[etni] Re: Fw: re: theory vs. practice (re: Oral Bagrut)

The question is how you make the situation more tenable.   Even on the
written Bagrut senior examiners have a lot of work to do closing the gaps
created between the grades of two examiners on the same test:  that after
meticulously preparing an answer key, revising it after meeting with the
examiners at a general meeting before checking begins, revising it again and
again as unforeseen problems crop up.   Even with the most carefully crafted
rubrics and carefully thought out questions, discrepancies are inevitable
because we are all individuals who interpret things differently (in the
jargon of the HOTS that's called Different Perspectives ;-))   ).     The
only way to avoid such subjectivity is to move to multiple choice exams a la
the Psychometric Exam.    Is that what we want?   It occurs to me that the
SAT exams now have an essay component and it would be interesting to find
out if the exam committees there have devised a way of avoiding the kinds of
discrepancies we have.      

So if on a WRITTEN exam there are such gaps how do you possibly avoid them
on an Oral exam?    The only way of doing that, in my opinion, is by having
a national bank of Oral Exam testers.   That would mean that is all they
would do for two months - testing pupils 18 hours a day every day from March
to May.   Sounds like lots of fun.    I'd agree:   IF  they pay me 10,000
shekels an hour and accommodate me in the Hilton while I'm doing it ;-)) and
then send me, all expenses paid,  on a trip to a country where I will hear
NO English for two weeks.   

As others have said, eliminating an Oral exam is sending the message that
Oral skills aren't important.   If it's not on the test, teachers will
neglect it.   None of us want pupils that can answer an Unseen but can't
speak a word of English.   

Regards,

Maxine Tsvaigrach 

   



-----Original Message-----
From: etni-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:etni-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf
Of Ask Etni
Sent: Monday, April 27, 2009 9:05 AM
To: Etni
Subject: [etni] Fw: re: theory vs. practice (re: Oral Bagrut)



Batya wrote:
> Hello Linda & Laurie,
Thanks for expressing your opinions about the Oral Bagrut.
> Linda, I certainly agree with you about the need for this exam -- in 
> theory;
the problem is the way the test is currently executed, however.  For one
thing, unless there is a way to reasonably ensure that testers are doing
what they're supposed to, the results are simply unfair.  In our school, for
instance, we've had testers who zip through the proceedure, paying little
heed to the rubrics when they jot down a grade.  Those who prefer to avoid
justifying themselves to disappointed teachers (an experience that Laurie
describes), give inflated grades.  Sometimes these are so unrealisic that
the students laugh (in glee, of course!) and mock the whole experience.
Other times, the testers who are in a hurry to leave mark too hastily and
harshly.
> There's also the case (thankfully not as common) of the overzealous tester
who leaves the students distraught.  This problem is exacerbated when a
school gets both kinds of examiners (the one who can't wait to make her
escape and the "toughie") for two parallel classes, and it has happened to
us more than once.
> Unfortunately, my experience (16 years) has been that there are at least 
> as
many testers who fit the descriptions above than there are those who attempt
to follow the Ministry's guidelines.
> Laurie, I sincerely appreciate all your efforts to improve the situation,
but you haven't changed my mind that too much time is spent on preparing for
the Orals.  My class is also run in English, but I still have to test each
student (usually between 25-30) for a magen (and some beg to be retested)!
So the required procedure necessitates a certain expenditure of time that
would be more beneficially used elsewhere.
> As I said, I realize we haven't come up with a viable alternative, but 
> does
that mean that we're doomed to accept an untenable situation?


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