Structuring The Proper Exams: What Professors Should Do

While students have to take the responsibility to complete the hard task of learning, teachers have to secure that this task can be completed by the vast majority of the students, if not all of them. This does not mean they will all get the same grade, but it does imply that once they pass the final exams, they will be efficient in the topic the professor teaches. To do that, teachers have to organize their lectures, exams, and assignments wisely. Students, on their behalf, have other things to take care of. The effort they will make and the result they will reach are two different things. Professors have to evaluate both and provide exams that will not only test but also encourage students to do their best in the future. Today we will discuss how the exams should be approached in order to help a teacher evaluate the students’ efforts and performance.

1. Help them manage their time
   Students often know the answers to the tests they are challenged to take but do not succeed after all. Some students have poor time-management skills, which makes it harder for them to succeed. It is not only the knowledge they have obtained but also the organizational skills and their ability to remain calm and relaxed. If you really want to test their performance in the lesson, you will have to give them a break. Keep in mind that not all students want to become CEOs and follow stressful careers. Not all students are meant to take on challenging roles in their future careers. Some of them will have to just succeed in the exams. A good idea to help stressed students is to let them know how the evaluation is going to take place. Write down the points that each correct answer takes for each question or problem that is presented in the exam sheet to help them see which ones they prefer to answer. In addition, you can have a little preview at the beginning explaining, for instance, how many multiple-choice questions they should expect and how many points each of them takes, and so on. This way, you allow them to know right from the beginning what they should be expecting for the test. This way, everyone has equal opportunities to manage their time and stay focused on the questions.
2. Colleagues can help
   Often professors expect too much from their students basically because they overestimate their teaching skills. The result is that learners get confused when they have to take the exam because they do not understand the question in the way it has been established. At this point, asking a colleague to read the questions first and see if they can understand them is a good idea. If you have second thoughts about the difficulty, you can also ask them to take the test. You can count the time they need to complete the test and ask them if they found it too hard. Then, you will be able to have reasonable expectations from the students and adjust the exams to reality.
3. Decide on the objectives that will be checked
   Each lesson consists of many lectures and objectives that are being developed throughout the semester. The exams are only taking place at the end of the semester, and most of the topics have to be covered. The time the students have to answer the questions is limited. Therefore, professors have to choose which objectives they will include and which they will exclude from the exams. The objectives that are absolutely necessary for future scientists should always be tested. In addition, there has to be a variety. If students know from former candidates which objectives are in and which are out every year, they will not spend time reading all of them. Therefore, the professor has to surprise them every year and keep them alert about the questions they should be expecting. Students have to be encouraged to give their best. If they believe that some things are not worth being in the final exam, they will never cross that extra mile that is necessary to become the best.

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