Teaching to the Test, No: Using
the Test as a Teaching Strategy
By J. David James
Associate Professor Health Science
Prince George’s Community College
Quotes
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Ontogeny recapitulates
phylogeny — E. Haeckel

Instant gratification is
not soon enough -M. Streep
We should make exercises so compelling, and so
powerful as exemplars of a domain, that honing
one's ability to solve them represents
generalizable learning and achievement. — L. Bond
Objectives
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Identify practical ways of using tests as a teaching/learning
strategy
Identify a few immediate simple ideas
to add to our current Andragogy
Identify ways of modifying our
approach both to instruction and
assessment using the test as a
starting point
Identify technology resources to facilitate testing as a teaching
and learning strategy
Our Foci vs. Their Focus
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
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Students are too often
focused not on
mastery of the subject
but on passing the
test.
This is evidenced by the age-old student question, “Is this
going to be on the test?”
Some educators respond by teaching to the test.
We Shouldn’t Teach To The Test
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Providing classroom instruction that incorporates, as
practice activities, the actual items on tests.
Giving practice exercises
featuring "clone items"—items so
similar to the test's actual items
that it's tough to tell which is
which.
The scores provide invalid
interpretations about the
students' actual mastery of the
content. (Popham,2001)
Instead Use the Test as a Teaching
Strategy

Lauren Resnick of the
University of Pittsburgh
noted that rather than
bemoan the inclination to
teach to the test, we
should take advantage of
it. (Bond, 2004)
Identify a few immediate simple ideas to
add to their current pedagogy
Are Our Questions the Problem?

What if our student’s performance was not based solely on
their command of the subject but on their understanding of
our questioning/testing?

Dr. K Penn State Microeconomics

Nursing School
The Fatal Switch-Teach Like You Test
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The Fatal Switch
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Teaching via knowledge
based methods
FATAL
SWITCH
Testing via application and
analysis
Test Like You Teach
If I spend all my time teaching application and
analysis where do they get the knowledge?
How Can They Get The Knowledge?
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Lecture
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Videos
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The Flipped Classroom
You (The Expert Learner)
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JIT Internet, Smart Phones
 Cite your source
Textbook
Give homework that they know will be preparation for the in-class
graded group assessments (Make it the ticket to the show)
Instructor Aided Group Tests
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Does Not replace normal individual exams (They still must take these)
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To them it’s a group test to you it’s a time to teach
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Small Groups
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Preferably 2
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No more than 3 per group
Real Life Compelling Assessments
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Upper Level Assessments
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NO KNOWLEDGE LEVEL QUESTIONS
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Application
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Analysis
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Synthesis
Must be graded and count as part of their class grade
Take Advantage
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USE SMALL GROUP TEST ASSESSMENTS
We should make exercises so compelling, and so powerful
as exemplars of a domain, that honing one's ability to
solve them represents generalizable learning and
achievement.
Viewed in this light, we are no
longer teaching to the test but
we are using the test as a
teaching strategy because the
skills and knowledge are
themselves relevant and are the
very things we wish students to
acquire. (Bond, 2004)
Designing Real Life Compelling
Assessments
Where do we find
them?
Identify technology resources to facilitate
testing as a teaching/learning strategy
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Publisher Test Banks & Test Generators
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Questions can be modified and tailored
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Have page references
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On-Line Test Banks
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Collaborate with Colleagues
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Scantron
The True False +/- Question
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If this is True or False
WHY is it True or False?
How would I change the
question to make it True
or False?
The True False +/- Question
TRUE or FALSE

Cirrhosis of the liver leads to decreased hepatic portal
pressure.

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This statement is True
This statement is False because liver cirrhosis leads to
increased hepatic portal pressure
This statement is False because liver cirrhosis decreases
cystic pressure
The True False +/- Question
TRUE or FALSE
The principal of respondeat superior holds the
employer responsible for the actions of their
employees
A.
B.
The statement is True in all circumstances where the
employee is conducting business for employer
The statement is False if the employee commits a
negligent act or acts outside their scope of duty
C.
Both A & B are correct
D.
Neither A or B is correct
Multiple Choice Analysis Questions
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Engages students in higher-order intellectual
activities (Bain, 102)
Encourages them to:
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Compare
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Apply
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Evaluate
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Analyze
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Synthesize
Select All That Apply
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A series of true false questions put into one question
A client is receiving a blood transfusion and complains of headache and
low back pain. What are the nurse’s actions? (Choose all that apply)
A.
Administer Tylenol (acetaminophen) 1 gm
B.
Stop the blood transfusion
C.
Flush the line with saline
D.
Submit the tubing and bag to the Blood Bank
E.
Establish a saline lock or patent IV
F.
Obtain first voided urine (within one hour of reaction)
Other Group Activities
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Case Studies
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A Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL)
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Students working in small groups on
specially designed guided inquiry
materials.
These materials supply students with data
or information followed by leading
questions designed to guide them toward
formulation of their own valid conclusions
POGIL
The instructor is more than a facilitator, observing and
periodically addressing individual and classroom-wide needs.
Instructor is the Expert Learner
(Bain, 18)
The Role of the Instructor
“No one is exempt from the rule that learning occurs through
recognition of error.” ― Alexander Lowen, Bioenergetics
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Roam the class and
Listen to discussions
Correct wrong assumptions
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Give a page number from the text
Direct them to an online resource
Ask a question
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Do a mini lecture if the entire class is having the same problem
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Look over their answer sheet before they hand it in and
tell them which answers are wrong
Immediate Feedback
“By seeking and blundering we learn.”
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Design items that can be quickly
corrected, graded, and returned
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Consider designing questions that
can be answered on a Scantron sheet
― Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
 With creativity many solutions can be
expressed in 5 choices

Return the items if possible before the end of class
 Is it wrong to cater to their desire for immediate gratification?
 Is immediate feedback a motivator?
 Are there sound andragogical reasons for immediate feedback?
The Follow-up and Close
“We do not learn from experience... we learn from
reflecting on experience.” ― John Dewey
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Answer questions
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“People Learn Most Effectively when they are trying to answer
their own questions” (Bain, 101)
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Clarify Common Misconceptions
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Time for Insights and Discussions
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Ask the Big Questions
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If this is true then WHY, HOW, WHAT , WHERE ?
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What major conclusions did you draw?
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What questions remain in your mind? (Bain, 103)
Identify resources
Identify practical ways of using tests
as a teaching/learning strategy
Set The Foundation
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Create a Natural Critical Learning Environment
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Start with learning objectives
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Decide when and how much
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Prepare the syllabus
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Prepare the student
Create a Natural Critical Learning
Environment
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People learn by confronting
intriguing, beautiful, or important
problems, authentic tasks that
challenge them to grapple with
ideas, rethink assumptions, and
examine their mental models of
reality (Bain, 18)
Can a group test be used to do
this?
Start With Learning Objectives
In order to focus instruction on the curricular content that a
test represents, that content must be spelled out sufficiently
for instructional planning (Popham,2001) 
Four Fundamental Inquiries
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What should my students be able to do intellectually,
physically, or emotionally as a result of their learning
How can I best help and encourage them to develop and
use those abilities
How can my students and I understand the nature, quality,
and progress of their learning
How can I evaluate my efforts to foster that learning (Bain, 49)
Decide When And How Much
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Will you start with a lecture?
Will you require them to do
out of class preparatory work?
Will this be used as your main
andragogical approach?
Will this be used to teach a
particular difficult concept or
unit?
Prepare The Syllabus
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Build the points from the
group tests into their grade
Give yourself flexibility to drop
or add an assignment as you
assess student understanding
Allow them to drop their
lowest grade
Keep the exams

We practice and prepare together
but we test alone
Prepare The Student
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Explain what will be required of them
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Skip Downing
Introduce to Resources
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On Campus
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Online
Explains the Benefits and
Consequences
Identify ways of modifying our approach
both to instruction and assessment using
the test as a starting point
Anticipate The Difficulties

Teachers are encouraged
to anticipate the
difficulties students will
have with various
concepts and how to
structure and sequence
instruction to minimize
these difficulties.
A Lesson Here For Teachers
“The tension between the instructional and assessment
communities, as well the pejorative connotations that
"teaching to the test" entails, will continue unabated so
long as testing and assessment are seen as something
quite apart from instruction and learning, rather than an
integrated reflection of what was intentionally taught.
To paraphrase A. G. Rud of Purdue University, what is
needed is a deliberate attempt on the part of all parties
to link curriculum, instruction, assessment, and
standards in a more generative and even transparent
way”. (Bond, 2004)
Sources
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Bain, Ken. What the Best College Teachers Do. Harvard University
Press, 2004
Bond, Lloyd. "Teaching to the Test". Carnegie Perspectives (via the
University of Victoria). Retrieved 27 May 2014.
Popham, W. J. (2001). Teaching to the test. Educational Leadership,
58(6), 16-20.
http://serc.carleton.edu/sp/library/pogil//index.html