Bell-Ringer Activity:
Dr. B has been taking a class on Proficiency-Based Education (PBE). One of the topics that has recently come up is the nature of retaking assessments and what that means.
This got me to thinking: when a student (you, for example) take an assessment in this class, what are you thinking about during that assessment? Are you thinking about things like, "I had better do my best! I better show Dr. B what I know!" Or, are you thinking differently? Asking questions like, "Oh, I can always re-do this in the future."
Here is an awesome video from an educator named Rick Wormeli. In this video, he discusses why it's so important that students have a chance to re-take their assessments. Wormeli argues that learning is a progression, an ongoing part of your lives, and that what you know today may not necessarily represent what you will know as your learning process continues.
For today, please watch Wormeli's video, then, in the comments section below, discuss anything that seems important, relevant, or interesting to you. If you can find how it connects to your own life as a student or in this classroom, we would love to hear it!
The thing that stands out to me the most about this video is how fast classes change topics. For instance, if a student retakes a test, and fails it and then wants to take it 3 weeks later, the student would have forgotten what they learned about that topic because the class has already moved on to a new topic. But also, the class can't wait for 1 student to learn a standard when there is a majority of kids ready to move on. That is the part in the video that really stood out to me.
ReplyDeletethe thing that stands out in this video is him saying he went against himself to let a student not struggle and worry about getting the work done. But after a couple weeks he said that he talked to the kid and had him redo it.
ReplyDeleteI think what you're saying is a good point, I'm sure lots of students don't like to approach teachers so it would be good for a teacher to approach a student,
Deleteyeah, I agree with it being hard to approach teachers.
DeleteI agree with Mitch that is a very good saying I agree that students should not have to struggle getting work done I think if the student is having a hard time to go back and start over and take It slow so that they get it after awhile.
DeleteI think thats a good rig, Iv been in situations where I can't understand something because iv been doing it for so long I can't do it anymore. Giving the student time to have a break then go back to it sounds like something that would help a lot of people.
DeleteWhat an excellent conversation you guys are having about the ability to approach teachers asking for help and the foundational knowledge you need to have when moving forward in a class. What might be some of the ways you can get that "break" to learn at your own pace in a classroom?
Deleteone option would be in CLASS!!!!!
DeleteYou could go along with the class, then after awhile you can go back and take your time and not worry about the class.
DeleteSomething interesting to me in this video is taking a redue on a different section on the test. I think it helps kids understand that part better if they retook the sections they did poorly on.
ReplyDeletei agree that the kids are able to retake the tests and not do the hole test and just the one part
DeleteSomething that seemed important to me was the concept of not holding a student back when they miss an assignment. An example would be when a student misses a deadline for an assignment and the teacher does not let that student try the assignment over again because the student "wasn't using his time wisely". If the student wants to go back and re-learn the material and re-do the assignment, then the teacher has no right to hold that student back from achieving a higher grade.
ReplyDeleteYes Frank, I agree with your statement completely. This also stood out to me and it feels important to me as well. Good job ol chap.
DeleteSomething that stuck out to me the most was when Rick said that when a student got a certain part of a test wrong that that student should not have to do the whole test over again. They would just have to do what they didn't understand. Also that they show how they studied to the teacher so that the teacher would know when they are ready.
ReplyDeleteI also think this was a very important part of the video because if a student masters a standard on a test but fails a different standard on the same test they should not have to retake the first part.
DeleteI like your comment Corey. I agree that only re-doing a certain part of a test sticks out. It sticks out because it makes it easier and more relaxing for the student, that they only have to re-do one part.
DeleteThats what I think. Students should be able to keep working on what they know and move on with the next part of the material.
DeleteI agree with this comment because if the student still doesn't do good the second time around the teacher can see the students studying habits and give them feedback on how they can study more efficiently.
DeleteThe thing that stands out to me is the catch up days on Friday, I think that would be really good for people who might have fallen behind that week, or for people who had missed a day of class. I also really like the part where he says a student shouldn't have to do the whole test over, just the part where they failed.
ReplyDeleteThe part of the video that stood out the most to me was when he was talking about when the student learned the subject, it didn't matter what time of the year the student learned the subject. Instead that he/her learns it even if it is 3 days, 3 weeks, or 3 months down the road.
ReplyDeleteI agree
Deletethanks Ben!
DeleteHe wouldn't let a kid fail no matter what he had a easy way for them to catch up like a letter saying what they could do better. And he didnt move on when a student didnt know something he had a way always to fix the problem and help the student move forward.
ReplyDeleteI found it interesting when he said he recommends teachers have students write them a letter about what they got wrong, and what they did differently on the retake test. This is interesting to me because it gives a student time to reflect on their experience, and it could allow the teacher to understand what type of learner the student is.
ReplyDeleteSomething that stood out to me in the video was when he was talking about a class moving on from a standard that one person didn't understand and that person having trouble with the next standards because they built off of the first one. This stood out to me because it has happened to me more than once and I couldn't keep up with assignments and ended up really far behind in my work.
ReplyDeleteI agree I feel like a lot of students go through not getting one thing so they get behind even if the might know what they are learning in the class currently.
DeleteThank you for agreeing with me Corey, this has happened to me and many others before.
DeleteThis has happened to me many times Hannah. Coming to a new school when all the kids are at a higher level then me it's hard to keep up. Teachers go from subject to subject even if you don't get it or fail the test. The teachers don't want me to fail but they also don't want to hold the class back just because I'm behind. Thanks for this Hannah! Really made me think.
DeleteThe part that stuck out to me was the part about not retaking the whole test if I wanted to change only a few things. I feel like I usually try my hardest to get all the material and get it all right the first time, but that doesn't always happen. When I get most of the stuff right but only one or two things wrong I retake it if I think I can do better, but only the stuff that I don't know or don't understand.
ReplyDeleteI agree, I also dislike when I have to retake a test because I got a few things wrong and then end up getting those things that were wrong right but then getting a question I got right before wrong.
DeleteI agree with you Keaton for the simple fact that students that understand the topic, and should not have to take that same topic more than they have to.
DeleteI enjoyed his discussion and I completely agreed with everything he said. I loved the part where he mentioned that some teachers would make school miserable so that they are prepared for the next "level" of learning because I agree that it doesn't make any sense. Even though this part wasn't in the video I enjoy the idea of having a Bailey day also. It's also important to understand that with standards based the students get to learn by them selves instead of in a group because when working in a group, each individual student will always be at different learning levels.
ReplyDeleteI would also enjoy a Bailey day because it is useful to the student for catching up on work and for the teacher to see how well they are teaching the material.
DeleteYeah, it's a good idea. Especially with all the after school activities too, we don't always have the time.
DeleteSomething I found interesting about this video is that kids could go back and take the test over again three days later or even three months later.
ReplyDeleteWhat Rick Wormeli was saying really makes sense, I can't count how may times I've not gotten what the subject is about, and we just moved on because the rest of the students in the class got what the subject was about. The whole point of going to school is to learn, but if you don't get the subject but you can't go back and re-learn then it was pointless to even learn that subject. Classes move on so quickly because they're trying to get through a certain topic or book, and everybody has a different way of learning. Also it stood out to me how Rick Wormeli explained what he does or would do if a student wanted to re-take a test that they might not have met or if they wanted to get a better grade.
ReplyDeleteI agree Mikael! It is pointless to even learn a subject if the teacher doesn't give each student the appropriate time to learn it! ALL kids are DIFFERENT! Sometimes teachers go way to fast and don't realize that they are actually hurting the students by doing so.
DeleteJack: What stood out to me in the video was when he described not letting the kid retake the test as "like a bitter pill". This video reminds me of a lot of situations I went through middle school that I had issues with.
ReplyDeleteI agree jack Mr.d Would just move on when i fell behind and let me fail to the point i couldn't pass at all
DeleteWhat stands out to me the most is that a student can fall behind because they do not understand the material given to them and the class continues and the materials are related so that student falls really behind. Also some students don't ask for help so that makes it harder and they fall more behind then they were.
ReplyDeleteIt seemed important to me that it isn't important when assignments are not done it's just important that they do get them done and they learned it. This way students dont worry when they are behind the whole class on their work.
ReplyDeleteTekla-
ReplyDeleteI think something that stood out to me is letting kids re-learn a lesson, know matter how long it takes and then let them re-do the assessment. Also, something else that stood out me is having a catch up day on Friday. This lets kids get all the information needed if they have fallen behind or missed some days.
I think re-takes and do overs are okay to do! I do believe there should be a time limit so the teacher and the entire class can move on TOGETHER. I don't think it's okay for a teacher to move onto something new when a student is still struggling with the past lesson.
ReplyDeletei think it is good that he sums up the scores and
ReplyDeleteletting all the students retake there tests and
giving them a better grade. i think that the teachers
here do that and i appreciate that so thank all your teachers
It is nice that teachers let them re take the test for a better grade! Definitely helps students appreciate their teachers more! and the teachers respect the students by letting them re take.
DeleteI agree that its good to let a student retake test so they can get a better score
DeleteWhat stood out to me the most was that it don't matter when a student learns something just as long they learn it at some point.
ReplyDeletesorry about the typo.
DeleteSomething that stood out to me was when he said something about not having to retake the whole test just the section you failed. To me that makes more sense because you get more help on the section you didn't know.
ReplyDeleteWhat stands out to me is that everyone should work at their own pace. Some students learn faster than others, and some students have to retake things, leaving them to fall behind. They have to learn the material before they are tested on it.
ReplyDeleteA lot of kids just take tests without studying because they know they can retake the same test as many times as they want, until they pass. It is very important for children to learn as much as they can until they know the material for sure.
DeleteI agree that students should work at their own pace, and that they have to learn the material before they can take a test.
DeleteThat is a good point
DeleteSomething that stood out to me in this video was that kids will take the test without even trying or studying, and then retake it thinking it will be the same format. This is very accurate with a lot of students, I agree. I think that people should go at their own pace, and learn as they please, until they actually know the information, but they do need to study. Maybe even think that they don't have another time to take it a second time. Kids should also learn the material before they get tested in class, which is very fair for everyone.
ReplyDeleteI agree that students have to work at their own pace, but know the material before being tested.
DeleteA lot of students don't do that because they know they can just redo the test again, and again, and again.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI agree! :)
DeleteSomething that stood out to me is that every student should work at their own pace. Some students learn faster in certain subjects, and some are slower, that doesn't mean that that some students are smarter than others, it just shows that students learn at different paces.
ReplyDeleteI agree, every student should work at their own pace.
DeleteIt was important when he said that it doesn't matter when the students learn the material as long as they're learning it, meaning it doesn't matter if it takes two days, two weeks or two months as long as they actually understand the information.
ReplyDeleteYo homie i feel ya dawg practice makes perfect kna whad im sayinnn
DeleteI like how Rick said how he had the kids explain what method of studying they used, if the kid still didn't do good the second time, then Rick could see there study habits and give them some pointers on what they could do to study more efficiently.
ReplyDeleteThat is a very good point because some kid might not know a good method of studying and Rick can help them out so they can be good at studying.
DeleteThat's good how he makes it important to get to know every student as an individual, figuring out the best way of learning for each student.
DeleteI think its good to be able to retake tests cause a lot of times you do better the second time. It is especially helpful if you only have to re do the problems you got wrong. Making it so you can focus and practice the specific things you don't understand, instead of having to re take the whole thing and second guess yourself and get different questions wrong.
ReplyDeleteI think being able to relearn something is a really good idea because if you have to retake something you must not know what your doing on it and by relearning it instead of just redoing it your learn the stuff you don't know.
ReplyDeleteI very much agree with what everyone is saying, I especially agree that accessibility to retakes for a test is the best opportunity a student should get especially if they came very close to passing a test but got two or three questions wrong. It's important that a student actually understands the material that they are are learning and not just memorizing the answers from before.
ReplyDelete