Over the next day or two we will be conducting Test Analysis on The Catcher in the Rye.
In order to effectively take part in the discussion, students must come to class with their annotated
copies of Catcher and intelligent, substantiated discussion topics.
Test Analysis for Catcher will be due on Thursday, 10/27.
The Test Debate / Test Analysis process seeks to prepare students for the rigors of
state and national testing which is used to determine student’s educational progress.
Research has shown that the activity builds critical thinking skills by encouraging
students to think conceptually about (in our case) a work of literature. Such skills are
necessary to excel on the AP English exams, as well as the SAT and ACT exams,
which all require students to differentiate between good answers and best answers.
This is what makes these tests so challenging—students seek absolutes rather than
recognize the subtle differences in answers. A simplistic way to illustrate the process
would be to say that the multiple-choice test turns into a short answer exam where
partial credit is given. A student will never be penalized for an answer that is "correct,"
but this process allows them to earn points back on questions that they originally
marked "wrong."
Test Debate Process:
The class debates the conceptual question using Socratic Technique:
Step 1: One of the participants initiates the discussion by phrasing one or more questions.
(Question on exam…)
Step 2: This is followed by the presentation of a response that sets forth hypotheses,
which are developed through demonstration.
Step 3: Refutation and cross-examination, takes place.
Step 4: The final phase hopefully will consist of a modification of the original position held by
each participant. The desired end result is shared meaning and enlarged understanding.
(Golden, Berquist, & Coleman,1983)
At the conclusion of the discussion, the class votes on the BEST answer. That vote does
not determine a student's grade on the test. The student, after hearing the discussion, draws
final conclusions about the question, which is done in the form of Test Analysis.
Some Basic Guiding Principles for Test Debate:
Identify the underlying point in the assertions of others.
Don't be afraid to use quotes.
Don’t totally ignore what others say while going on to something else.
Don’t strip away the context of a situation unless the question suggests you should do so.
Test Analysis Process
The final score on the test is determined by the student’s final stance on the question.
Each question/choices being examined must be provided.
Three points must be made:
A. Why did you choose the answer you chose?
B. How did the class justify the answer with the most votes? (What substantiation was
provided? What other choices were considered / eliminated?)
C. What do you think now and why?
Scoring: You may earn up to the full amount of points that question was worth on
the exam. For instance, a comprehensive response on 10-point question might
earn you the full 10 points back. Superficial or irrelevant evidence, illogical
arguments, or incomplete discussions will reduce your awarded points.
Alternative opinions might not be agreed with, but will certainly be respected--
and rewarded--as long as the textual evidence supports them.
Test Analysis Sample Response:
The following is an exemplary analysis of a conceptual test question on Joseph
Conrad's Heart of Darkness:
3. The main reason Kurtz turns his back on his former existence is:
(A) his need for power
(B) his desire to be free from society’s limitations
(C) his personality flaw: lack of restraint
(D) the attractiveness of the Id
(E) his fear of what he had become
I chose answer (E) his fear of what he had become. As Kurtz gives in to his
savage instinct he drifts away from the restraints of society and begins to live a life of
self-loathing in which he is unable to reconcile his former moral code with his present
actions. He understands he has been transformed into someone who could not reassimilate
into Western society and cannot fathom how he would act if he were to return.
The class chose answer (D) the attractiveness of the Id. In justification of this
answer choice, as Kurtz recognizes the flaws that plague society, his desire to break away
from society’s restraints grows until he is presented with the opportunity to escape. The
setting of the jungle intensifies Kurtz’ savage instinct, to which Kurtz is drawn.
According to the class, it is this luring of the Id that prevents Kurtz from returning to
society.
According to this answer, Kurtz must associate giving into his Id with freedom
from society’s confines. However, Kurtz does not find freedom in succumbing to his Id;
rather, he is more tightly bound to society’s codes by his own guilt. The longer Kurtz
stays in the jungle, the more savage he becomes, indulging in his personality flaw, which
as answer (C) suggests is his lack of restraint, which manifests itself in acts such as the
horrific display of decapitated heads on the stakes. The greater this flaw is magnified, the
farther away from society he goes and the harder it becomes to turn back, which is why
Kurtz turns his back on society. Thus, I think the correct answer is (C) his personality
flaw: lack of restraint.
Rationale & Research Support for Test Analysis:
The importance of this research stems from the foundational belief that learning
can only be meaningful if the learner has a conceptual latticework on which to hang the
new information learned. Most high achieving students do this instinctively. They have
developed an inherent ability to connect what they are learning to what they already
know. Thus, the importance for educators is that strategies and educational practices must
be employed that requires all students to think conceptually, activating existing
knowledge when learning new material.
The theoretical research connects test debate and test analysis to the constructs of
John Dewey, Jean Piaget, Lev Vygotsky, and David Ausubel. The theoretical foundation
of this study is supported by the constructivist view that learning is the process of
building knowledge from interpretation of experience. Dewey’s (1938) progressive
model suggests that information be connected to earlier experiences involving actual life
experience and articulation of facts and ideas (Dewey, 1938). Piaget (1969) and
Vygotsky (1962) expanded the scope of this constructivist connection by suggesting that
knowledge was formed through a process of continuous self-construction suggesting that
the formation of intellect is a process of development. Ausubel (1962) asserted that
learning should activate prior knowledge and make connections during what Ausubel
calls discovery learning. During this process students rearrange information while
integrating it with existing cognitive structures.
This study’s contention was that as students understand the metacognitive aspects
of test debate and test analysis, they greatly improve their understanding of the
conceptual aspects of academic courses, and also better master the content acquisition
required for any meaningful learning. Some teachers continue to assess students’
understanding using traditional methods while others have embraced the progressive
view that meaningful learning requires students to maintain an active role in their
learning. This exploratory study considered students’ perspectives on the cognitive
processes associated with test analysis and test debate as a means to determine the
effectiveness of this mode of assessment.
Recent research in the area of critical thinking ties the historical perspective to
current research by considering how critical thinking provides students with the skills
needed to connect course content with true conceptual understanding. Tsui’s (2002) case
study research contends that today’s students are provided with educational experiences
that increase content retention, but do not promote students’ ability to improve higher
order thinking skills. She observed that class discussion and reflective writing, two key
components of test debate and test analysis, promote critical thinking.
Lynd-Balta’s (2006) study investigated the impact of specific classroom activities
on critical thinking skills in an undergraduate neuroscience course. Lynd-Balta concluded
that requiring students to apply content knowledge through problem solving promotes
critical thinking skills without sacrificing content retention. Using course content to
reflect on existing belief systems is similar to the educational goals of test debate and test
analysis.
Schwarm and VanDeGrift (2002) studied the impact of classroom assessments on
critical thinking by focusing on how classroom assessments can be used to discover
students’ conceptual understanding as well as content retention. The researchers
concluded that as students better recognized their own misconceptions the students were
forced to critically think about the depth of their learning through consistent
metacognitive processes. Students realized the benefit of thinking critically about the
depth of their understanding (Schwarm & VanDeGrift, 2002).
