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Error Analysis

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Error AnalysisWhy analyze errors?

● requires that students reflect upon their work.● encourages students to go back to the text and

review distractors’ purpose.● allows students to engage in a productive

struggle.● provides a structure for students to check their

work when they are mid-assessment.

Error Analysis

Error analysis helps train students to identify the distractors in answer choices.

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Error Analysis

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Errors students may make1. Students may not remember learning a concept; or they may never have learned the concept in the

first place.

2. Students may be confused by what the question is asking.

3. Students may not answer the question in its entirety.

4. Students may have misread the question.

5. Students may have incorrectly calculated an answer.

6. Students may be thinking about a different topic instead of what is being asked.

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Errors students may make and what you can doWas it brand new information? Is it something the student does not remember learning?

This type of error occurs when the student does not have a recollection of the content or the concepts. This might be because they were never taught it, they don’t remember, or perhaps they were absent that day. Additionally, this might be because students do not yet have some of the foundational skills that precede this specific concept.

What can you do?

Provide students with overviews or note summaries that capture all the content relevant. This can be provided explicitly, with a graphic organizer, or through cloze notes.

Was the answer connected to the question but not answering the exact question asked?

This type of error is considered to be an out of place error, in which students have selected an answer that is connected to the question asked but it doesn’t exactly fit. This could be due to students mixing up concepts or possibly not reading the question clearly.

What can you do?

Ensure that students are carefully reading questions. Suggest that students eliminate incorrect answers first so that they do not get distracted by them as they are trying to identify the correct answer.

Was the answer partially, though not completely, correct?

This type of error occurs when a student might be drawn to a more simplistic version of the answer. Perhaps there are three components of an answer, but students selected only two. This may happen when students are rushing or might not have a full grasp of the concept.

What can you do?Provide students with overviews or note summaries. Make sure that students are reading all the potential answers before selecting one. Suggest that students pause and reflect.

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Errors students may make and what you can doDid students misread the question?

Sometimes students misread the question! They may have been rushing, or they may have thought it said something else (or they may have expected something else).

What can you do?

Make sure students are reading every question slowly and carefully. Teach students to mark up the question. Teach students consistent question stems that they are likely to see.

Did they calculate an answer incorrectly (as in mathematics)?

This type of error occurs when students incorrectly calculated an answer. This might be by hand or using a calculator.

What can you do?

Require students to double and triple check their work. Encourage students to show their work, even when it is not required.

Was the answer completely disconnected from the question being asked?

This type of error might occur when a student answers something completely disconnected to the text. Their answer may seem plausible based on outside knowledge but is never actually mentioned or addressed in the text.

What can you do?Ensure that students are reading the question carefully and eliminating wrong answers before selecting correct answers.

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How students can do an Error Analysis

1) Select a question you answered incorrectly.

2) Write or discuss: why was your answer incorrect?a) Was it brand new information? Is it something you do not remember learning?b) Was the answer connected to the question, but not answering the exact question asked?c) Was your answer partially, though not completely, correct?d) Did you misread the question?e) Did you calculate an answer incorrectly (as in mathematics)?f) Was your answer completely disconnected from the question being asked?

3) Write down why the correct answer was correct.

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Strategies for Scaffolding Error Analysis

● Encourage students to do an error analysis with a peer. Working with a classmate can provide students with a new perspective.

● Come up with codes for the most common errors in your class and have students mark their returned assessments with the code. Students may notice a pattern in their own responses that they can apply as they continue with the assessments.

● Provide students with a graphic organizer to plan out their thinking for incorrect and correct answers.

● Encourage students to eliminate answers first. If they can eliminate answers they are confident are incorrect, they have more opportunities to sidestep errors.