Tips To Improve the Students'Score/Achievement

Tips to Improve the students'Score/ Achievement

There are two main tips that should be conducted by the teachers if they want to improve their students' score or mark, namely: The application of  "Mastery Learning" approach and  and the use of washback, and feedback in the assessment system.

1. The  Use of " Mastery Learning" Approach

a. The Definition of Mastery learning

The application of mastery learning is one of the approaches in the process of teaching and learning that can be used by the teachers if they want to improve their students' score or achievement. Mastery Learnning is an approach  that works for all students, regardless of level of achievement (Woolfolk & Margetts, 2013).

b. The steps of mastery learning :

1. Organise concepts and material into small learning units.

To organise concepts and material into small units or more specific material the teacher should perceive or read the basic competence in advance , particularly dealing with the materials. After reading the materials in the basic competence, the teachers should be able to develop the materials to be more specific.

The teacher in this case should teach their students the subject or materials that  had been specified, and so should their students. If the students learn every unit or specific materials, so the students will not undergo the difficulties in undertaking the task or test. In other words, The students can carry out the task or the test well or successfully because between the questions and the materials tested are suitable with materials  learnt or taught.

2. Check on Student Learning at the End of Each Unit

Checking on the student learning at the end of each unit is very urgent to know or measure the students' success in learning. Whether all of the students have already understood the lesson taught, or not yet. Since, the students have different competence in understanding the lesson, some of them may be can conduct the test or task well or successfully, meanwhile the others can not.  In other words, Checking on student learning at the end of each unit is a must that should be undertaken by the teachers.

3. Suggest to Students What They might Do to Correct Their Learning Difficulties

 In correcting the students' task or the result of the test, the teacher should exam clearly about the students' mistakes that is by underlining them in order the students are not confuse to correct. Therefore, if the teachers do want to improve their students' achievement, they should exam their students' task correctly.

4. Students then only work on materials to be mastered

The students will master the materials of learning well if their teachers can teach the materials specifically or by unit, not generally. Besides, the students also will undergo easiness in undertaking the task the test.

2.  The Assessment System: Correction, Washback , Feedback and Praise

In the assessment system, there are some items that should be noticed, namely: correction system, washback, feedback and praise.

a. Correction

In examining or correcting the students' answer sheets, the teachers should underline etc the students' mistakes clearly or specifically in order the students know their mistakes to revise and they are not confused anymore what they want to revise.

a. The Concept of Washback

Washback is a urgent part in the process of assessment because the washback dealing with the assessment or the test. The definition of washback is the effect of the test.  Snow stated that washback is the effects of the evaluation method on students’ study and practice method.

 According to Buck in Baily, the definition of washback, as follows :

“There is a natural tendency for both teachers and students to tailor their classroom activities to the demands of the test, especially when the test is very important to the future of the students, and pass rates are used as measure of the teacher success. This influence of the test on the classroom (referred to as washback by language testers) is, of course, very important; this washback effects can be either beneficial or harmful.

b. The Concept of Feedback

Meanwhile, the definition or understanding of feedback is a suggestion given to the students and there is respond from the students. The suggestion should use a polite statement in order the students are not offended. The feedback is very important to be given to the students in order they do not make mistakes anymore. Hattie et al stated that feedback is conceptualized as information provided by an agent (e.g., teacher, peer, book, parent, self, experience) regarding aspects of one's performance or understanding.

Knight  declared that If the students do not get feedback, they may be continue to make the same mistakes repeatedly and fail to improve performance. Students can be guided when they are doing things badly or incorrectly by the feedback we  give them on their work. This is often one of the more valued aspects of tutor’s role, when students are given fairly comments, in writing or orally, about what is going wrong, so that they do not continue to make the same mistakes.

c. The Concept of Praise

The word of ‘praise’ in the washback strategies can be defined as a words, phrases, expressions, or statement that were used by the teacher to commend the students’ work, not only to the students who undertook the test successfully, or gained the satisfied achievement, but also to the students who conducted the test poorly or made many mistakes in carrying out the test or the task. 

Brophy in Tap et al  ³¹defined praise as "to commend the worth of or to express approval or admiration."  Bennett in Tap et al ³²defined as "any statement that 'makes a positive evaluation of an object, person, act or event.  Henderlong et al ³³stated that praise refers to “positive evaluations made by a person of another’s products, performances, or attributes, where the evaluator presumes the validity of the standards on which the evaluation is based.

The purpose of giving a praise in the washback strategies particularly towards the students who could conduct the task or test successfully was very urgent. Since, it  could not only urge and motivate their spirit and desires, but also to perform something better as challenge in the future. Jeffrey at al ³⁴state that the teacher praise is universally recommended as an effective tool to increase students’ academic achievement and for social behavior in the classroom. Maureen et al ³⁵stated that teachers regularly use praise as an instructional strategy to increase the occurrence of children's positive social and academic behaviors.

Thus, the application of the approach "mastery learning" in improving or enhancing  the students' achievement or score, and the correct assessment system:  washback, feedback and praise, will come true if the teachers carry out well and seriously.