By way of context, I am pursuing an MSN to become a psychiatric nurse practitioner. My professor administers quizzes weekly as a gauge of student knowledge. During the first week, and to be able to complete the first quiz, I was required to "acknowledge" that results of the examination would not be reviewed due to "exam security." Here's the rub: ZERO feedback is given regarding competencies whether positive or negative. Do members of this forum feel this is legitimate? Those who have navigated nursing education should agree that during one's preparatory training for licensure, or in this case certification, feedback with rationale is crucial for learning. If no such feedback is provided, I am reticent to understand how any student would suddenly understand areas of deficiency much less know which areas require review. Today, I had a Teams meeting with the dean of the program sharing my consternation regarding this policy and was informed it was in place due to individuals sharing questions on platforms such as Quizlet or CourseHero. I find this policy unacceptable--especially since there seems to be no shortage of potential questions that could be used for quizzes. Am I off my rocker or is this a legitimate concern?
I suppose if the school is using the test results to evaluate the effectiveness of the PROGRAM and not the progress of the STUDENT then it makes sense. But if it is intended to help the student, then it makes no real sense.
In education, there are two forms of evaluation: formative and summative. Formative evaluations let you know how you're doing. Summative evaluations let you know how you did. Examples of formative evaluations are worksheets, quizzes, written and oral feedback, and others. They typically (but not always) do not go towards your grade. The key to their value is the feedback they give regarding one's learning progress. Examples of summative evaluations include exams, term papers, presentations, case studies, etc. They always go towards your grade. The key to their value is to report on your accomplishment(s). They can also provide feedback. A formative evaluation, like a quiz, that does not give the student an idea of his/her progress is of little use.
Mr King I would say your concern is well grounded. If your instructor cannot understand your point of view on the matter, I would contact the department dean.
I understand the dean's concerns about platforms like Quizlet and CourseHero, but preventing plagiarism is another topic, I personally hate using this as an excuse for not providing the correct answers on quizzes. If that’s the case torturing them, then I worry that the performance of doctor-level AIs could pose a more significant challenge for those universities. I recently earned a professional certificate by completing a series of 30 questions. The test results, too, just showed me the percentage of correct and incorrect answers. Although I scored over 80% on my second attempt, I still feel unsafe about my reasoning. In similar situations at work, I could still make the wrong decisions.