Re: Teaching to the test

[Barlow Newbolt <NewboltW@WLU.EDU>]

..if you are replying to my comments, I would reply that I don't think
there is a problem using a test or a text for guidance in the topics to
be treated as long as you have confidence that that test or text is a
balanced one.  My problem comes from the cases where important topics
are omitted because it is not easy to write test questions in a
particular format (multiple choice) on that particular topic.  The
problem with texts is easier to manage in that what you want to do is
choose a text which is balanced, and treats those topics which you know
are important.                                    WBN

Barlow Newbolt
Professor of Physics
Washington and Lee University
e-mail: newboltw@wlu.edu
telephone:  540-463-8881
fax:  540-463-8884
Office: Howe 218

"Had I been present at the creation,  I would have given
some useful hints for the better ordering of the universe."

          Alphonso X,  Learned King of Spain  (1252  - 1284)

> > > KowalskiL@MAIL.MONTCLAIR.EDU 03/03/00 10:16AM >>>
Digby Willard wrote:

> I prep students for both IB and AP tests.  I don't particularly like
> teaching to the test, but it comes with the job I have, and I do
> particularly like the kids I get. ....

What is the opposite of "teaching to the test"? It is testing for what
we teach. And how do we decide what to teach (or what to skip)?
Should it be up to an individual teacher? Why yes or why not?
When yes and when not? The number of topics which can be
presented in any discipline is much larger than what can possibly
be learned. How does "being guided by a textbook" differ from
"being guided by a test"? I am referring to a test that somebody
else will give to students, and whose exact content is unknown.

My position is to lean on a textbook (presumably representing the
prevailing opinion of experts) and select what I personally think
is important and useful to students. Test and quizzes are composed
(by me only) to test how well that material was assimilated. Their
primary role, however, is to motivate students.
Ludwik Kowalski