Creative Testing and Expanding Vocabulary

Assessments create artificial situations in which students must demonstrate what have learned in a short amount of time. Usually, tests capture only a snapshot of knowledge. Why is this? Teachers do not realize that the design and implementation of the assessments we use in our classroom as often restrictive. We tend to design tests in a manner that elicits an expected answer and does not leave much room for students to demonstrate what else they know or have learned. In some instances, direct questions are necessary to ensure that students have grasped the main concepts before moving onto the next unit. However, educators need to be careful to construct their assessments, both formal and informal, in as nonrestrictive way as possible to promote validity and even learning during the testing process.

Chapter 10 in Content Area Writing listed some guidelines to follow in order to create better testing designs, especially focusing on essay tests. They include: focusing on big ideas - those that should stay with students long-term, incorporating tests into part of the learning process, building in more time for test taking, utilizing oral presentations, implementing lab-type tests if possible, and asking questions that require reflection - not memorization. Students also need to be taught how to respond appropriately to essay prompts. If they are able to develop arguments, draw conclusions, elaborate understanding, and construct knowledge, they will be ahead of most of their peers across the nation. These skills are pertinent to successful writing on standardized test essays as well which reflect strongly on the school and teacher (although it is more of a necessary evil than anything else). Writing skills are not innate; they must be taught. Our students deserve the opportunity to be successful writers, and that achievement lies in our instruction and assessments.

Another important aspect of writing and learning lies in vocabulary development. Chapter 8 in Content Area Reading discusses the role of vocabulary knowledge in reading comprehension. Internalization of new vocabulary words often relies on direct or indirect instruction with repeated exposure to the words. Every content area has a specific set of unique vocabulary that must be learned in order to understand the material. These words cannot simply be overlooked or shoved down our students' throats via dictionary definitions without application or connections to their lives/studies.

The ability to comprehend vocabulary words provides students with the tools to understand and express concepts. Concepts are the means by which we explain and depict our world. They form the center of teaching. The authors of the text stress that we can build and reinforce conceptual knowledge of content area terms by teaching and stressing concept words in relation to other concept words. Vocabulary instruction is so very important. It is not something we can fail to explain to our students. Take the word "meter" for example. It has many different meanings in different contexts. In science, it is a unit of measurement, in music it means the pulse or beat of the song caused by repetitive patterns, in literature, it refers to the rhythm of poetry, in a city, it can describe an object that one must insert coins in order to park for a certain period of time. There are many words that share this characteristic of multiple meanings.

As teachers, it is our responsibility to ensure that our students are familiar with the vocabulary of our content area and can comprehend the reading we assign. As a language teacher, I understand the importance of vocabulary on a deep level in regards to the effectiveness of communication. If you cannot understand the words someone is using, you will not be able to understand what they are attempting to communicate. Whether instruction is done in a foreign language or in English, the underlying idea is the same. Vocabulary makes the pathway to comprehension and knowledge retention much easier to navigate.