What is the problem? Recently my district administered Semester exams. Our practice is to have one standard exam for each of the core courses (Chemistry, Algebra, World Geography, etc.). They are administered in the core class period, during the school day through D2SC. The problem is there is not sufficient bandwidth to handle administering so many exams, across multiple high schools, simultaneously. The result is that it takes a long time for the tests to load and sometimes the student’s answers are not submitted, so they have to redo the exam. Both are extremely frustrating when you are working under time constraints.
What is the solution? We use Blackboard LMS for most, if not all of your classes. Especially in my building. The Blackboard administrators have done an excellent job in making Blackboard integration into the classes seemly and nearly flawless. Part of Blackboards LMS involves a testing function, that is superior to the testing in D2SC. My suggestion would be to move testing from D2SC into Blackboard.
What was their solution? The administration decided, on the third day of testing, to have Social Studies teachers use paper copies of the exam and only release a “bubble sheet” version of the exam on D2SC, thus reducing the bandwidth necessary for the image heavy exam.
This is a clear example of solving a problem in the wrong direction.
What should have figured into the decision making process?
- Use what works: Blackboard works. D2SC doesn’t
- Use what benefits the students: More authentic assessment in Blackboard with multiple question types and the ability to randomize questions. In D2SC everyone get the same questions, in the same order. This doesn’t test what the student knows as much as what the students around him know.
- Why this benefits the administration: They get reports. Not reports on good data, that accurately expresses the learning, just good reports.