Finals: Have they outlived their usefulness?

Here's a scenario that plays out in many secondary schools all across the globe...

The teacher explains what will be on the final. This 'final' encompasses everything that has been covered throughout the prior semester. The teacher also explains how much the final will be worth and the impact the final will have on the students' semester grades. The teacher then hands out some kind of study guide for the students to use to review and prepare for the final. All learning stops as class time becomes solely focused on preparing for the final.

The students use the study guide to guide their studying in preparation for the final, but the study guide is so broad and far-reaching the students are unable to specifically identify what they should really know. The students then play out scenarios in their head about how the grade on the final will impact their final semester grades. The students then begin a sporadic process of cramming as much possible information in their heads in preparation for the final only to be forgotten soon after.

So, here are some thoughts and questions...

Finals are summative assessments with no opportunity for revision; no opportunity for feedback/input; no opportunity for a correction... so is there a point other than filling the grade book?

We spend all semester and all school year working with students... do we need a final to tell us what our students know or don't know?

Are we doing finals just because the next level of schooling does finals? If so, are we ok with robbing our students of so much time and energy at the end of each semester?

Almost all school districts have a final exemption policy... if kids can exempt, then the argument that finals prepare kids for some next level of schooling falls short. Shouldn't every kid be required to get this 'experience...?'

Related to exemptions... the students who aren't able to exempt are the same students who for the most part won't be successful on the final, so aren't we basically setting them up for double failure?

The typical final uses low-level questions and focuses on quantity over quality in an effort to cover as much as possible. Finals are often the shotgun approach to assessing with very little ability to identify specifically what kids know vs. don't know.

Many finals are able to be scored via scantron and are built around memorization of facts, terms and dates, just to be forgotten as the kids walk out the door.


So, is it time to revisit our practice of doing finals?


Is it time to eliminate finals? http://goo.gl/m89c8i

10 questions to ask yourself before giving an assessment:

1). What's the point and purpose of the assessment?

2). Is this a preventative check-up (formative) type assessment or an autopsy (summative) type assessment?

3). Did your students have any voice and input into the assessment design and/or assessment process?

4). Are you able to assess more than one learning objective/goal with this assessment or is the assessment isolated to one specific learning objective/goal?

5). Is the assessment aligned to what you are currently teaching in a format similar to the way you've been conducting your instruction?

6). Will you provide multiple assessment formats for students to demonstrate their mastery/skills in a way of their choosing or will there be just one format? 

7). Does the assessment have a learning component to it that supplements the current learning objectives and goals?

8). Does the assessment allow for students to self-assess and track their overall understanding of the content/skills?

9). Are there a wide-range of questions at varying degrees of difficulty? What is the ratio of level 1 basic recall questions to level 4 higher order thinking questions?

10). Will you allow redos of this assessment? If not, please refer back to your answers in questions 1 and 2. Does this affect your decision not to allow redos?

BONUS: How authentic and realistic is the assessment format when compared to something a kid would experience when not in the traditional school setting?

Have 'summative' assessments become obsolete?

We hear the terms 'formative' and 'summative' assessments all the time in schools.

As educators, we learned about the differences while in college in our education preparation courses.

We now talk all the time about using assessments to 'drive' our instruction and provide guidance on where students are in the learning process.

I'm struggling though with how these terms are actually being implemented in classrooms with real teachers and real students...

To ensure we are all on the same page here with definitions, here is an image:

Formative assessments are a part of the learning process while summative assessments are an end to the learning process.

So, if we are formatively assessing students frequently throughout the learning process and constantly getting temperature checks on where they are in the learning process, we will eventually have students all over the place in terms of their learning.

We know students don't learn at the same rate and pace and we know students need frequent and timely feedback to assist them in the learning process.

We also know that if we are formatively assessing then we will always know where students are in terms of their learning.

So my questions are simple...

Why do we still need summative assessments to tell us what we already know? If we are frequently formatively assessing, then we already know where the students are... so what's the point of the summative assessment? What's the point of giving an assessment if we know the students aren't ready for it yet? And on the flipside, what's the point of giving an assessment when we know the students already have it mastered?

Why do we have every student do a summative assessment on the same date when we know every kid isn't at the same place in terms of their learning?

And lastly, why do we make each summative assessment exactly the same for every student when we know students need multiple platforms and multiple venues to demonstrate their learning?

I also recently read an article, 'Stop telling students to study for exams,' and it really reinforced my thinking...

So, in closing, have 'summative' assessments become obsolete? What do you think...?

Let's make formative assessing a top priority

In our undergraduate courses we all learned about summative and formative assessing. We've also all been to conferences or events that have emphasized the importance of many small assessments to drive our instruction rather than waiting until the end when it may be too late.

http://goo.gl/uGxor1

Though I think this has all been with good intention, we may have been missing the most important part of formative assessing and feedback.

See, when we focus on this more timely and frequent feedback to change and adjust our instruction, we are focusing on the teacher side of things.

The true beauty and value of more frequent and timely assessments is not just to help guide and drive our instruction, it's to provide frequent and timely feedback for our students so they can take more ownership and control over their learning.

As Marzano so simply stated, "The most powerful single innovation that enhances achievement is feedback."

Flip the scenario... why would any teacher want to use frequent formative assessments?

They are looking for feedback and input to help guide and drive their instruction to hopefully improve student learning.

Now, while we are on the topic of formative assessments, I want to make a few things clear about what formative assessing really is:

Formative assessments are fluid and flow seamlessly in the learning process because they are a part of the learning process. Most situations involving formative assessing are not and shouldn't be for a grade. Formative assessing is similar to what happens in real-life, thus students and their learning won't even skip a beat.

Formative assessing would be like going to the doctor for a preventative check-up and finding out you have high blood pressure. At this check-up you would get feedback and input on how to lower your blood pressure. Formative assessments keep you off the autopsy table when it's too late to fix or prevent the damage.

Formative assessing is about goal-setting and the ownership of the learning process for students via feedback and input both from the teacher and from the students themselves.

Lastly, formative assessing DOES NOT need to be a traditional type of assessment. It can be something as simple as a thumbs up or down activity or a quick scan of the classroom to check student body language and demeanor. DO NOT think you need to have a quantifiable number spreadsheet to do a formative assessment.

Do yourself a favor and most importantly, do your students a favor by utilizing more formative assessments.

Check out these links with several examples of formative assessments:

54 examples for formative assessments via David Wees

Formative assessment techniques to check understanding

Formative assessment strategies

Increasing rigor through formative & summative assessments

Assessing for learning...not just for grades

Assessments, formative & summative, increasing rigor, homework, grades, 
extra credit & student mastery... 

                   

~ a few things to ponder!

 

~ just a few things to consider...

**View the entire presentation from the Powerful Learning Conference below:

Points Earned PLC 2013