bushidomartialarts
Senior Master
hi all. i was going to post this in the school owner forum, but decided i'd like the opinions of students and instructors alike on this one.
i run a school (about 120 students) and i'm seriously considering a major change in our testing process.
we've been doing the test monthly, come when you're ready sort of thing. we get a little less than 1/4 of our student body testing each month.
what i'm thinking of doing is changing to a process where we have rank testing every 4 months, but see to it that (just about) everybody tests on those days.
advantages i see:
* curriculum design becomes goal-oriented, which lends more energy to class
* borderline students may take their training more seriously. i mean, when was the last time you asked your college prof if you could take the final next month instead?
* test days can become a huge event what with everybody showing up
* i think it will create esprit de corps and general enthusiasm as the whole student body ramps up for test day
* four small tests take more work to run than one very large test
disadvantages i see:
* it might create a factory-type feel to the whole process
* students who go on vacation and wind up behind the curve are in a lot more trouble than the existing system
* we're a kenpo school, and some of the higher belt ranks might be crowded to stick 'em in 4 months' time
any critiques, thoughts, ideas, experience, questions, comments and dirty jokes would be appreciated. i'm leaning heavily towards this idea but would like some reality checking before making it so.
i run a school (about 120 students) and i'm seriously considering a major change in our testing process.
we've been doing the test monthly, come when you're ready sort of thing. we get a little less than 1/4 of our student body testing each month.
what i'm thinking of doing is changing to a process where we have rank testing every 4 months, but see to it that (just about) everybody tests on those days.
advantages i see:
* curriculum design becomes goal-oriented, which lends more energy to class
* borderline students may take their training more seriously. i mean, when was the last time you asked your college prof if you could take the final next month instead?
* test days can become a huge event what with everybody showing up
* i think it will create esprit de corps and general enthusiasm as the whole student body ramps up for test day
* four small tests take more work to run than one very large test
disadvantages i see:
* it might create a factory-type feel to the whole process
* students who go on vacation and wind up behind the curve are in a lot more trouble than the existing system
* we're a kenpo school, and some of the higher belt ranks might be crowded to stick 'em in 4 months' time
any critiques, thoughts, ideas, experience, questions, comments and dirty jokes would be appreciated. i'm leaning heavily towards this idea but would like some reality checking before making it so.