"Is this test hard?"
I haven't kept a record of every question I have ever been asked; but if I had to guess, this is probably the question I have been asked more times than any other. If not, it is certainly in the top three (along with, "May I go to the bathroom?" and "Can we get extra credit points for . . .?") Here's the answer to that question.
I don't know.
I really don't know. I have a science degree, and I have taught this material for 17 years, and I wrote the questions. The test isn't hard FOR ME. I have no way of knowing if it will be hard for you. The follow up question is the usually, "Has it been hard for past students?" The answer to that isn't any more satisfying; the answer is "For some of them." Some of them paid attention while others did not. Some have taken good notes while others have note. Some have studied well while others have not. Some have come to me for extra help while others have not. Some are good at analysis while others have not yet built that skill. This means that the test was hard for some people, but it was not for others.
Every test is hard for some people, but it is rarely because the test questions are written to be difficult. In fact, I am often surprised at which questions are frequently missed. The question I thought was easy and told students would be on the test is often the one answered incorrectly by the most students. Apparently, telling students a question will definitely be on the test is a sure we to prevent them from studying that question. I can't pretend to understand that, but students have been leaving, "List the two parts of the kinetic theory of matter" blank for a lot of years in spite of all my efforts. Some students read only the first part of questions and jump straight to a memorized answer, which means questions with nuances will be wrong. For math problems in science, I require a certain format; but it sometimes takes two or three tests before students believe that I will take points off if they don't follow it. Sometimes I get very short answers to questions that require complex reasoning. For example, when I ask students to describe why people float better in the dead sea than in a pool, I sometimes get answers like, "Cuz of the salt." When I asked students to describe in detail the process of breathing using Boyle's Law, some of them answer, "First you inhale; then you exhale." These answers are clearly worth five points each. The most frequent incorrect answer to an all of the above question is "a," reflecting that these students didn't read the other choices. All of these result in points lost, but none of them reflect that the test is hard.
Teachers write questions using something called Bloom's Taxonomy of thinking levels (see the above diagram). Everyone knows how to prepare for the remembering level by using flashcards or repetition, and by middle school, most of my students have become pretty good at preparing for the understanding level if the teacher has told them it will be a question on the test. Application and Analysis level questions require a different kind of preparation, and it can't be found in the book. When I ask these types of questions, no matter how simple, that test is considered "a hard test." If you are wondering about the top two levels, they require more processing time than a timed test would usually allow. Evaluation tends to be done in debates or essays, and creation is usually achieved with projects.
Lack of preparation makes tests hard. Students, next time you study for a test, try to identify what level of thinking is required. If something requires an explanation, recognize that flashcards alone won't get you there. If several pieces of material can connect, be prepared for analytical questions that relate those. Proper preparation will make you walk into a test prepared and walk out believing it wasn't a hard test.
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