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areas covered in the course are reduced； the course bees less and less the broad survey it is intended to
be。
At the introductory level； most professors assign all or most of the chapters in the text and little or no
outside reading。 Because of their familiarity with the material covered in the introductory course； instructors
can underestimate the difficulty of the text for students。 Students who do well in the introductory course
study； rather than just read； the text。 If you do want to assign some additional readings； be sure that your
campus library can supply enough copies of the assigned material。
Will I make writing assignments？
Your decision concerning writing assignments is likely to be influenced by the size of your class and the
amount of assistance you can expect for reading papers。 Writing experience is an important element in
education and if you have the time and resources； you should include some written work in your
requirements。 A good option is to assign several short papers rather than a traditional term paper。
DECISIONS ABOUT TESTING
How many tests will I give？
Due to the scope of material； it is best to test frequently in an introductory course。 Tests do take class time；
and if you think of tests as purely a means of evaluation； you may feel that frequent testing takes too much
class time。 However； tests are powerful pedagogical tools because they inspire students to study and they
provide feedback on the effectiveness of students’ efforts。 Marvels of modern technology； like the test bank
acpanying this text； have made testing relatively easy for the instructor。 You choose the items from the
test bank and the puter program will print them； number them； scramble them； and provide you with an
answer key； or keys if you use more than one order of items。 You can also edit test questions and add your
own。
What kind of tests will I give？
Multiple…choice tests are the standard evaluative method in introductory psychology。 Many of the multiple…
choice questions in the test bank that acpanies this text involve application； interpretation； or
conceptualization so you need not feel that you are just assessing rote learning。 If you prefer to give essay
tests or bine essay questions with objective items； you will also find a supply of essay questions in the
test bank。
What will my tests cover？
Tests in introductory classes primarily cover the text； you can select and/or edit items from the
professionally written Test Bank to cover the text material。 You may also prefer to let students know in the
syllabus that tests will include outside…class assignments as well as anything that occurs in class； such as
lectures； films； demonstrations； and experiments。 Of course； you will have to write your own questions to
cover these other aspects of the course。
How long should my tests be？
Most students can read and answer a multiple…choice question in less than a minute； so if your class lasts
50 minutes； the test should have no more than 45 items to allow a few minutes for test distribution。 If your
class period is longer than 50 minutes； give a longer test since reliability increases with test length。 It is best
to make the test the only activity of the class day。
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No matter how much time is allowed for a test； some students will not be ready to hand in their paper when
the allotted time is up。 Tell them you are leaving； and that if they want to receive credit for the test； they must
hand in their papers immediately。
What will I do about students who miss tests？
There is no ideal solution to this problem。 One “must” is that you have a policy you can easily enforce and
that you inform students of this policy in the syllabus。 Ideally； do whatever you can to discourage students
from missing tests。 One way to do this is to require verification of illness or other legitimate reasons for
absence on test days。 Still another helpful hint—inform students in the syllabus that you advise them to
drop the course if they miss more than one test。
The option of allowing students to take the missed test later is not advised。 If you do not have another test
on the material； the class will have to wait until all of the makeups are done before they get feedback。 Even if
you do have another test you can use； you may find yourself proctoring individual students at times that are
convenient for them rather than for you。
Here are two options for dealing with the inevitable situation of missed tests：
。 Assign a score for the missing test based on the student’s performance on the other tests。
Substituting the lowest test score for the missing score discourages students from missing tests；
but it penalizes students who miss a test for legitimate reasons。 Using the average of the other
test scores seems fair； but students who are good strategists will figure out that it is better to be
“sick” than to take a test unprepared。
。 Students drop their lowest quiz score。 This is an attractive option because students who miss a
test can use the missed test as their lowest score。 However； this option is advised only if you
give several tests during the term and only if the tests are roughly equivalent in terms of type
and difficulty。 One caution in this situation is that the last test score should not be dropped。 If
you let students drop the score on the last test； those who are satisfied with their scores on
earlier tests may consider the class finished for them several weeks before the end of the term；
and therefore fail to study material that will be included on the final。
How can I prevent cheating on tests？
This is something we do not like to think or talk about； but cheating in the classroom is a reality； and you
should do what you can to prevent it。 Students who do not cheat bee justifiably upset if they perceive
that you are not doing your best to prevent cheating。 Here are some methods of cheating and some
preventive measures：
。 Copying from an unsuspecting neighbor。 Use the puterized Test Bank to construct two or
more forms of your test。 Each form should be in a different scrambled order。
。 Collaborating with a friend by exchanging papers。 Use vigilant proctoring； watching for
students to exchange papers by passing them under the seats。
。 Getting a copy of the test before it is given。 Keep tests in a securely locked cabinet or file drawer。
Be sure stencils or discarded pages are not left in a wastebasket that is accessible to students。
。 Failure to hand in the test and answer sheet and claiming absence on the day of the test。 Have
students sign an attendance sheet as they enter the classroom。
。 Getting someone else to take the test。 Most campuses that have classes large enough for this to
be a problem issue identification cards with pictures。 Have students bring their cards to class
and show them as they hand in their tests。
。 Surreptitious use of notes。 Have students put all books and papers under their seats and leave
them there until they are ready to hand in their papers and leave。 Another solution is to make
the notes legitimate—allow students to bring to an exam one page of notebook paper with
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anything they want written on it。 This legitimate pony has value in that preparing it is a type of
active study and because clutching their pony tends to reduce anxiety for students who panic
on test day。
How will I provide feedback to students after tests？
On the day of the test； let students know when feedback will be provided。 The longer students have to wait
for correct answers； the less interested they bee in checking their work。 Provide immediate feedback if
you can。 Here are two suggestions for acplishing this：
。 Students record their answers on both the test and the answer sheet。 They hand in the answer
sheet and keep the test； scoring it themselves from a key or keys you post immediately after the
test。 The puterized test bank makes it possible for you to provide feedback that includes
both correct answers and page references from the text。
。 Create an exam that can be pleted in 30 m