Mom : ”Why are you watching television? Have you finished studying for tomorrow’s exam?”
Johnny : (with obligatory sigh and eye roll) “Yes, Mom.”
Mom : “Bring me your book so I can test you.“
Mom opens the textbook, reads the chapter and fires away… “When…. Who…. What…. Name….. Give me three examples …. List five things….. “.
Johnny confidently rattles off the answers and mom is satisfied that he has studied and is ready for the next day’s exam.
A week later the exam comes back and Johnny has achieved a whopping 40%.
Cue shrieks, tears and general wailing and gnashing of teeth.
Mom : “You knew the work, I tested you!”
Johnny : “I went blank.” / “I’d never seen that work before” / “We weren’t taught that.” (Fill in any or all of the above yourself.)
Does this sound familiar?
Does this scenario get your heart racing and your blood pumping?
Why is this not working?
Firstly, Johnny probably did score well on the information his mom tested him on, but it was only 40% of his exam.
Secondly, Johnny probably did go blank in the exam because he just didn’t learn how to demonstrate the other 60% of the knowledge and skills at the level he was required to.
A teacher does not create an exam by flipping through a textbook and finding all the work the kids thought was difficult, laughing maniacally when they pounce on some obscure fact or theory. No, setting an exam is a laborious and skilled process that requires an understanding of the critical outcomes of the work, an understanding of the curriculum requirements for layout and mark allocation, and finally the ability to set the paper according to the cognitive levels that the concepts need to be demonstrated at.
1) Understanding the critical outcomes (learning outcomes) identifies what to study and what is going to be tested.
2) Understanding the curriculum requirements for layout and mark allocation creates the framework for the percentage of questions assigned to the different cognitive levels and how many marks are allocated to the different knowledge threads or concepts. Each subject is different and most subject requirements change between grades and phases.
3) Understanding the cognitive levels at which the concepts need to be demonstrated means you can answer questions that test your knowledge and skills at each level. Here’s a useful link that lists the cognitive levels and provides you with sample verbs, actions and questions you can use to more effectively help your child prepare.
Remember the questions mom was asking Johnny above? When…. Who…. What…. Name….. Give me three examples …. List five things. These are all examples of testing knowledge at the lowest cognitive level. And since most tests and exams are weighted 30% - 40% at this level...
Johnny was 100% prepared for 40% of his exam.
Here is a pyramid listing the six cognitive levels (in Verb Form) from lowest (remember) to highest (create).
Click on the image for a printable list of Key Words, Actions and Sample Questions to use.
And this is how Johnny's exams are usually made up :
Low Order Thinking - approximately 40% of the exam
Remember : Retrieving, recognizing, and recalling relevant knowledge from long-term memory. Regurgitate facts without understanding.
Understand : Constructing meaning from oral, written, and graphic messages through interpreting, exemplifying, classifying, summarizing, inferring, comparing, and explaining. Demonstrating basic understanding of facts and ideas.
Higher Order Thinking - 30 – 40 % of the exam
Apply : Using information in new ways; carrying out or using a procedure or process through executing or implementing. Solving problems by applying acquired knowledge, facts, techniques and rules.
Analyze : Breaking material into constituent parts; determining how the parts relate to one another and to an overall structure or purpose through differentiating, organizing, and attributing. Examining and breaking information into parts by identifying motives or causes; making inferences and finding evidence to support generalisations.
Highest Order Thinking - 20 – 30 % of the exam
Evaluate : Making judgments based on criteria and standards through checking and critiquing; defending concepts and ideas.
Create : Putting elements together to form a coherent or functional whole; reorganizing elements into a new pattern or structure through generating, planning, or producing. Propose alternative solutions.
Parents who are helping their children study need to know about cognitive levels and how their children are going to be required to demonstrate their knowledge.
Essential Tip #1 : The best thing to do if you are uncertain what to test them on is to get them to redo the activities in their textbook or past papers. These will have the cognitive levels built in.
Click on the image for a printable list of Key Words, Actions and Sample Questions to use.
Essential Tip #2 : They need to read the questions you want to test them on and then write the answers down. Asking the question and receiving an oral answer is not how they are going to be tested in the exam and is a different skill entirely.
Practice the skills in the manner they will be required to demonstrate them.
After all, you wouldn't practice for a soccer match by doing laps in the swimming pool would you?
Good luck for the exams!
PS : Here's the link for the printable list of Key Words, Actions and Sample Questions to use.
Gershom Aitchison is the headmaster and co-founder of Education Incorporated Boutique Schools as well as the co-owner of Kip McGrath Extra Lessons Education Centres in Fourways & Midrand. Gershom has a passion for changing the way people think, particularly about education, and works tirelessly to promote academic excellence and respect for the teaching profession.
