"Get Your Test? Whatja Learn?"

Abstract

"OLD TESTS ARE BEST FORGOTTEN!" Ay least that is what most students believe. "You finish your test, your teacher 'gives' you your grade and you'll never have to remember that stuff again!" It's too bad that students regard tests to narrowly. But aren't such attitudes cultivated by the popular treatment of tests (and grades) as ends in themselves? For example, when is the last time you studied the traffic safety rules for your state? Probably it was the first time you studied them in preparation for your driver's license exam. When you passed the test, did you seek out the correct answers to the ones you missed? Probably not; it would have seemed unnecessary (despite the potential value to you and others), since you "passed." Ever wonder about the questions that surgeons or airplane pilots missed, but failed to inquire about afterwards?