Why Should We Allow Students to Retake Assessments?

Bookmarked Why Should We Allow Students to Retake Assessments? by Peter DeWitt (blogs.edweek.org)

The question regarding retakes isn’t simply, “Should students get a second chance?” Rather, it is, “How can we use assessments to help students improve?” If we incentivize success on the first assessment by planning enticing enrichment activities and guide students in correcting the learning errors identified on that assessment, we’re much more likely to realize Benjamin Bloom’s dream of having all students, ALL students learn well.

Thomas Guskey responds to concerns raised around offering students the opportunity to retake tests and assessment.

To bring improvement, Bloom stressed formative assessments must be followed by high-quality, corrective instruction designed to remedy whatever learning errors the assessments identified. Unlike reteaching, which typically involves simply repeating the original instruction, correctives present concepts in new ways and engage students in different learning experiences.

He explains that concerns about time and coverage can be overcome by using a corrective process, that this is what real life is like (i.e. surgeon, pilot), and the everyday reality of mastery and fair grades (i.e driver’s license.)

I guess it raises the question, what is the point of feedback, if students are not given the opportunity to act upon it?

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