Test or not: The great debate

By Alyssa Schneyman
College of Education
Long Island University, C. W. Post
November, 2010

I enjoyed today’s class a great deal. I think that the debate was a perfect way to get the class as a whole to express their views on assessment and whether there should be tests. It was also a great way to include the class in deciding whether we should have a final exam or not. This allowed me to see both perspectives when it comes to tests. I knew from my personal experience how I felt about tests, but I did not really know too much about why teachers would give tests and what goes into making tests.

It was interesting to hear that the explanation of Professor Dengting Boyanton in rebuttal of a point said that tests only really test whether someone has memorized the material. I liked her explanation that this was a result of the design of the test, which was dependent upon the teacher who designed the test’s choices. She made the information relevant and explained why things are the way they are when it comes to testing, I also liked that she considered our points instead of just showing us why tests should occur. She recognized that many of the points the class raised were relevant to why there should not be tests and also showed us reasons why there should be tests. As for my self-management project, it was going very well, I wouldn’t go so far to say that I wasn’t stressed at all as that would be nearly impossible, but I was able to manage my stress level. However I am not sure how well I will be able to manage my stress level in the next couple of weeks with finals coming up. I know that I can handle the amount of work needed to prepare for my finals and complete my projects and papers, but that doesn’t help as I know that finals is a very stressful period and it will become harder to remember to practice what I have learned over the course of my self-management project.