Bombing a test on a bad day should not be the factor to make or break your grade. Students can fail because they’re anxious and stressed since they have many other important assignments and tests going on the same week.
These feelings of stress can be a negative impact on a student’s grade, which continues to add stress if there is no remediation available for the student.
Without remediation some students who failed the first time will have no opportunity to bring up their grade or learn the material they misunderstood.
This is why learning should be about helping students understand the material and not letting them drown when they make mistakes.
Teachers should take time for notes in class, have study guides and above all else provide students with a chance to remediate. Remediation should also be provided to students because it helps students both improve their grade and give them a second chance to understand the unit’s material.
Remediation does not have to be straight up retaking a test.
A good interpretation of remediation is chemistry department’s policy for remediating assessments. Students go over their past test with their teacher to figure out what went wrong. Then students are allowed to remediate the test with the same standards of information but different questions.
The IB history department also has a great remediation policy. Students can remediate both but the essential knowledge must be proficient before taking the essays to ensure that the student understands the content. This policy is ingenious because it not only allows students to improve their grade but also learn the material again by retaking the essential knowledge so that the student will be more prepared for the essay.
If this strategy of teaching was provided to every student, especially in more challenging courses, students would most likely be more academically successful.