Program / Course 26: Comprehensive Assessment / Lesson 1.4
What you will learn
- Score a biblical examination by section and record the results.
- Sort errors into types: gaps, confusions, wrong details and unfair statements.
- Turn the results into a dated review plan.
- Apply the suggested 70 percent standard as a personal target and decide what to do when it is missed.
The big idea
Marking is only half of an assessment. The other half is deciding what the results mean and what to do next. A score by section shows where the weakness lies, and a sort of errors by type shows what kind of study will fix it. The suggested standard of 70 percent and the review schedule of 1, 7, 30 and 90 days are suggestions for your own use. No one receives your results, and no certificate follows from them.
Key terms
- Section score
- The percentage earned in one part of the exam, such as books, story, genres or key passages.
- Gap
- A point you did not know at all. The remedy is to learn it.
- Confusion
- A point you mixed up with something else, such as two similar figures or books. The remedy is comparison.
- Error log
- A list kept in the notebook of each mistake, its type and the date it was corrected.
- Suggested standard
- A target such as 70 percent that a student may adopt. It is a suggestion for personal use, not a pass mark set by the site.
- Review schedule
- A set of dates for returning to the weak material. This course suggests 1, 7, 30 and 90 days as an option.
Background
Once the exam is marked, write the score for each section and for the whole. A student who earned 80 percent in the story section and 45 percent in the books section has learned something that a single total of 62 percent hides. Section scores point to where the effort should go.
Next, read through the errors and sort them. A gap calls for new learning. A confusion calls for side by side comparison, for example of Paul’s letters to the Corinthians. A wrong detail calls for a check of the text. An unfair statement, such as describing another church’s view in a way its members would not accept, calls for a return to that church’s own sources.
Finally, make a plan with dates. The suggested standard is 70 percent for each knowledge examination. If a section falls below it, the plan in the course suggests reviewing the relevant material and retaking a different set of questions after at least one week. All of this is for the student’s own use. The site does not collect the results, set a pass or a fail, or issue a credential.
Step-by-step explanation
Step 1: Total the scores
Write the score for each section as a fraction and a percentage. Write the total. Beside it, write the standard you set before the exam. Do not change the standard now.
Step 2: Build the error log
For every lost mark, write one line in the log: the question, what you wrote, what is correct, and the type of error (gap, confusion, wrong detail, unfair statement). Add the source you used to check, such as a passage of the Bible or a page of a survey.
Step 3: Look for patterns
Count the errors by type and by section. If most are gaps in the prophets, the study need is the prophets. If most are confusions among the letters, the need is a comparison chart. If several are unfair statements about a tradition, the need is to read that tradition in its own words.
Step 4: Make a dated review plan
Choose the three most important gaps. Write what you will read and when. Then set review dates after the exam. One suggested pattern is to return after 1 day, 7 days, 30 days and 90 days. At each point, re-answer five questions from the weakest section from memory, and record the result.
If the total or a section fell below the standard, plan a retake with different questions after at least one week. If it met the standard, the plan can be lighter, but the dates are still worth keeping.
- Which section had the lowest score, and was that a surprise?
- What type of error was most common?
- Did the errors cluster in one part of the Bible?
- Did I misstate any tradition’s view, and how do I know?
- What three things will I study first?
- When exactly will I return to this material, and what will I do on that day?
Examples
A section profile
A student scores 85 percent on story, 75 percent on genre, 70 percent on key passages and 40 percent on books. The total is acceptable, but the books section shows that the student cannot reliably list the New Testament letters. A chart and a daily five minute recall are planned. (A constructed example.)
A confusion
The student mixed up 1 and 2 Kings with 1 and 2 Samuel. The fix is not more reading of everything, but a one page comparison of the four books with the main figures of each. (A constructed example.)
An unfair statement
The student wrote that Catholics add books to the Bible. A fair rewrite says that the Catholic Church receives seven books, and parts of two others, that Protestants do not, and that Catholics hold these to be part of the received Old Testament. (A constructed example.)
Different perspectives
Catholic
In Catholic spiritual practice an examination of conscience is made regularly and honestly, and the habit of review is seen as part of growth. A Catholic student can see a self-assessment as a similar discipline applied to knowledge.
Orthodox
Orthodox teaching places learning inside a life of prayer and guidance, often with a spiritual father or mother. An Orthodox student may value talking over the results with such a person, though this course does not require it.
Protestant
Many Protestant traditions emphasize personal study of Scripture and, often, a church or study group that holds the student accountable. A Protestant student may wish to review results with a pastor or friend.
Educational research
Studies of learning commonly find that testing yourself and returning to material at spaced intervals improve retention. The specific dates of 1, 7, 30 and 90 days are a convenient pattern, not a scientific law.
Why it matters
A score alone does not improve anything. The errors, sorted and dated, tell a student what to do on Monday morning. The review dates keep that plan from fading, and the freedom to adjust the standard keeps the exercise a tool and not a verdict.
Common misunderstandings
Misunderstanding: A total of 70 percent means the student knows the Bible.
Correction: It is a number from one exam. It shows what was tested on that day, and the section scores show more than the total.
Misunderstanding: A score under 70 percent is a failure.
Correction: No one declares a failure. The standard is a suggestion, and a lower score is information about what to study next.
Misunderstanding: Reviewing results with someone else is required.
Correction: It is optional. The course is private, though many students find it helpful to talk over results with a trusted person.
Knowledge check
What is the advantage of section scores over a single total?
A total can hide a serious weakness inside an acceptable average. A student who does well on story but poorly on books or genres gains little from knowing only the total. Section scores show where the gap lies, so that study time goes to that part.
Name the four types of error suggested here.
Gaps, where the point was unknown; confusions, where it was mixed up with something else; wrong details, where it was nearly right; and unfair statements, where a view held by others was described in a way its holders would not accept. Each type calls for a different remedy.
What review dates does the course suggest, and are they required?
The course suggests returning after 1 day, 7 days, 30 days and 90 days. They are not required. They are a suggestion for personal use, and a student may choose other dates. At each date the student re-answers a few questions from memory.
What does the site do with the results?
Nothing. The site does not collect, grade or store the results, and it offers no certificate, accreditation, credit or degree. The results stay in the student’s own notebook and are used only to plan further study.
Think it through
- Does a single number help you or tempt you to judge yourself harshly?
- Which type of error is most common in your work, and what does that say about how you study?
- Who, if anyone, could help you review your results honestly?
- What would you do differently if the same exam were taken again in a month?
Independent assignment
Score, log and plan
In your own notebook, write 300 to 500 words. Record your section scores and total, list at least ten errors with their types, name the pattern you see, and write a dated review plan with the 1, 7, 30 and 90 day points or your own dates. Do not send this to anyone or post it anywhere.
Further study
- Gordon D. Fee and Douglas Stuart, How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth For repairing weaknesses in genre and interpretation.
- Bruce M. Metzger, The Canon of the New Testament For repairing gaps about the books and the canon.
- Alister E. McGrath, Christian Theology: An Introduction A survey for revising across the whole program.
- Psalm 139 A prayer asking God to search the heart, fitting for honest self-examination.
- Proverbs 27:17 On how people sharpen one another.