A student can complete 20 questions and still leave a teacher with very little useful information, writes Henry Yang, founder of EduNinja, an education technology platform, in an eSchool News essay. He offers these practices for improving learning strategies:
1) Start with the learning objective
Breaking a syllabus into manageable objectives gives teachers a more precise way to plan practice and gives students a clearer answer to the question, “What should I work on now?”
2) Use questions diagnostically, not only for grading
A question bank can support formative assessment when organized by subject, course, topic, difficulty, and objective. The purpose is to make the evidence from each question easier to interpret. If several students miss questions that assess the same objective, a teacher can revisit that concept. If only one student is struggling, the next step can be individual practice rather than a whole-class reteach.
3) Give students a role in the process
After completing a short practice set, students should be able to identify which topics are secure, which need another attempt, and which require a different explanation. This becomes a feedback loop: practice, review the result, revisit the concept, and practice again.
4) Keep the assessment routine manageable
Teachers do not need to build every test from scratch. A practical system can allow them to select a course, subject, topic, and set of objectives, then assemble a focused test or revision activity. Reusable question sets reduce preparation time while still allowing the teacher to adjust the purpose, sequence, and level of challenge.
5) Use a structured question bank
For example, a syllabus-aligned question bank can be used as a starting point for building targeted practice across international courses. The important feature is the connection between each question, the learning objective it assesses, and the progress information that follows.
6) Technology should support professional judgment
Digital tools can organize evidence quickly, but they should not replace teacher interpretation. An automated explanation may be useful when a student is reviewing an answer, yet the teacher still decides whether the underlying issue is vocabulary, conceptual understanding, exam technique, or confidence. A useful platform should keep the course and syllabus structure visible rather than asking students to rely on generic content generated without reference to their program.
7) Create a practice cycle
Schools can begin with one class and one topic. First, identify three to five learning objectives. Next, create a short practice set that samples those objectives. Review the results by objective, not only by total score. Then give students a specific follow-up: revisit a concept, complete another small set, or attempt an extension task. Finally, repeat the check after a short interval and record what changed. This cycle produces more actionable information than a large test followed by a single mark.
The goal is not to test students more often. It is to make the practice that already happens more useful. When questions, learning objectives, feedback, and progress tracking are connected, teachers can respond to misconceptions earlier and students can take greater responsibility for their own revision.
eSchool News
