Chapter Six: Creating Good Test Questions

Chapter six of Fair isn't Always Equal explained to teachers how to ask the right questions in assessments. It defined the right question as the one that tests a student on the understanding of the topic. The question should dive into the depth of the content and not just skim the surface of it. A teacher needs to be very clear with their expectations when they are assessing because it helps diffuse dissonance. When dissonance is eliminated, students are more likely to succeed. Timely feedback is also essential in motivating students. I really like how the chapter taught me that when I am a teacher, I have to assess the abilties of my students. Testing should not be a guessing game... it should be an accountable example of a student's understanding. All too often, when I was a student, I found myself confused about unclear assessments. It was extremely frustrating and I found this chapter useful is providing me the means to, as a teacher, change this common way of testing. Although I agree that questions should not be unbelievably hard to answer, I also think that I should not be handing the students the answers and making them obvious. I want to challenge the students to do the work to uncover the answer. I also should give the students timely feedback. Feedback will provide my students the motivation to work on their weaknesses and expand their strengths.