Re: Testing

schetterk@TEN-NASH.TEN.K12.TN.US
Wed, 28 Aug 1996 11:28:21 -0600

I teach PreAlgebra and Algebra in the 8th grade. I have tried
pre-testing and first of all I found that multiple choice testing is NOT
vary accurate for telling how much a student already knows for 2 reasons
-- easier to guess and answer choices give reminders. I stopped
pre-testing because I found that the extra practice for topics the
student might test as already knowing does no harm and can serve to
reinforce what is alrady learned.

Ken Schetter

On Tue, 27 Aug 1996, Margaret Forte wrote:

> I'm looking for suggestions about testing.
>
> For my Developmental Math classes, I test at the beginning of the semester,
> in both Arithmetic and Algebra. I have made up my own tests which cover
> exactly the topics I plan to teach.
>
> If I had the job of testing all in-coming students to determine appropriate
> placement, what tests would you suggest? How accurate are they in placing
> students in classes where they are successful?
>