Common Bad Practice - Finals Exemptions

Though I find it mind boggling, exempting students from finals is now more common, than not. If you are doing this, STOP. It is bad practice.  And don’t give me the “It’s a student motivator or it gets kids to come to school” excuses. That is lazy and weak.  You are better than that.

So why is this bad practice? Because at the end of the Fall Semester, you need the data and you need to disguise your mid-year benchmark test.  The Fall Semester Final should be common (for the content area) and cumulative. When all students take the final, the performance data will inform the instructional staff on pacing issues and will aid in the identification of successful and unsuccessful instructional practices.  Additionally, if the campus/district embeds Spring Semester content questions in the Fall Final (do not count these questions towards the student’s grade) then there is no need to administer an early Spring benchmark test. This simple act will recapture 2 to 4 instructional days in the January.

There is a little leeway for the Spring Semester Final.  For state tested and /or AP courses that provide performance data reports, we suggest not having a final. Simply have an end of unit test. For all other courses there needs to be a common and cumulative (for the Spring Semester) Final. As is the case for the Fall, the performance data will inform the instructional staff on pacing issues and will aid in the identification of successful and unsuccessful instructional practices. Additionally, the teachers in the receiving grade are able to use the Spring Final data to make better intervention and re-teaching decisions. This will also negate the need to administer an early Fall benchmark test. This simple act will recapture 2 to 4 instructional days in September.

Exemptions only made sense in the pre-data era. That era is getting smaller and smaller in our rear-view mirror.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

• Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction.” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/Fundamental5 
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A Reader Asks... The 13 Question Final Exam

A LYS campus instructional leader calls me out.

SC,

A 13-question final better than what we already have?  Empty boast or the real deal?

SC Response

My goals with a comprehensive final are to:

1. Assess student mastery of the content.

2. Determine if the scope of the content was covered.

3. Determine which concepts we, as a content team, teach effectively

4. Determine which concepts we, as a content team, do not teach effectively.

To do this I need to have questions that assess the critical elements of the content, and I most likely want to have multiple questions for those elements.  Which means that for a given course, I will have between 25 to 50 questions that I want to ask.  And you can ask all of those questions.

You just don’t have to ask each one to every student.

Take your question bank, ensure that the questions for each element are of similar difficulty and then make multiple versions of the test.  If I had a 30-question bank, I would create three different 10-question tests.  The student would get his individual score, and I would aggregate the item results of the three tests for my instructional planning data.

Now I said a 13-question test.  We all agree that multiple choice tests aren’t the best way to assess student learning.  So I would have 3 essay questions that allow students to truly demonstrate the depth of their knowledge of the material.  And I would weigh the final, 75% essay, 25% multiple choice.

With this format, a 90 minute, 13-question final will provide the richest and deepest sample of student and instructional data you have ever possessed.

The real questions are, “Do you want it?”

Or, “Is doing the same old thing and not knowing, better?” 

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

• Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction.” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/Fundamental5 
• Now at the Apple App Store: Fun 5 Timer (Fundamental 5 Delivery Tool); PowerWalks CLC (Networked Formative Observation Tool) 
• Upcoming Presentations: TMSA Winter Conference; ASCD Annual Conference; TEPSA Summer Conference 
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation  and like Lead Your School on Facebook

The Benchmark Test... Why?

The Working Definition of the Benchmark Test: A test that shows how much of the entire course curriculum a student has mastered at a particular point during the year.  For example, the 9-week Benchmark Test provides an indication of how much of the entire course content a student has mastered after nine weeks of school. 

The unasked and unanswered question is, “What is the value of a benchmark test?”

There is a short answer and a long answer. Here is the short answer:

Most benchmark tests are a waste of instructional time and debilitating superstitious instructional practice.

The long answer explains why the above ”short answer” is, in fact, the case.

There are two times during the year when a benchmark is appropriate:

1. The end of the year.  At the end of the year there should be a common, cumulative assessment that gives an indication of how much of the content for the course was mastered.  This test can be the State’s EOC (End of Course Exam), or for courses that do not have an EOC, it can be the district final.  The data from the EOC/Final then informs the current grade level teachers on what is working and what should shored up going into the next year.  The data also informs the teachers in the next grade what learning deficits need to be addressed and what the student seemingly has learned.

2. At the end of the first semester, there can be a benchmark.  This provides teachers with an idea of how much progress has actually been made and what still needs to be addressed in the upcoming semester.  This benchmark should be disguised as the semester final.  The majority of the questions on the final should address covered material. But embedded in the final there are key preview questions.  Just don’t grade the preview questions.  The results on the preview questions are for staff use only.

Any additional benchmark tests that are administered during the year are simply a waste of instructional time. 

Why are benchmarks debilitating superstitious behavior? 

The answer is that students (especially at-risk students) should not be expected to know what we have not taught.  Any benchmark (other than the EOC), by definition covers “to be taught” material.  When students do poorly (the logical outcome) on the benchmark, it demoralizes students and makes teachers defensive.  Yet, we feel compelled to keep engaging in the process… debilitating superstitious behavior.

The bottom line: Teach more; Assess quickly; Benchmark less.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

• Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction.” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/Fundamental5
• Now at the Apple App Store: Fun 5 Timer (Fundamental 5 Delivery Tool); PowerWalks CLC (Networked Formative Observation Tool) 
• Upcoming Presentations: TMSA Winter Conference; ASCD Annual Conference; TEPSA Summer Conference 
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation  and like Lead Your School on Facebook

A Checkpoint Discussion (Brutal Truth Version)

The following is an exchange I had with a district curriculum director concerning 3-week checkpoints (common assessments).

DIRECTOR

This is a question I'm getting fairly often now, “Why don't the checkpoints get progressively longer as the time for the EOC exam nears? 

I restate and remind our teachers about the purpose of checkpoints.  But the questions keep coming up. What else can I add to my response?

SC

Teachers are worried about how their students will perform on the long, rigorous, high stakes test.  A legitimate concern.  Share with them that World Class marathon runners train thru a regiment of short sprints and mid-length runs. They do not constantly run marathons.

We mimic this with the following assessment series: 

Weeks 3 and 6 – short checkpoints

Week 9 - a mid-length midterm

Weeks 12 and 15 – short checkpoints

Week 18 – a longer final

Finally, we are checking to see if students have mastered what we taught and did we re-teach our identified deep holes. We are not checking to see if students can navigate thru 40 problems in four hours.

DIRECTOR

The same teachers that complain about the test being the center of everything, then complain that the test isn't the center of everything. Do they realize how schizophrenic that makes them look?

SC

Unfortunately, no.  But this is not unique to your district.  It is the manifestation of teacher stress, fear, and superstitious behaviors. And it’s better than your teachers not caring.

DIRECTOR

Just to clarify, are you saying that the 9-week checkpoint should be cumulative?

SC

Yes. But not stupid length cumulative. 15 questions, max.  Also, if the district looks at assessment data, it should only look at the data from the 9, 18, 27 and 36-week tests.  All the other checkpoints are for campus use.  And the tests for weeks 18 and 36 (which are in lieu of a traditional final exam) can be 20 to 30 questions.

DIRECTOR

Got it!

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

• Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction.” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/Fundamental5 
• Now at the Apple App Store: Fun 5 Timer (Fundamental 5 Delivery Tool); Fun 5 Plans (Fundamental 5 Lesson Plan Tool) 
• Upcoming Presentations: TMSA Winter Conference; ASCD Annual Conference; TEPSA Summer Conference 
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation  and like Lead Your School on Facebook

A Reader Writes... Final Exam Exemptions - Part 1

In response to the 11/19/2012 post, “Final Exam Exemptions” a principal writes:

SC,

Well said.  I believe that there are two different paradigms that come into play when you discuss final exam options.  You have a "Culture of Learning" as one paradigm and a "Culture of Grades" as another.  If the real focus is on student learning then you will give the exams and look at the data.  If you work in a culture of grades then for the students who have satisfied a specific goal (achieve a certain grade) you exempt them from the final exam and test the rest.  These are two very different paradigms and I am afraid that the latter is the prevailing one.

SC Response

I have to agree with your “Culture of Grades” analysis.  Teachers talk about how stifling accountability is to their creativity and continued learning, yet the system and sanctions we daily inflict on our students are exponentially more damaging.  Systematic hypocrisy is a bitter pill to swallow.

What holds us to the “Culture of Grades” paradigm is that in the short run, in seems easier.  No need to reflect, adjust and improve practice.  Just double down on the status quo and the sanctions.  But in the long run that just ensures that the doom loop will continue to run its course.  We don’t need more grades and exemptions. What we really need is timely, valid and relevant instructional data that informs our decisions and instructional adjustments.  Given the lack of validity and objectivity of grades, whether or not you take one is largely immaterial.  

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

• Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction.” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/Fundamental5 
• Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “Look at Me: A Cautionary School Leadership Tale” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/lookatmebook
• Now at the Apple App Store: Fun 5 Plans (Fundamental 5 Lesson Plan Tool); PW Lite (Basic PowerWalks Tool); PW Pro (Mid-level PowerWalks Tool)
• Upcoming Presentations: National Association of Secondary School Principals Conference (Multiple Presentations), Texas Association of Secondary School Principals Conference (Multiple Presentations)
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation  and like Lead Your School on Facebook

Final Exam Exemptions

As it gets closer to the end of the semester, I start to get more questions concerning final exams. The most common question is, “What do you think about allowing students to earn exemptions from finals?”

Overall, I think the practice is counter-productive and should not occur.

Exemptions are generally granted for two reasons, either to encourage students to attend class and/or to do all of their work to maintain a high grade. Many teachers swear that the incentive works in both cases.

However, in spite of the bump to attendance and grades that exemptions may provide, they are bad practice. The primary purpose of a test or assessment is to provide objective instructional data to staff. A final exam provides this data for an entire course (or semester). But if significant numbers of students are exempted from the exam, the data provided is suspect at best. Which would lead me to believe that the staff isn’t using final exam data for instructional purposes. So why exactly are the final exams being administered?

Which means that the real question should be, “Do we give a final exam or not?”

If the exam data isn’t being used to inform course level instructional decisions, don’t give one. If the data is being used, make sure that the data set represents the entire class. Then find other ways to encourage students to come to class and turn in their work.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

• Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction.” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/Fundamental5 
• Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “Look at Me: A Cautionary School Leadership Tale” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/lookatmebook
• Now at the Apple App Store: Fun 5 Plans (Fundamental 5 Lesson Plan Tool); PW Lite (Basic PowerWalks Tool); PW Pro (Mid-level PowerWalks Tool) 
• Upcoming Presentations: TASSP Assistant Principals’ Workshop (Featured Speaker), American Association of School Administrators Conference (Multiple Presentations), National Association of Secondary School Principals Conference (Multiple Presentations) 
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation

Tough Endings are Generally Self-Inflicted

We’re in the back stretch of the school year and as I visit campuses, people often apologize because everything is a little ragged. Students are not engaged, teachers are counting days and administrators are trying to keep a lid on it all.

What is sad is that things could be smoother is we didn’t create systems that reinforce the idea that the last month of school isn’t that important. Also, in Texas, once the state accountability test is over, many teachers act as if everything left to teach is less important. Here are some ideas to address the May problem:

1. Start next year’s curriculum the day after the state accountability test. Continue to use short-term, common assessments to ensure that the material is being mastered. This allows a campus to better use all 180 days of instruction, instead of esentially using 160 days or less.

2. Quit exempting students from finals. This practice ensures that students who are exempt slow down and creates a doom cycle for those who are not. Create the expectation that everyone finishes the year at a full sprint. I did this as a principal.

3. Mandate that if a student takes an AP course, then he or she has to take the AP test. If you don’t do this, teachers will cherry pick who sits for the exam and many students will take the course for the extra grade point, with no intention of putting in the extra effort. Dr. Mike Laird was the first to bring this practice to my attention.

4. Implement capstone projects. We know that the evidence of interdisciplinary connections in content areas is almost non-existent. Change that reality and add some real world relevance by using May as a time to let students (or better yet, teams of students) create projects that demonstrate their ability to tackle and solve real world problems. This was an E. Don Brown practice.

5. Unleash the love units. Teachers complain that they don’t have time to teach what they think is important. May is a great time to inject some fresh passion into the content and classroom instruction.

6. Quit saying “goodbye,” say “hello,” instead. May is when teachers are winding down their classroom, anticipating the end of the year. Instead, have teachers spend a couple days each week, teaching the kids that they will teach next year. This will ease transition issues during the next year and create the idea that the new school year has already started. Plus, it will let the receiving teacher highlight what is important in the next class. This is a Lesa Cain practice.

7. Quit doing end of the year countdowns (15 days until the end of school). Instead do start of the year countdowns (95 days until the start of the next school year). It’s a silly but powerful practice.

These are just a few ideas. I hope you, the reader, will send some in more to share with everyone else. Just understand that in order to make May instructionally meaningful for greater number of students, you are going to have to change the system.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

Final Exams - Make a Good One

So what would make a good final exam? I suggest going in one of two directions. Option one is the essay version. For essays, I recommend a test that consists of one to three short essay questions based on the major themes of the course. But here’s the catch, give the students the grading rubric and the essay questions prior to the testing date. That way they have time to organize their thoughts and create a product that best reflects the depth of their understanding of the course material.

Option two is the multiple choice test. But here I recommend that the test questions come from the items that were missed by the most students on the short-term, common assessments. That way it is possible to determine if the critical areas of the content that needed to be re-taught, were or not.

This series of posts reflects my general thoughts on final exams. What did I miss?

Your turn…

Final Exams - Format and Use

If a school is going to administer final exams, then it should be for the purpose of generating instructional data. Otherwise, why is it being done?

If the campus intent is to collect relevant, objective instructional data, then the final exam must be a common test, shared by the department and preferably the district. And, this is critical, every student needs to take it. That includes the student with A’s and the students who come to school everyday. It is the only way to ensure the data is valid. When the “best” students are exempted from the final exam, the staff has a built in excuse if the test results are bad.

“What did you expect, only the slackers and weak students took the test?”

With a common test, taken by all the students, after some basic disaggregation, the campus can determine which teachers have used practices that should be examined and shared and which teachers need some additional support.

Also, the data from final exams should be one of the final factors considered before summer teacher training and beginning of the year in-service plans are finalized.

Instead of viewing final exams as the last activity of the current year, view them as the one of the first activities of the next year.

Your turn…

Final Exams - Exemptions

As it gets closer to the end of the year, I start to get more questions concerning final exams. Am I for or against them; what should they consist of; should there be exemptions; etc.? The next few posts will address some of those questions and the answers I usually give.

Let’s tackle the big question first, “What do I think about allowing students to earn exemptions from finals?” Overall, I think the practice is counter-productive and should not occur.

Exemptions are generally granted for two reasons, either to encourage students to attend class and/or to do all of their work to maintain a high grade. Many teachers swear that the incentive works in both cases.

However, in spite of the bump to attendance and grades that exemptions may provide, they are bad practice. The purpose of assessments is to provide objective instructional data to staff. Final exams provide this data for an entire course. But if significant numbers of students are exempted from the exam, the data provided is suspect at best. If the staff isn’t using final exam data for instructional purposes, then why are they being administered?

So the question becomes, will we give a final exam or not. If the data isn’t being used, don’t give one. If the data is being used, make sure that the data set represents the entire class. Then find other ways to encourage students to come to class and turn in their work.

Your turn…