools are needed to improve student performance. An assessment is irreplaceable in this regard.

However, the examination model is only one of many that can be…

Sources used in this document:
References

"How Should We Measure Student Learning? The Many Forms of Assessment," (n.d.). Edutopia. Retrieved online: http://www.edutopia.org/comprehensive-assessment-introduction

Sadker, D. & Zittleman, K. (n.d.). Test Problems: Seven Reasons Why Standardized Tests Are Not Working " Excerpt from: Teachers, Schools, and Society: A Brief Introduction to Education p. 370-376."

Strauss, V. (2010). Harvard profs dropping final exams. The Washington Post. July 17, 2010. Retrieved online: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/answer-sheet/learning/harvard-profs-giving-up-final.html
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Students With Disabilities Who Did
Words: 17241 Length: 60 Document Type: Dissertation

The shift toward standardized testing has failed to result in a meaningful reduction of high school dropout rates, and students with disabilities continue to be marginalized by the culture of testing in public education (Dynarski et al., 2008). With that said, the needs of students with specific educational challenges are diverse and complex, and the solutions to their needs are not revealed in the results of standardized testing (Crawford &

Cognitive Abilities and Arts
Words: 1065 Length: 3 Document Type: Term Paper

Arts and Education Lack of Arts in School Curriculum affects learning and interest in learning School leaders and policymakers pay little attention to arts despite the experience that, allowing young people to participate in arts and culture can influence their development tremendously. The major problem lies with the fact that very few people bother to carry out a research, and record the far-reaching effect arts and culture can have on students. Instead,

Achievement of African-American Students in Civilian Public
Words: 1931 Length: 7 Document Type: Dissertation

Achievement of African-American students in civilian public schools vs. African-American students in the Depart of Defense (DOD) school system The methods section of this dissertation provides the rationale for the proposed study based on my hypothesis comparing African-American students in the DOD school system with African-American students in civilian school systems. It also highlights the key questions that were examined, how the study was conducted and the measuring criteria for analysis. The

Application of a Pedagogic Model to the Teaching of Technology to...
Words: 60754 Length: 230 Document Type: Dissertation

Pedagogic Model for Teaching of Technology to Special Education Students Almost thirty years ago, the American federal government passed an act mandating the availability of a free and appropriate public education for all handicapped children. In 1990, this act was updated and reformed as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which itself was reformed in 1997. At each step, the goal was to make education more equitable and more accessible to

Including Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students in the General Education...
Words: 4479 Length: 15 Document Type: Research Paper

Abstract This paper provides an extensive review of literature on deaf students and deafness. The purpose of the literature review is to obtain an understanding of what deafness is, what causes deafness, how it occurs, and what deaf culture is like for deaf people. The review identifies schools and programs that are used to help the deaf community and it also examines the outcomes of deaf students in general education. It

Social Promotion or School Retention
Words: 2204 Length: 7 Document Type: Research Proposal

This implies that through this study, the educators can get some assistance while they make the decision of retaining or promoting the failing students by considering the effects of both in detail. Since this is a qualitative study and not a quantitative one, from the data that is collected, it will be possible for us to build up a theory and then further studies can be conducted to confirm

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now