Cathy Davidson: Now You See It: Thoughts on Chapter 4
It's funny that, as I was reading Davidson's chapter on assessment, and her diatribe against the multiple choice test, I was, at the same time developing one of the few multiple choice tests that I'll administer in any school year (it'll be part of my mini course for ed tech 2014). Davidson writes, "I'm not against testing. Not at all. In fact, research suggests there should be more challenges..."(pg 126). She calls this "adaptive or progressive" testing. This seems to be synonymous with what we've been discussing in class as formative assessment. Davidson isn't against all testing. She just wants to test skills "our age demands", to test them in a way that reflects an understanding of various learning styles, and to not use them as summative, high stakes instruments.
For me, the multiple choice test represents a very different approach from the one I normally take. I'm using it sort of like a road sign for my students. Like, "If you want to be able to improvise it would be very helpful if you had some knowledge. If this test is hard for you it means you may want to go back, watch the video again or ask some more questions." The test is used to help the student figure out where they are in a process. I will not make the mistake of assigning a course grade based on it. The goal of my mini course is not to have knowledge but to apply that knowledge. Someone can be successful in the course even if they learn their notes by wrote but play musically.
A teacher needs an arsenal of strategies and a clear sense of what success in their course is. They need to allow multiple ways for students to satisfy those requirements. A multiple choice test might be helpful to some students. If so, great. If not, then it's just one means to an end and another student can deliver value in a different way.
More soon...
posted by Unknown @ 11:07 AM
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