Idea: Pupils check tests themselves
For teachers who hate grading, Iris Driessen has a simple solution: let the students do it themselves. Her idea is now being implemented at several schools.
Picture: Fred van Diem
She hates checking and keeps postponing work. Just before the summer holidays 2016, Iris Driessen, Dutch teacher at the Hyperion Lyceum in Amsterdam, found herself behind a huge pile of tests, she told the Onderwijsblad at the beginning of this year.
“Why did I let it get to this point again,” she sighed. She saw how students arranged everything themselves for the school party and suddenly knew the solution: a marking committee with students who check all tests. “The idea of having students check each other's work is not new,” she says. “But they learn nothing from just marking the mistakes. A well-checked test is provided with feedback and that takes so much time. ”
Numbers
The usefulness of tests and grading is more often discussed at the Hyperion Lyceum. For example, as an experiment, no grades are given in the first classes. The idea of introducing a grading committee is therefore well received, including by her fourth-grade secondary school students. When asked who in the committee would like to check the 'spelling and wording' test, everyone responded enthusiastically. “Of course that's also because I had promised something nice, such as a croquette sandwich or an extra point for the test,” laughs Driessen. "But many students find spelling quite difficult and they all indicated that they think they can learn a lot from it."
It is important that students themselves are above the material
Six chosen students first examined how they could best mark the test. They took the test themselves and discussed their answers with the answer model and what they will take into account in the assessment. Driessen: “It is important that students themselves are above the material, that they know what the correct answer is and why. They took it very seriously and even adjusted the answer model because it contained a small error. There was also a nice discussion about things that I encountered myself, such as what to do if you cannot read the handwriting or if someone does not use periods or capital letters. ”
Luxury
The six students each completed about five tests and took them a total of 2,5 hours. “At one point I went home myself,” she says with a laugh. “They could always call me, but that turned out not to be necessary. They sometimes had doubts about an answer, but came to an agreement by mutual agreement. The next day I found the stack of keys with numbers and all in my mailbox, what a luxury! ”
The students then discussed the tests in class. “In groups, they explained to their classmates for each question why something is right or wrong. The fact that they tell each other and therefore learn from each other makes it incredibly valuable. ” And fraud is not an issue in this way. “I haven't heard from anyone that they felt disadvantaged or thought a boyfriend would have gotten a higher grade. It's all about trust: if you give your students that trust, you will get it back. "
VMBO and VWO students
She puts together a new committee for the next test, so that everyone has a turn. And according to her, this is certainly not only reserved for VWO students. “VMBO students could also do this very well. If you think it's a good idea, try it out and do it in your own way, ”she emphasizes. "Because you know the class best and know what the students need to make this possible."
In any case, the interest is there. When Driessen posted her idea on Twitter, teachers responded en masse. “I was completely amazed at the number of responses, it was also discussed extensively on Facebook. Teacher Frans Droog further elaborated the grading committee in a blog, and gave me very nice credits for the idea. In the end, many teachers had already started a review committee before I had tried it myself, haha. I think it's amazing that an idea can spread so quickly. ”
