Amy Sheldon
SUNY Geneseo
Improve Student Learning Through Tiered Exams
Description
Ever been frustrated to discover that a student didn’t “get” the material on an exam? All too often we discover that a student didn’t understand course material when it is too late; the exam is over and a new subject is under discussion. Tiered exams provide a means of determining individual comprehension of subject matter through traditional exams, followed by an opportunity for students to improve their understanding through peer-teaching &/or utilizing resources on open exams. They encourage students to identify and correct their individual weaknesses without providing “As” to everyone.
Context
Tiered exams can be used in any course, regardless of size, content, or level of difficulty.
Goals
Ultimately, the purpose of using tiered exams is to improve student comprehension of course material by using exams as teaching tools. The immediate goals are to:
1. evaluate student comprehension of the course material on traditional closed-book exams;
2. facilitate students questioning their own understanding of course material and identifying their weaknesses;
3. encourage discussion and peer-teaching of course material among students during the second exam;
4. encourage students to critically read, evaluate, and synthesize required texts, reports, publications, etc.
5. allow students the opportunity to demonstrate their improved understanding of the course material (resulting from 3 & 4 above) on the second exam.
Tiered exams can provide an opportunity to include more challenging higher order thinking questions as compared to traditional exams.
Detailed Description
A tiered exam consists of two parts, hereunto referred to as parts A and B. There are several ways in which a tiered exam can be written, administered, and weighted to suit individual course and instructor needs. The basic idea is presented below beginning with the logistics of how the exams are administered, followed by their respective contents and methods of evaluation.
How to Administer Tiered Exams
- A “traditional” closed-book exam (Part A) is given to students.
· Depending on faculty preference &/or institutional guidelines, this exam can be given during a regularly scheduled course meeting time or during an alternate meeting time.
- Immediately after completing Part A, students are given Part B.
· During Part B, students are allowed to consult with each other and their textbooks, or other reading material permitted by the instructor. Students can also choose to work alone.
· Part B can be administered during the same course meeting time as Part A. Note that doing so requires careful consideration of the duration of time available and time required to complete the exam.
· Exam B can be administered during a second class meeting time, or
· Exam B can be given as a take-home exam. This option eliminates the time constraint of administering both exams in one class period or losing a teaching day by spreading the exam over two meeting times.
Contents of Parts A and B
In order to provide students with an opportunity to evaluate their responses to Part A and improve their understanding of the course material, an overlap of questions should occur between parts A and B. With that stated, there is a range of possibilities for designing tiered exams. One approach is to have parts A and B be identical. A second approach is to have Part B contain all of the questions on Part A, plus a few more challenging questions. A third approach is to have Part B contain only a portion of Part A, plus a few more challenging questions.
Methods of Evaluation
Parts A and B are weighted to obtain a final exam score. Typically, Part A is weighted more heavily than Part B. This encourages students to take responsibility for their individual learning (Part A), rather than relying on their peers for Part B. Not placing enough weight on Part B, however, can cause some students to decide that it isn’t worth their time. Recommended weighting is 70 – 80% Part A, 20 – 30% Part B. It is recommend that students not be penalized for answering a question wrong on Part B if they answered the same question correctly on Part A.