Partner Quizzes

Since Part 2 of our state test here in Tennessee is next week, my instructional time is severely limited. Instead of taking an entire class period to assess students in probability, I decided to do a partner quiz. I have heard of partner quizzes before, but this was the first time I decided to implement partner quizzes in my Algebra II classes.

I made a quiz with nine questions on probability, which was the unit we had done right before and right after Thanksgiving Break. I made two versions of the test, A and B. The questions were in the same order and contained same skill sets, but the numbers that were in the problems were different. I designed it this way so that partners could help each other on the quizzes.

I told students beforehand that I would take the higher of the two scores on the quiz. I also let students use their notes as a way to save time. In addition to this, I let students pick their own partners. Before students began their quiz, I told students that I was doing "No Work. No Credit. No Kidding", which is what I tell students when I expect work to be shown. All of the students passed with 70% or above, which was nice, but I will be honest and state that the test was not rigorous enough because it is the end of the semester and students are faced with state and district testing for the next two weeks.

Overall, I think that the partner quizzes were a success, but here is my overarching reflections on partner quizzes.

What I Would Keep

1. I would let students pick their partners because students know with whom they work best. 
2. I would continue to use No Work. No Credit. No Kidding, since this seems to work with my students. 

What I Would Change

1. I would make the test more rigorous, but I didn't do that this time due to time constraints and the fact my students are getting ready to be bombarded with tests the next two weeks. 
2. I would time the quiz so that way students would not have as much time to goof off, and this would also ensure that all groups had a fair time to finish. 
3. I would add more questions to the test and not let students use their notes. 

What I Will (or May) Try Next Time 

1. I will try to find other ways for increased accountability. 
2. I would like to try to use alternate forms of assessment, such as performance tasks and multi-step questions. 

I would be interested in what others out in the MTBoS do with respect to partner quizzes. Please feel free to share!!

Have a great week! :)