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Hello, I am Damiya McLaurin. I am a senior majoring in Early Childhood Education at Francis Marion University. In the classroom, there may be students that are not good test takers. Students understood the lesson but they may not perform their best on the assessment. It is important for teachers to give assessments that align with what the teachers are teaching. One way that teachers can modify assessments is by providing feedback to students. Some students might be struggling with assessments so this feedback will help them improve. As a preservice teacher, this is an aspect that I want to focus on. I plan to see where students are and take the data from there to improve on future assessments. I have experienced with students where students did well on assignments prior to the assessment but did not do well on the assessment. This is a problem that I believe should be discussed and resolved so students are able to apply what they have learned effectively. 

Hello, Damiya,

I agree with you that many students are not good test takers. As the educator, it is our responsibility to offer fair and equitable opportunities for our scholars to shine. One of the was an effective educator can accomplish this is by implementing differentiated assignments as well as assessments. The educator should also evaluate their scholars in a formal and informal nature as well. Many times, in Small Group the teacher can assess the scholars simply by engaging in conversation with the students. In science, providing the children with the opportunity to demonstrate their understating out of the box will help build tier confidence. Providing them with the platform to give visual presentations, projects, and or oral presentations also will help the teacher to observe what they understand about the content. You are correct, it is very important that teachers provide prompt, clear, and explicit feedback to the scholars.

Julia Andrews-Johnson

M.A.T. Program

Mount Saint Mary’s University  

Hello Damiya, I am currently pursuing a degree in Early Childhood Elementary Education at Monmouth University. I am also someone who is not the best test taker which takes a toll on my mental health. A big struggle I am personally having is passing the praxis exams to become a teacher. Most of the test questions and material on these exams are nothing that I am learning in school which I find strange. If these are the tests you need to pass to become a teacher why would they not teach it at universities? Which can come back to students taking tests in class. What if a child is a nervous test taker like myself and knows the material but struggles to show it on tests? Is there a better way to assess the learning other than through traditional testing? I totally agree with adding different types like presentations and projects. I believe that it shows more knowledge about the subject rather than guessing on a multiple-choice test. I know personally that I almost remember all the presentations I have done in my education career. It also works on more areas rather than just what the topic is. It can work on communication skills, presenting information to a group of people, and background knowledge. Overall I believe that time is changing the way assessments are given for the better.