Nine Reasons: Why Students Aren't Passing Entrance Test?

Post Index: Why Students Aren't Passing Entrance Tests?

1. The inability of Students to Do the Class Work.

2. The inability of Students to Understand Test Directions.

3. Tests Were Too Difficult.

4. Tests Didn't Reflect What Students Actually Learned.

5. Students Didn't Study for Tests.

6. Students Don't Know How to Take Tests.

7. Tests Are Too Long.

8. Students Have Learning Disorders.

9. Students Have Physical and Emotional Problems.

After examining the mid-term tests as well as the quizzes, homework, and daily performance of students leading up to the exams, I suggest nine reasons for kids and other students not passing tests.

1. The inability of Students to Do the Class Work.

It was obvious from the results of my pre-test that many students were unable to do the assigned class work. This was validated by scores from quizzes, dictations, and homework assignments which were given prior to the tests. It was also frequently seen in classroom participation.

Why, then, do so many students have the inability to do class work? It's simply because many need remedial work and don't belong in the class. How else can you explain a fifth grader speaking on a second-grade level, and reading and writing like a first grader?

The sad fact is that through school promotion policies kids who aren't ready for fifth grade English have been placed with students working at grade level. The kids and parents of the misplaced students feel good about themselves, but teachers and other students suffer.

2. The inability of Students to Understand Test Directions.

All of the students who are unable to do the class work also have the inability to understand test directions. For example, on one part of my reading and writing exam, the instructions called for the students to find and circle mistakes in each sentence, and then to rewrite the sentences.

The kids who couldn't read and understand these directions answered the seven questions on the test by writing words or combination of words for the directions. Hence, the answer was written for the test item "We likes the movie very much" was "circle."

3. Tests Were Too Difficult.

I have come to the conclusion that my tests were too difficult for many students to pass. This is undoubtedly due to the kids' inability to understand and do the class work and directions on the tests.

The tests should have been easier and included questions which the students could more easily understand. For example, in testing vocabulary, the pupils had to demonstrate how to use words correctly in sentences.

Considering the average level of the students, vocabulary knowledge should have initially been tested by having the kids identify word meanings with pictures.

4. Tests Didn't Reflect What Students Actually Learned.

To be honest, the tests which I constructed didn't reflect what the students had actually learned. Instead, questions on the test were based on items in the textbook which I thought the kids should have learned.

Based on student performance on quizzes, dictation, and daily homework, I should have only tested those items in which the vast majority of students demonstrated competence.

5. Students Didn't Study for Tests.

Many students probably didn't study for my tests, because they had been unable to do the daily homework. This was clearly shown in answers to true and false questions related to an article which the kids should have read.

If the students had difficulty reading and understanding the article, they certainly weren't very motivated to review it while studying for the test.

In most Thailand schools, students don't have to worry about failing tests. If they should not pass a test on the first try, the policy of schools is to retest students with simpler tests until they are eventually given a pass.

6. Students Don't Know How to Take Tests.

A lot of my kids don't know how to take tests. I initially found this out when giving my students short practice tests. Many kids had the problem of focusing and getting started on a test. After beginning a test, a big problem was budgeting time on the various parts of the test.

A problem that amazes me is the number of students who will not answer a multiple-choice question they don't understand. Many students are probably afraid to take educated guesses. Another problem is that many kids rush through their tests, and then neglect to check their answers. This often leads to careless mistakes.

7. Tests Are Too Long.

Some exams are too long, and students are pressed to have enough time to finish answering all of the questions. I would prefer to write shorter tests; however, school administration usually dictates a minimum number of test items for mid-term and final tests. Many schools aren't too keen on short tests, regarding them as generally too easy and able to be completed in 15-20 minutes.

8. Students Have Learning Disorders.

Some students fail tests due to learning disorders such as attention deficit disorder (ADD)(1), dyslexia, and obsessive-compulsive disorders (OCD)(2).

9. Students Have Physical and Emotional Problems.

Finally, some students fail tests due to physical and emotional problems. If students are physically and/or emotionally sick, they will not be able to perform well on tests. Also, students who haven't had much sleep will fare poorly on tests.

Summary:

When teachers create future tests, they would do well in reflecting on why their students did so poorly on previous tests. Making sure that tests accurately reflect what students have studied and mastered is one sure way of preventing a lot of failures. Students must also know how to take tests and understand test directions.