Self-Grading Tests

The concept of self-grading tests is interesting to me. Going through school, the vast majority of the tests I took were with pencil and paper, so I don't have much experience with them as a student. However, as a future teacher, I feel it is important to consider when it is appropriate to use them. I believe that teachers shouldn't use these until students are in at least third grade. Students in grade levels below that aren't developed as test takers quite yet, and in my opinion they don't have the experience with technology yet either. Not only do I think they need to be grade-level appropriate, but teachers must choose carefully about what subjects they choose to use them in. I feel that tests in math and science should be kept strictly on paper, where students can work out the problems. Social Studies and English are the two subjects that I feel could really be an effective use of self-grading tests. Students could benefit from the instant feedback, whether it be about a book they are reading or specific period in history they are studying.

As a future teacher, I feel I can utilize self-grading tests in my classroom. My goal is to use them to assess students, but not necessarily use as a grading tool. For instance, if there is a unit where students will work in groups, I could use a self-grading quiz or test to help make the groups. Looking at the test results, I could make sure there was a good balance of high-scoring students in the same group with low-scoring students, in order to make it a good learning experience for all students. As mentioned above, I feel these tests would be most beneficial for students in English and Social Studies. A way I could assess if students are reading, I could create a quick, five question quiz to test their comprehension skills. Students could use the instant feedback as a measuring stick of whether they are understanding classroom readings, whether it be a novel or simply the textbook.