Why You Should Try Exam Guides
Exam time is always a chaotic part of the semester. Not only do you have exams to grade after exam day, but the barrage of messages and questions before the exam also adds up. Exam guides have been my solution to reducing confusion (and endless questions!) before the exam.
What is an exam guide?
An exam guide is a file that contains all the information students need to know about an upcoming exam.
How do you make an exam guide?
I like to use a website/app called Canva. They have tons of pre-made templates that I can quickly convert into a PDF. You could always make a PPT instead of a PDF as well.
What’s inside an exam guide?
Here are some of the things I always include for an ESL exam. Of course, this can be customized and adapted to whatever you need.
Exam date and time
Exam requirements
Exam grading standard / what I’ll be grading for in an oral exam
FAQs
I include common questions I know I’ll get. For example, if the exam is a speech, I always have students ask if they need to have things memorized or if they can reference notes.
Why should you make an exam guide?
The main reason I make exam guides is to reduce the number of questions I get before the exam and the level of confusion surrounding the exam. Of course, I introduce the exam in class, but if a student was absent or if he didn’t understand what I was saying, this is a useful tool to keep him on the same page as the rest of the students. In addition, if students have a question, they have the resources to find the answer themselves instead of needing to contact me and wait for a reply. Also, I’ve found that students are always impressed with how professional I appear when I have this guide ready to go for them. It also lets them know that I take this exam seriously, and I expect them to do the same.
I’m all about finding ways to cut down on the amount of busy work I have, especially this semester, and exam guides are definitely helping with that. Try it for yourself, and see how it goes!