[Edu-sig] Python Programming: Procedural Online Test

[Chuck Allison]

Hello Laura,

That's better than the Abstract Algebra class I took as an
undergraduate. The highest score on Test 1 was 19%. I got 6%! I retook
the class from another teacher and topped the class. Liked the subject
so much I took the second semester just for fun. Testing and teaching
strategies make a tremendous difference.

Sunday, December 4, 2005, 11:50:22 PM, you wrote:

LC> In a message of Sun, 04 Dec 2005 11:32:27 PST, Scott David Daniels writes:
>>I wrote:
>> >> ... keeping people at 80% correct is great rule-of-thumb goal ...
>>
>>To elaborate on the statement above a bit, we did drill-and practice
>>teaching (and had students loving it).  The value of the 80% is for
>>maximal learning.  Something like 50% is the best for measurement theory
>>(but discourages the student drastically).  In graduate school I had
>>one instructor who tried to target his tests to get 50% as the average
>>mark.  It was incredibly discouraging for most of the students (I
>>eventually came to be OK with it, but it took half the course).

LC> <snip>

LC> 'Discouraging' misses the mark.  The University of Toronto has professors
LC> who like to test to 50% as well.  And it causes suicides among undergraduates
LC> who are first exposed to this, unless there is adequate preparation.  This
LC> is incredibly _dangerous_ stuff.

LC> Laura 

>>--Scott David Daniels
>>Scott.Daniels at Acm.Org
>>
>>_______________________________________________
>>Edu-sig mailing list
>>Edu-sig at python.org
>>http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/edu-sig
LC> _______________________________________________
LC> Edu-sig mailing list
LC> Edu-sig at python.org
LC> http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/edu-sig




-- 
Best regards,
 Chuck