Choices

I want to blog about something that many teachers may be afraid of.  That topic is giving choices to our students.  I recently had someone tell me that I should not give any choices to students with regards to taking a test of any kind.

Let's seemingly take a sidenote.  Imagine that you are walking down a darkened hallway and someone comes out and backs you into a corner and says "You are going to take a test for me...AND YOU DON'T HAVE A CHOICE ABOUT IT"  (Insert, if you will, an evil and maniacal laugh here).  How would you respond?  You are being backed into a corner with no choices and no idea what you are doing, except that you are taking a "test."  What kind of test, what happens if you fail it?

That may have seemed like a sidenote, but in all reality, it is what we are doing to these kids if we don't give them any choice.  A logical and excellent question is "Then what do we do?"  Because obviously we have the students take them or else we will get into trouble and they will probably get into trouble.  What I suggest is letting the students know what the test is all about about a week in advance.  Then, we can ask them when they would like to take it.

Then the question becomes: what if they want to take it on different days?  I say, let's let them, it gives them an advantage over the test.  They can get themselves mentally ready and know what is going to be on the test and then they may want to take it.  The other option, should the school district refuse to let you do this is asking the student: Do you want to this test now are in a half-hour.  Because in all reality, a half-hour is not going to destroy their test because the test is still going to be there in a half-hour.

What do you think?  Should we just shove a test at a student and expect them to not freak out or get stressed or lash out?