It doesn't matter when you learn it, so long as you learn it. A student’s grade should reflect her current understanding of the course, not last month’s, not her understanding when it was convenient for me to assess her. Keep a loose grip on your students' grades.
My assessment policy needs to direct my remediation of your skills. My comprehensive test on "Twelfth Night" won't do much for us two months down the road when you come in looking to patch yourself up. Assign separate scores to "Twelfth Night Themes," "Twelfth Night Vocabulary," and "Twelfth Night [whatever else it is you English teachers do]," scores which can be targeted and remediated individually.
My assessment policy needs to incentivize your own remediation. How many students will put in the effort to remediate their skills if the reward isn't tangible and immediate? Traditionally, what do you have? The promise that your studying here at lunch is really gonna pay off on the next test? Which is in three weeks. The student's like, awesome, glad I came in.
Dan Sherman on 12 Nov 10TenMarks is the best math practice and learning program for grades 3-High School and as of today, it's FREE for teachers to use - in class or for their students to use at home. The TenMarks approach gives students a variety of problems on each topic, and ability to use hints if they need a little nudge, and immediate video lessons for them to refresh and learn the topic - on the spot. The end result - students refresh what they know and learn what they don't. Teachers choose their own curriculum (mapped to state standards), assign work to students, have it automatically graded immediately, review individual and class performance, and most importantly, take immediate action. TenMarks is super effective and real easy to use - it was designed with the help of math teachers across the country. What's more - it's FREE for the entire class! Check it out at http://www.tenmarks.com/teachers.
