Does offering test retakes help or enable students.....?

Becky,

My situtation is much like yours except I teach 8th grade math. I too struggled with the concept of retakes. I always give out a chapter test form A as a study guide and then form B as the test. They are identical except different numbers. My philosophy was that if you opted to study the study guide, there was not way to fail. If the students chose not to look at the study guide, they were choosing to possibly receive a poor grade. I am trying to teach responsibility to the students and leave it up to them to take the iniative.

The problem I ran into was that students could bomb the tests and still pass my class because of the quantity of homework and class projects. That is when I decided to force retakes. If a student fails, I have them correct their mistakes and get a parent signature. (to avoid any forgery I had the parents sign a code of conduct for my class in the beginning of the year for future reference) The parents are well aware of my study guides so they become very upset when their child fails. I then average the 2 scores together for a maximum of 60%. I will let them get a passing score but nothing more. Otherwise I would have students getting better the second time around than some did the first. If a students doesn't return the signed and corrected test within 3 days, their score stands and I call home explainig the lack of effort on the student's part. The parents are really good at handling it from there since they were given the opportunity to pass the assessment.

Hope this helps!

No Choice but Success by Corbett, Wilson, and Williams (2005), gives an example of a teacher that made their students correct anything less than a C (likely not very practical with tests or quizzes though). However, I tweaked the strategy a bit and just have every student make their corrections but not for any credit back. It is just to set the standard of what they need to know. For the students not motivated by a letter grade then they have an incentive to do well on the tests just to avoid an extra assigment. It is forces the students to consider what they did wrong more than if I just breezed through the answers after passing the tests back.

I realize the purpose of giving credit back in order to give a student an opportunity to pass if he or she really bombed a test. In that case the exception would be a thorough extra-credit assignment (see how bad they really want to avoid failing).

I understand where you all are coming from and I too agree that the students need to learn responsibility. I feel that that is taught. If students are always given a way out then they will live their adult lives the same way.
David I read an article/excerpt from that book too. I though that it wasm a great idea to demand her students to make nothing under
"c." The teacher seemed to hold her students responsible for their actions, but I feel that her expectations does not fit the "real world." In the real world students will not be able to have mutilple chances to get their job done. I say teach responsibility or set them up for mfailure.

Pam, I agree 100% with you. I am a seventh grade math teacher and when I started teaching last year I felt that my county was insane for letting the students take retakes. My supervisors in math highly suggest it and I do not agree with them at all. Now, my school has finally just met AYP since the last five years so I am told. This shows me that we are truly setting up our students not to care to do their best the first time around. Their state scores prove it! My only exception to retakes would be for my students with disabilities, reason being because they have accomations and needs that need to be met and I am only one person so it sometimes makes it difficult to monitor all of my students with these needs in one class.

Overall, I feel that retakes are a waste of my time and the students. We spend time grading one test and then recreating another one so the student doesn't just memorize answers. I have to allow students to stay after school to retake so it takes away from my personal time. Finally, it does not teach students one thing about the real world and how it is very rare to get second chances.

I have some similar feelings regarding test retakes. We are a Professional Learning Community that believes in focusing on student learning, data, students that are not getting the material, and students that do get it. We also have plans in place to meet the individual needs of every child. I do see some students taking advantage of this by not doing their best the first time around considering they will have a second chance. What helps our school is that we look for patterns to determine if the students are doing this. Sometimes we can tell based on the number of poor first tests they take in comparison to the second exam. I also feel that sometimes we are doing them a disservice because this isn't how the real world works. We are supposed to be preparing these young learners for the world of work and tomorrows challenges. Perhaps we could retest them, but just count the first test and still hold them accountable for mastering the material. It may help to keep parents happy as well.

I have some similar feelings regarding test retakes. We are a Professional Learning Community that believes in focusing on student learning, data, students that are not getting the material, and students that do get it. We also have plans in place to meet the individual needs of every child. I do see some students taking advantage of this by not doing their best the first time around considering they will have a second chance. What helps our school is that we look for patterns to determine if the students are doing this. Sometimes we can tell based on the number of poor first tests they take in comparison to the second exam. I also feel that sometimes we are doing them a disservice because this isn't how the real world works. We are supposed to be preparing these young learners for the world of work and tomorrows challenges. Perhaps we could retest them, but just count the first test and still hold them accountable for mastering the material. It may help to keep parents happy as well.

I have often wondered if allowing a child to go back and correct their answers for a better grade is beneficial or not. I teach second graders and have mixed views on this topic. What I have noticed the most is that many children know the material, but they are not good test takers. They seem to get stressed out and each time they do poorly on quizzes and test. Sometimes many of the mistakes are careless errors that they do know and just need to be reminded to go back and read it clearly and take their time. I have been very grateful to the teachers that have given me second chances in my education and feel certain that this has improved me in my career.
Someone stated that they need to be prepared for being in the real world, don't we all receive second chances in life? I know it is frustrating when you have students who don't care and nor do the parents, but some of these children are trying their hardest and still seem to find it impossible to pass (even with a study guide).

Why shouldn't a student be able to retake a test? There are do-overs in life all the time. It does not have to be the same test just the same content. If we are about them learning and mastering a concept then why not give them more than one chance to master? Every single test/quiz I give can be retaken if they make below a 70 in regular class or below 75 in an advanced class. Don't set them up for failure before they even start. And take the best grade don't average the two or say if you retake this you can't make beyond a certain grade. If that is done they won't even try and then that concept or content is lost with no effort to learn it.

In "real life" we can take a driver's test an unlimited amount of times and the grades are not averaged. The bar to become a lawyer can be taken multiple times, and the grades are not averaged. In both of these cases the highest/best score is kept. If this is done for people in society, why not for our kids?

There are a few kids that will try and take advantage, but there are so many other kids that need the extra compassion. Many children do not have help at home, the only help or love they get will be between 8 and 3 Monday through Friday. They can't study at home, there are other things they have to do. Like, take care of siblings, take care of drunk or drug addicted parents. Home life is a war zone and it is survival of the fittest. It would not matter how many study guides were sent home or even if you gave the actual test, no one can learn in a war zone. Give them a safe environment, one they know is dependable and constant, one where they know they can succeed. We are teachers, we are suppose to look for what works for each child. Every child can learn and every child is worth the effort.