In praise of the mock assessment

My favourite assessment tool is the sight passage.

It’s the best way—and I’m more-than-a-little tempted to say the only way—to assess an English student’s proficiency with our discipline’s skills. That’s why I recently had my students write for eighty minutes on stories they hadn’t read before. And that’s why they’ll be doing it again this week.

But this isn’t an apologia for sight passages; it’s an ode to the dress rehearsal, the practice exam, the mock assessment.

Actually, that’s not entirely true. Although I think we can all serve to be reminded at times that our students need to practise how to take tests, my ode is more targeted at what to do with the mock assessment once it’s finished. And the answer to that is easy: Have your students mark them.

So I guess my piece should be titled “In praise of peer-evaluated mock in-class assessments”. (But I’m sure you can see why I’m not changing it now…)

So I guess my piece should be titled
“In praise of peer-evaluated mock in-class assessments”.

I must give credit to my wife, who’s been teaching much longer than I, for suggesting that my students mark each other’s work. That simple change takes what would otherwise be a great formative activity and transfers into what just may be the best assessment as and for learning I’ve come across so far. (And leave it to a veteran teacher to suggest a change that not only saves my marking 60 tests but makes it more valuable for the students, as well.)

Here are some things to keep in mind.

• Make your mock assessment and the “for marks” eval. as similar in format as possible.
  I know I’ve been guilty at times of following the athletic mantra of “You don’t train for 100s by running 100s”, but do you think Usain Bolt prepared for the Olympics by never running 100 metres?

• Have your students use the same rubric you’ll be using.
  Obviously… But it’s a great way of seeing the utility of your rubric. If they can’t use it to mark someone else’s work, it won’t help them with their own. You should also be prepared to provide guidance as to what various level 4 answers would include.

• Consider putting the students in groups.
  Doing so will not only expose students to more examples, it will also allow you as the facilitator to tag on to groups in a less-threatening manner. And it’s way more time efficient than one-on-one conferencing. I’d suggest the students moderate their marking, as opposed to a divide-and-conquer approach.

• Have your students start with something positive.
  “Two to glow on, and one to grow on” sounds a little cheesy, but it’s great way of reminding students to empathize. And if two isn’t possible, then insist they find one.

• Remember to collect them all afterwards!
  You have the last word. Look especially for groups that are either too hard or too soft. Record as a formative mark. You may also want to copy or hold on to exemplars for various levels, and return to the students before the one that counts.

And, of course, the meta-cognitive benefits are plenty. Students will be able to gauge where they stand, what they need to improve upon, if they need to work on time management, and even if they need to write more legibly—all in a low-pressure environment.

Students see the benefits in this approach, and you needn’t worry about how to answer that dreaded question, “Is this for marks?” It’s well worth dedicating the extra period.