So, I was running my Scantrons through the machine in the faculty workroom, and a colleague came in and sarcastically said “You still give Scantron tests?” What I should have said was “Obviously. You see me running Scantrons through the machine. Don’t you?” But, I didn’t say that; instead, I started defending all of the reasons that I continue to assess student learning using this format. This blog is me, an English teacher, defending why I continue to test reading and reading comprehension using the Scantron.

Once the go to format for testing, multiple choice/matching/true and false type questioning is clearly frowned upon in the world of 20th century learning. I get it. There’s no need to test facts when students can easily Google anything they want to know. Further, it can seem ridiculous to test  students about details of a novel, especially since the essence of a novel is not found in mere details.  My initial response to this argument is that some students do really well on a multiple choice/true and false/matching type test. I have had many many students over the years earn Bs on their essay assessments, but they earn As and even 100%s on Scantron reading comprehension tests. For the students who are really good at letting me know what they know by using this format, I hate to take it away. It’s just like when I assign an art centered project as an assessment for reading comprehension. Some of the more creative students do really well on this type of assessment, and they may not excel at other types of assessments. I want to give as many students as I can the opportunity to show me what they know using the format that they like. Also, I believe in assessing students in multiple ways for every unit.

There’s more to it than that though. Giving a Scantron test is an efficient way to keep students accountable. English students are regularly assigned pages of reading, much of which needs to be done outside of class on their own time. News Flash: reading homework is regularly low man on the totem pole. Ask any student what two subjects’ homework they work on first, and they’ll admit that the STEM classes get top billing. Our society is currently pushing STEM. You don’t see us actively raising funds for a new humanities building, do you? This trend in education trickles down to student understanding of what class’s homework is most (and least) important to work on, especially when their time is limited. And with novel reading homework, students have an easy out. They can Spark Note or Schmoop the summary of any given novel we teach, and in no time they will get the gist of the assigned reading. This is where the Scantron test works. Students are questioned about details from novels, which can not be easily answered by reading online summaries of the books. Futhermore, many types of Scantron type questions that are asked require students to have read the novels closely. This means that students who know the novels well, have not only read quickly, they’ve read without simultaneously Snapchatting, and they’ve annotated the text for ideas and for passages that they love. We continuously promote annotating as a skill, because we know that in order to really know something and to write about it, first one must have a relationship with what they’ve read. The best way to create a relationship with a text is through not only reading it, but annotating it well also. I know what you’re thinking: Grade the students on their annotations then. I do that from time to time too. As a matter of fact, I give multiple formative and summative assessments throughout a unit. The Scantron test is not the only tool in my toolbox. But one main reason I continue to give a Scantron type reading comprehension test is that it keeps students accountable for the reading.

Finally and I feel ashamed to admit this, giving a Scantron test is quick. I can give the test in one period and by the end of the day the scores are in the grade book. I shouldn’t feel too much guilt about this though. I grade about 1100 writing pieces a year. That’s about right. I have approximately 135 students this year, down about 15 from last year, and each of those 135 students writes 8 formal pieces for me over the school year. That doesn’t include short answer reading comprehension quizzes, class blogs or reflective work. So, I don’t feel so bad giving an assessment that takes me only one hour to grade, analyze and input. Also, students are used to instant gratification. Where it might take me up to two weeks to read, comment on and assess an essay, a Scantron test allows the students to see how they’ve done almost immediately.

It should be noted that in the English department, we weight our grades and the most heavily weighted category is the writing category, because we believe that learning how to write is the most important skill that students work on in our classes. The reading category (where the Scantron test scores go) is weighted at a lesser percentage than writing by 20 percentage points. Therefore, the Scantron reading comprehension test is mostly equivalent to two smaller formative reading assessments like a cartoon strip or a short answer reading quiz; it’s equivalent to two homework assignments.

Circling back to the colleague who inspired this blog. This person was mostly kidding me, and I really wasn’t offended. I think it’s fun to mess with colleagues from time to time too. Also, they (purposeful neutral pronoun) only said what I’d been thinking about for quite some time. But here are my questions to you: Do you still give Scantron tests and if not or if so, have you thought about its pros and cons as much as I have? Do you want to add to this conversation?