Formulaic Fernando

Red Flag #4

Finally, a fourth possible stumbling block for assessment writers and teachers, is a lack of clarity. This could mean a lack of clarity in format (paragraph vs. bullets), a lack of clarity in length of student responses (saying vague words such as, "A few" instead of clear directions such as, "In 2-3 sentences..."), or even lack of clarity in the # of answers desired or possible.

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Solutions:

A) Take your test and see what you believe constitutes high quality answers. Look at your own sentence length, format, and thought process. Be specific enough to get what you need, but not so specific as to be overly restrictive. Communicate clearly to students how each question is to be answered and what is needed to be thorough and complete.

-Professional Practice, Class Discussion

B) Have a colleague examine your assessment, ask for specific input regarding the clarity of your questions. This is also a great time to figure out if there are multiple correct answers to a question that you hadn't previously thought of before.

-Class + S&C

C) Use brain-friendly formatting for your test questions. If you want student to see part I and PART II, lend them a helping hand by the way you format your questions. There is nothing wrong with being clear about what constitutes success, so long as you are not achieving the success for your students.

- Class Discussion