Sunday, February 15, 2009

'Fuzzy Errors' and Math Scores

Math scores often do not accurately reflect student knowledge and skills.
Test-taking skills and attention to detail are as important as the content.
Following directions and answering the exact question (sometimes they ask for x + 2 instead of x) is a key component of test-taking.

Studying multiple choice questions (with 'good wrong answers') increases self-awareness of the thinking process and alerts students to the potential for error. Viewing the studying and test-taking process through this lens enhances the learning process, reduces 'fuzzy errors' and helps students (and their families) to build resilience and persistence.

One of the best take aways from Engineering school (after multiple 7% test scores): Learning and Effort are more important than Test Scores!!

3 comments:

Deb Patraker said...

Robin,

So, I understand that one of the best ways to teach how to take a test is to understand the fuzzy sort of writing, etc. Any suggestions on where to get examples of tricky questions?

Thanks,

Deb

Robin Schwartz said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Robin Schwartz said...

Hi Deb:
Try the SAT Question of the Day --
http://sat.collegeboard.org/practice/sat-question-of-the-day
You can subscribe so it will be in your box every morning ;)
Robin