Introduction
The current education system advocates for high standards of teaching as a requirement for quality education to all learners. As a result of this, there is need for new ways of teaching in order to realize an effective curriculum that is centered on quality education. A number of studies have been conducted in this field.
Education is a dynamic process and needs to be reviewed and updated frequently. There is need for educators to come up with new ways of instilling knowledge to their learners in order to cope with these changes. One of the changes that should be put into consideration is the effect of integrating daily practice- test questions on student achievement.
Practical Test Questions and Student’s Achievement
The concept is of great importance to the teacher and to the student as well. To this end, the teacher gives the students some tests after instructing them in a given field. The aim here is to test the understanding and comprehension level of the learner as far as the topic is concerned (Brophy, 2006).
After the level of understanding has been tested, the teacher can then correct the learners and provide them with additional information based on their level of comprehension. In most cases, teachers have integrated this mode of teaching in all areas of the curriculum.
Learners are exposed to risks and the mistakes made are used to advance their understanding (Borich, 2010). During the practical exercises, students are able to show their strengths and weaknesses which is an essential feature of practical questions.
This is also referred to as formative assessment by some authors (Ayres, 2004). Ayres (2004) argues that administering practical questions is important given the fact that it helps students in understanding the tasks taught in class. For example, this mode of teaching will enable the student to acquire other skills such as co- operation, making the right judgement using the information acquired as well as promoting self awareness.
Importance of Practical Test Questions
Practical test questions are important given the fact that many schools have used this mode to assess students’ performance. The strategy is also used to track student’s performance and progress (Hendricks, 2009).
Teachers come together to discuss students’ progress so as to come up with strategies to improve their performance. Tracking students’ progress is achieved by closely following their performance in the test questions (Dinham, 2005).
Another effect of testing as far as practical questions are concerned is that it improves teaching (Darling-Hammond, 2007). This has been tested and seen to bear fruits as far as teaching is concerned. With frequent practice questions, the students can master tasks that are major goals of the curriculum.
Educators have been able to determine variations among the learners. In this case, learners personal needs have effectively catered for (Brophy, 2006). Brophy (2006) is of the view that learners who perform poorly have improved as far as their level of comprehension is concerned after being exposed to this mode of education.
This program targets under-achieving students who eventually become living testimonies of this form of intervention. In the long run, teachers will put emphasis on the provision of education by encouraging students to be actively involved in the education process.
Research conducted by Brophy (2006) states that exercises offered frequently to learners have eliminated barriers when general summative test is given. This is especially so when different schools are evaluated. In most cases, schools that administer summative tests only at the end of a learning episode such as an academic year or school term tend to perform poorly.
This is due to the fact that students have not been exposed to the frequent questions as part of their learning. Evaluation needs to be done frequently so as to test learner’s readiness to take summative tests. When there are no frequent tests, the relationship between the overarching standards of the school and classroom performance cannot be effectively determined.
Negative Impacts of Practical Test Questions
According to Bruner (2006), provision of frequent tests or daily tests affects students negatively although not always. The scholar states that teachers are compelled to make students pass so as create a name for themselves in the eyes of the school administration and the parents.
To this end, they only teach for the test rather than teaching the concepts. For example poor results may lead to closing down of the school or sacking of teachers after a summative test. To avoid this, teachers will administer many practical tests to make students pass without giving instructions on actual concepts in class.
Practical Test Questions and Assessment
Assessment is a way of measuring student’s performance (King, 2010). One of the ways of achieving this is by giving daily practical questions to students after every session (Bruner, 2006). After the assessment test, evaluation is carried out to measure how well the teacher and the student are organised.
In all cases, the data obtained is used in the future to avert mistakes encountered previously. The data is used to initiate new policies and abide by them (Natriello, 2007). During this process, teachers are able to get information on what works well during their teaching.
After the findings are made, the teachers meet to discuss and come up with strategies that can work. For example the following up of student’s performance in the learning process is considered to be more appropriate as opposed to comparing the student to with their peers.
If students are compared with fellow learners, they might make the assumption that they are weaker students which deprives them motivation as well as confidence in their education life (Bloom, 2001).
Positive results have been realised from studies conducted to find out the effects of teachers’ frequent observation of students’ progress after teaching (Monsen, 2002). Some of the positive effects include intrinsic motivation that gives students an urge to work hard. The motivation provides the students with an academic self concept.
As a result of this, this mode of teaching needs to be incorporated in the teaching methods adopted in class (King, 2010). It is a continuous mode of teaching and learning and therefore should be incorporated in all curriculums (Bransford, 2009). Bransford (2009) argues that allowing students to make mistakes equips them with skills needed to succeed in their education (Bentley, 2008).
Integration of daily tests has both positive and negative impacts on student. In most cases, it will depend on how teachers administer them (Bloom, 2001). If they use them as part of their teaching, it will yield positive results for the students.
This is a form of student centred learning rather than teacher centered learning. A student centred learning leads to discovery learning which makes teaching effective and interesting to students. Teachers need to examine what is good for them after trying the daily questions’ exercise.
References
Ayres, P. (2004). Effective teaching in context of a Grade 8 high stakes external examination in New South Wales, Australia. British Education Research Journal, 30(1): 34-37.
Bentley, J. (2008). School effectiveness, school improvement and assuring quality. Harvard: University Press.
Bloom, B. (2001). Handbook on summative evaluation of student learning. New York: McGraw-Hill Book.
Borich, G. D. (2010). Effective teaching methods. (4th ed.). New Jersey: Prentice-Hall Inc.
Bransford, J.D. (2009). How people learn: Brain, mind, experiences and school. Washington D.C.: National Academy Press.
Brophy, J. (2006). Teacher behavior and student achievement. In Wittrock M. (Ed.), Handbook of research on teaching (3rd ed.) New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
Bruner, J. (2006). The culture of education. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Darling-Hammond, L. (2007). Teacher quality and student achievement: A review of state policy evidence. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 8(1): 2-9.
Dinham, S. (2005). Effective teaching in the context of a grade 12 high stakes external examination in New South Wales, Australia. British Educational Research Journal, 30(1): 7-9.
Hendricks, C. (2009). Improving schools through research: A comprehensive guide for educators. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
King, D. (2010). Redesigning the pre-exam review session. Journal of College Science Teaching, 40(2): 88-96.
Monsen, L. (2002). School based evaluation: Why is it difficult to convince teachers of its usefulness- An international perspective. Oxford: JAI Press.
Natriello, G. (2007). The impacts of evaluation process on students. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.