EDU 6160 – Blog Post Assignment #4

For this week’s blog post assignment, I will be responding to a parent’s criticism that multiple choice tests do not indicate their child’s performance and should not be used. Given my subject area of health/fitness, the usual criticism I receive is in regards to participation, attendance policies and performance, not testing. However, my mentor and I do give students a unit pre-test and post-test that is multiple choice test. If a parent were to criticize this practice, I would respond to that parent in the following manner.

Before interacting with this parent, whether over email, the phone or in person, I would definitely converse with my mentor about the interaction and request for her to be present for the conversation. Once my mentor is a part of the conversation, I would inform the parent about the use and reasoning behind multiple choice tests in our class. I would begin by saying that multiple choice tests are utilized in our class to inform us about the quality of our instruction and determine the level of student understanding. This is accomplished through the use of both a pre and post-test. I would explain that prior to instruction and practice, at the beginning of the unit, students take a pre-test. This score is recorded in the gradebook, but replaced by the post-test at the end of the unit.

With the scores of the pre-test, my mentor and I use averages in order to determine which content students struggled most with. In doing so, we are able to ensure that the content is covered and understood over the course of the 2-week unit. After instruction and practice, students that participated and actively engaged in the unit should have no problem getting every single problem on the post-test correct. As shown in Figure 1, the student’s tennis unit test scores drastically improved on the post-test.  This type of testing is actually preferred by students, because they are not being graded on their ability or skill level to perform the activity rather their knowledge about the activity. Additionally, in a given class period, we are limited to less than 45 minutes in a gym setting. A multiple choice test allows for us to efficiently cover a wide range of unit content in a timely matter (Shermis and Di Vesta, 2011, p. 154). Ultimately, when it comes to testing, “What is of concern is that, whatever their format, they measure what they are supposed to measure, function in the way they are expected to function, and enable effective implications and interpretations” (Shermis et al., 2011, p. 302).

References 

Shermis, M. D., & J., D. V. (2011). Classroom assessment in action. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.