Will This Be On The Test?

I am often asked “Will this be on the test?” by my students. Sometimes I answer directly, often I deflect the question and once in a while I try to share the larger picture.

The larger picture is a tough point to make with many students.

Naturally everyone wants to do well on homework, quizzes and tests. It feels good to see that big 100% on top of your math quiz. Students who do well should be proud of their accomplishment but, ultimately it might not make any difference if they’re not ready for the larger context.

Probably all students have crammed for a test and done well....but, when asked to demonstrate the knowledge six months later are at a loss. 

That’s the problem with learning or teaching to the test. Yes, the students may do well but have they truly mastered the skill we were teaching and testing for?

The sequence goes like this - they have to learn a new skill, practice it, practice it in a variety of contexts and then go back and relearn it a few days later. We look at a new skill from a variety of perspectives. I present the information in a lot of different ways - for example, recently I used their current math lessons in our science class. 

Math skills build on each other. You can’t figure out factors unless you know your multiplication tables, you can’t do fractions unless you have a good grasp of factors and so on.

If a student doesn’t have a solid foundation of skills, he/she’s going to suffer going forward. It’s much more important that they have a deep, long-lasting understanding of these skills than they do well on one particular test. 

Let’s face it, if you’re a grown-up, what difference does it make if you got an 80% or a 100% on a 6th grade math test? None really. But if you’ve never really learned how to do decimals, how are you going to do your taxes, or figure out the real cost of borrowing money for a new car or how much interest you'll pay on your student loans?

You’d be better off if you had a deeper understanding of multiplying and dividing decimals and got the 80% than if you crammed and got the 100% but forgot it all in the following months.

Don’t get me wrong - I’m not encouraging my students to aim for a low B on all their tests and quizzes, but I am encouraging them to really learn the stuff we’re talking about not just regurgitate it back to me.

It’s that deep understanding that most teachers are trying to instill in their students. The students can’t see the larger picture, but it’s critical.