How to effectively plan and structure exam questions for efficient grading?

[Bladibla]

Hello

I just had a test on circle theroem and integration.

The test itself wasn't hard at all, but i strangely panicked during the test and didn't get to answer a single question. I don't know why this happens to me!

I had the same problem with a major test in history before, where my hand just wouldn't move at all.

Does anyone have the same problem? and if they do, how do you counter it?

 

[JasonRox]

I never heard of that happening to anyone.

That is strange.

 

[Moonbear]

Sounds like a bad case of test anxiety. Counseling can help you learn ways to relax more so you can overcome the panic. You seem to have an especially bad case of it, so I'd suggest you seek help for this right away. Also, talk to your prof about it. When I meet with students in my office, if it seems they really do know their stuff (it's not too difficult to find this out by discussing the material covered) but they have problems with test taking, usually some arrangement can be made to test them differently, either at a different time and location, or untimed (need to do this for the students with dyslexia and some other learning disabilities too), or orally rather than written.

 

[Bladibla]

Sounds like a bad case of test anxiety. Counseling can help you learn ways to relax more so you can overcome the panic. You seem to have an especially bad case of it, so I'd suggest you seek help for this right away. Also, talk to your prof about it. When I meet with students in my office, if it seems they really do know their stuff (it's not too difficult to find this out by discussing the material covered) but they have problems with test taking, usually some arrangement can be made to test them differently, either at a different time and location, or untimed (need to do this for the students with dyslexia and some other learning disabilities too), or orally rather than written.

You have directly pointed out my problem with the test..

I've talked to the teacher after the test for the test paper, to make sure i could do it on my own without problem. (obviously its not taken credit)

Ill certainly talk to my teacher (or professor ) but only about 1 in 20 of them are really understanding - the others just don't care, at all.

Ill tell you how i usually work. I try to work everything on my own, and not get help from anyone. I don't know why, but when i get help from anyone, it seems like..cheating.

How would you suggest to counter this problem on my own?

 

[Moonbear]

Ill tell you how i usually work. I try to work everything on my own, and not get help from anyone. I don't know why, but when i get help from anyone, it seems like..cheating.

How would you suggest to counter this problem on my own?

I think it's time you learn the next important rule in life. Don't be afraid to ask for help when you need it. Honestly, I don't know how to overcome it (haven't dealt with this personally and while I've had a few students who had test anxiety, none got it as bad as you did...I tried to provide the environment they required to take their tests, but they had to see someone else to learn to cope with it). Even with the help of a counselor, you are the one who will be overcoming it, not them, they are just going to teach you how.

 

[futb0l]

Not me but my friends just panic in tests, he does very well outside of tests, but when it comes to the deadline, he always managed to panic somehow. One time, he was panicking about how there was too little space on the paper and he did a lot of careless mistakes.

 

[JasonRox]

Yeah, don't be afraid to ask for help.

If the profs don't "believe" you, than go see a counsellor for help. If the counsellor agrees that you have a problem, than he/she will write a letter to the profs. After that, the prof must accommodate your needs.

Note: I'm not sure how it is in the US, but in Canada you must accommodate the special needs of a student.

 

[JasonRox]

Not me but my friends just panic in tests, he does very well outside of tests, but when it comes to the deadline, he always managed to panic somehow. One time, he was panicking about how there was too little space on the paper and he did a lot of careless mistakes.

Yeah. Very little space just pisses me off. They talk about writing clearly and big enough to read, but at the same time they give you no space to write on, which IMPLIES that you can write small.

SIDE NOTE FOR SELF: Next time prof gives very little space, write extremely small to piss him/her off.

 

[Moonbear]

Note: I'm not sure how it is in the US, but in Canada you must accommodate the special needs of a student.

The laws are the same in the US.

 

[Moonbear]

Yeah. Very little space just pisses me off. They talk about writing clearly and big enough to read, but at the same time they give you no space to write on, which IMPLIES that you can write small.

SIDE NOTE FOR SELF: Next time prof gives very little space, write extremely small to piss him/her off.

Well, this prof gives at least double the space necessary (because there's always that one student with giant, loopy handwriting ), yet students still complain they need more space. If you can't fit the answer in the space given, unless you have a LOT crossed out, you're probably saying too much or straying from the point.

Writing very small does piss off the prof, so don't think it's an original idea, or going to help your grade.

 

[JasonRox]

Well, this prof gives at least double the space necessary (because there's always that one student with giant, loopy handwriting ), yet students still complain they need more space. If you can't fit the answer in the space given, unless you have a LOT crossed out, you're probably saying too much or straying from the point.

Writing very small does piss off the prof, so don't think it's an original idea, or going to help your grade.

Oh I don't care about my grade.

Some do give plenty of space, especially in Physics.

In my Geometry course, on the other hand, no space! Yes, I did write small.

 

[WORLD-HEN]

Why don't you just give the questions on one sheet of paper and give them separate sheets of paper for the answers? That way, if they need more space , they can just use an additional sheet of paper.

 

[JasonRox]

Why don't you just give the questions on one sheet of paper and give them separate sheets of paper for the answers? That way, if they need more space , they can just use an additional sheet of paper.

Profs aren't suppose to think in a useful way.

Some sort of rule they have.

 

[Moonbear]

Why don't you just give the questions on one sheet of paper and give them separate sheets of paper for the answers? That way, if they need more space , they can just use an additional sheet of paper.

Because the amount of space provided gives an indication of the length of answer expected. I refuse to use blue books for this reason, because you wind up having to grade a 3-page essay for a question that only required a 2-sentence answer.

This isn't to say that some profs aren't particularly bad at writing exams and planning for the amount of space the answer really requires. I've known plenty who write out questions the night before they give the exam and assign arbitrary point values with no thought to how it will apply to the length of answer required or how they will grade it (i.e., just how much of the answer needs to be correct to earn partial credit, and how many points of partial credit for demonstrating concepts). These are invariably the profs who wind up with a long line of students outside their office waiting to challenge their grades after the exam is returned. There's always one student who wants to quibble for extra points, but if you know what the answer is you're looking for in advance, and have a clear assignment of point values for certain parts of the expected answer, it makes it very easy to explain to that quibbling student why they earned the points they did, and why they lost the points they did.

It's well-known that putting effort into writing a good exam saves a lot of time on grading, and hastily writing an exam leads to a lot of time and effort wasted during grading (not to mention meeting with that long line of disgruntled students).