Question: Have you ever taken an achievement test in which the content emphasized was different than the content you concentrated on while studying for the test? If so, describe the discrepancy and speculate on what caused it.
I have taken a test and studied for the wrong thing. Last semester I had a test that I took in one of my networking classes that was over four chapters. I had read all of the chapters and believed I knew the material but I ended up scoring in the mid 60s on the test. It was a bit of a shock to me since I had consistently gotten mid 80s on all the previous tests and the chapters had not been overly technical or particularly complicated.
When I first did this I attributed the poor score to a difficult week in other classes that had piled on homework and had left me shorter than usual on time to work on studying. I am not really of this opinion any more. I think that while I did have less time that does not adequately cover the difference that I saw in the tests
Another possibility is that the grade was much lower than previous due to two reasons. First since there was not a difficult concept in the chapters it was easy to breeze through quickly without stopping to make sure I had fully understood what was being said. Second I think that without a clear and important concept to focus on in testing the questions were geared more to the minutia of the chapters than to the broad points which are well known. So, I think that I was potentially lulled into feeling that I knew the chapter well enough that I did not need to focus on it as much as I otherwise would have and the easy nature of the chapter made it so that the test writers felt it necessary to not make it too easy.
The final possibility that I can see is that the tested content was different than in previous chapters. While previous tests had a few questions that focused on the specific details of specific products none had as many as this chapter did and so not doing well on those questions had a much less damaging effect on my grade than it did in this test.
Mildred P., Newhart M., Understanding research methods, Topic 36: DQ2
You made some great points in your response to this question. I think it’s really common for us to skip over the little details in the text and focus on what we think are the more important topics. I’ve found that especially true for the quiz questions in this class. I’ve gotten better about studying for them but I remember thinking “was that in the reading?” a lot when I took the first quiz. For me, I find that when a lot of reading is required to study, I really skip over the little details in the text.
Your comments concerning the time you had to study has become relevant to my own studies recently. Within the last month, I have concluded that I need to focus more on the quality of study that I do rather than trying to maximize the amount of time I dedicate to studying. Additionally, I always look to do two things when studying. First, I look to see how the newest material correlates with the previous sections. Most courses build upon each other and realizing that helps me retain information. Second, I try to correlate what I have learned to my previous academic or work experience. Oftentimes, this is done subconsciously. I also believe educators should seek to incorporate different styles of learning. In my experience, the most disappointing courses simply ask you to ‘read and absorb’ material without incorporating things such as a video for auditory and visual learners or activities for kinesthetic learners. Utilizing a combination of these methods can ensure students of all learning styles receive the benefits the course offers.
Great Post! I agree completely about the last part as I feel like this happens to me often. I feel like alot of times when I do poorly on test the material is often different than the previous chapter and in my mind I think they will be the same. And like what a few said in here, I think when there is alot of required reading it is best to the quality studying rather than quantity.
I understand the frustration that having a test score below your normal can cause, particularly if you did not feel you had done poorly. One of my biggest frustrations is when I take a test that has material that was not covered in the required material. Right now one of my classes has tests that cover material that is in future studies. I’ve been told that the agency doing the course material update the study material and did some reorganization, but failed to update the test material to reflect these changes. (The instructor is aware, and is adjusting grading to account for this.) But I also, like you, have found that I simply failed to pay attention to the right material, or overestimated my grasp of what I had studied. To balance that, sometimes I do much better on a test than I think I would, or even that I think I deserved to. Sometimes my study habits are lacking, but I get lucky and the test in on material I did understand. You know you’ve made a mistake when you start a test telling yourself “Please don’t ask about _______!” Good luck with your future studies!
If you would like some ideas to help with this issue in the future, I would suggest reviewing these tips over the summer. If you haven’t gotten outside ideas for good study methods, this can help. https://www.cornellcollege.edu/academic-support-and-advising/academic-support/study-tips/reading-textbooks.shtml