“Retests”: A better method of test corrections Available to Purchase

Physics instructors at all levels employ a variety of techniques to encourage students to reflect on and correct mistakes made on quizzes, unit tests, or exams. A thorough analysis of several methods was recently published in these pages that compared several variations of quiz corrections in college courses.¹ One common method is to have students rewrite the solutions to the questions or problems that they missed, with the goal of earning some part of the missed points. While this method is helpful for some students, it often discourages students with already decent grades to reflect on their work. I use a method called “retesting” with my AP® Physics C students that I learned from my high school geometry teacher, Bill Kramer. I feel his clever method offers significant advantages over more traditional approaches.