Test- Class average 72%

[Achoo!]

If the class average of a test is 72%, do you think the instructor should grade on a curve or do something in regards to the score? 76% is passing BTW. Just looking for opinions.

[IrishIzCPNP, MSN, RN, APRN, NP]

Without knowing the grades it's hard to make a judgement on the average in my opinion.

That average could be from a lot of people having 76-86 and then the average being pulled down by a few students who bombed the test. If the average is really one where most people were in that area...seems like something is wrong. What's wrong? The teacher, the test, the students? Who knows. But if there are some good grades and then some really horrible ones...the average can really be pulled down and then it's probably just some bad students.

[VickyRN, MSN, DNP, RN]

maybe it's just me, but the instructor really can't be blamed for a classes failure. there are assigned readings and if students read them, then they would pass. if the assigned reading doesn't help, then get supplemental materials. then you get busy reading. read before class and answer the objectives in your syllabus. you will be able to answer them because thay are in the book. if not, look it up on the internet. then when you get to class, you will focus more on the instructor's clarification of points that are unclear to you rather than trying to write notes. i take notes before class and then i just sit and listen to the lecture and if they say something i missed, then i write it down. after class, i read again briefly.

luckily, i understand most concepts, but if i didn't, i'd be in the instructor's office or sending an email pronto.

i take practice tests via an nclex review book and this really helps. i think i amswer 200 questions per test.

i have never gotten below a b with this strategy and i retain most of what i learn.

bottom line, you get out of school what you put into it and even if the professor never taught a thing, i think one can still teach themselves. there are too many resources out there.

some students may have test anxiety or other issues and if so, they need to work hard to correct that.

jmo.

:yeahthat: crnasomeday25, most nursing professors would give their eye teeth to have a classroom full of students like you. what you describe is the way education for the adult learner should ideally work, the recipe for success in secondary education. the main responsibility for learning always lies with the adult student. the successful adult learner takes the initiative and is proactive concerning his or her educational experience. if things aren't going well, then he or she does whatever it takes to make things right. the teacher is the facilitator of learning. to facilitate means to "ease, alleviate, help." the instructor's job is to create an optimal learning environment, but the student must take the initiative to study and to learn. students who enter a college or university setting with a sense of entitlement or who expect to be spoon-fed, are in for a very rough ride. adult learners should expect to work hard to earn their grades. most schools of nursing require the students to work very, very hard to earn their grades and the majority of test scores are in the "c" range.

in its broadest meaning, 'self-directed learning' describes, according to malcolm knowles (1975: 18) a process:

... in which individuals take the initiative, with or without the help of others, in diagnosing their learning needs, formulating learning goals, identifying human and material resources for learning, choosing and implementing appropriate learning strategies, and evaluating learning outcomes.

knowles puts forward three immediate reasons for self-directed learning. first he argues that there is convincing evidence that people who take the initiative in learning (proactive learners) learn more things, and learn better, than do people who sit at the feet of teachers passively waiting to be taught (reactive learners). 'they enter into learning more purposefully and with greater motivation. they also tend to retain and make use of what they learn better and longer than do the reactive learners.' (knowles 1975: 14)

http://www.infed.org/thinkers/et-knowl.htm

[VickyRN, MSN, DNP, RN]

to approach the subject matter from a different point of view, each and every question on an exam should be judged individually for reliability, validity, difficulty, and discrimination. this is a more important measure overall of successful adult learning than the class average on an exam (whether high or low).

reliability basically means consistency, the repeatability of the measurement, the degree to which an instrument measures the same way each time it is used under the same conditions. a measure would be considered reliable if a person's score on the same test given twice is similar.

validity, on the other hand, involves the degree to which the test question is measuring what the instructor intended it to measure; more simply, the accuracy (truthfulness) of measurement. it is the extent to which a test question actually measures the underlying concept it is supposed to measure.

validity is more important than reliability. if a question does not accurately measure what it is supposed to measure, there is no reason to use it even if it measures consistently (reliably). http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/tutorial/colosi/lcolosi2.htm

item analysis: all tests questions should be analyzed for reliability, validity, difficulty, and discrimination. as we have discussed, a good test item is both reliable and valid. a good test item is also not too difficult and not too easy. difficulty is measured by the percentage of the class who scored correctly on the test item, and should be between 30-70%. if 80% of the class choose the wrong answer on a test item, then the question is too difficult. on the other hand, if 90-100% get an item right, need to look at it (way too easy, give-away). a good test item also discriminates (by sophisticated statistical analysis) between the students who really know the material and those who do not. if the discrimination score is less than 0.25 or 0.20, the teacher needs to look at the item. http://www.asu.edu/uts/interpias.pdf

teachers should always strive to be fair with examinations. suspect test items should be "thrown out" and students' scores adjusted. how many students missed a question? if a very large number, suspect a key error, a poorly-worded question, or that the content material was not correctly understood by the majority of students.

again, the individual statistical analysis of each test item is a more accurate measurement of successful classroom learning than the overall class average.