Milestone Test Suggestions

[NC Hokie]

My squadron has recently lost two families in large part due to frustration with the Mitchell milestone tests.  In both cases the cadets were good students and otherwise outstanding cadets that just got tired of multiple iterations of taking and failing one of the Mitchell tests.  Does anyone have any constructive suggestions that do not involve test compromise that might help my future cadets successfully pass these tests?

I have honestly lost count of the number of cadets who have hit the wall at the Wright Brothers Award or Mitchell Award that either quit outright or hang around and eventually lose interest as they see their peers move ahead (usually after enduring multiple rounds of fail-retake of their own) without them.  I feel like I'm failing my cadets, and that is a feeling that I do not like.

[TheSkyHornet]

Which part of the test are they struggling with?
How is the test being administered (eServices, or paper)?
Does this seem to be a study habits issue?
Is the correct version of the Aerospace test being administered based on which edition of the aerospace book the cadets have?

Virtually nobody should be failing the Wright Brothers test at that level. If there's a mass amount of people failing both the Wright Brothers and the Mitchell on a regular basis, I'm questioning the administration of the tests.

[NC Hokie]

Which part of the test are they struggling with?
How is the test being administered (eServices, or paper)?
Does this seem to be a study habits issue?
Is the correct version of the Aerospace test being administered based on which edition of the aerospace book the cadets have?

Virtually nobody should be failing the Wright Brothers test at that level. If there's a mass amount of people failing both the Wright Brothers and the Mitchell on a regular basis, I'm questioning the administration of the tests.

Which part of the test are they struggling with?  Is there more than one?  These issues occur across the board.

We have tried doing the tests online and on paper, even though there shouldn't be any substantive difference between the two.

Well, it MAY be a study habits issue.  Is there any constructive guidance beyond, "reread all the material and take copious notes?"  We've been down that road to no avail.  It would be nice if NHQ provided some kind of sanctioned study guide for these tests.  I know of Quizlet, etc., but my concern is that they might be skating on the razors edge of test compromise.

Yes, we make sure that we're using the correct edition of the tests.

There aren't as many WBA fails but they do happen.  The problem, as stated by the cadets and especially their parents, is that we're conditioning them to take open book tests and then hitting them with much harder closed book tests that their previous CAP testing experience hasn't adequately prepared them for.  They're asking us what to do and we don't have any effective guidance to offer them.

[baronet68]

If someone can take an open-book test at home, but then has a problem taking a milestone test in a proctored environment, it tells me that they have probably been "CTRL+F-ing" their way through exams and have not been actually learning any of the material.

I haven't been a testing officer for many, many years so this is an honest question...

Can a testing officer administer a written exam to a cadet from previously passed content (e.g. retake achievement 6 for someone working on their Mitchell) to see if they can pass that exam in a close-book environment?

Failing an exam on material that was previously mastered could could spark a conversation about different ways to study and retain information/knowledge.

[Eclipse]

If someone can take an open-book test at home, but then has a problem taking a milestone test in a proctored environment, it tells me that they have probably been "CTRL+F-ing" their way through exams and have not been actually learning any of the material.

This was my thought as well.

I would suggest looking at the scores of the ACHs - if they are acing those and tanking the Milestones, that's
an indication they are not taking things seriously, and it's a study-habits issue. WB, especially, rarely gives cadets
too many issues beyond the drill portion, and that's usually point-able to poor teaching at the unit, corrected when it becomes apparent.

Unless all your cadets are tanking in the same way, you should not be beating yourself up about it, and
frankly, a cadet(s) quitting because they can't pass a milestone, especially Mitchell, may well be the system
working, because they clearly were not getting anything else out of the program, or at least not enough to
stick around. There's plenty of cadets out there who all but ignore progression beyond the minimums to
participate, and just have a grand old time anyway.

[TheSkyHornet]

How many cadets are we talking here? Two, or eight?

[NC Hokie]

If someone can take an open-book test at home, but then has a problem taking a milestone test in a proctored environment, it tells me that they have probably been "CTRL+F-ing" their way through exams and have not been actually learning any of the material.

Of course they are, after all, NHQ basically tells them to do that by putting the link to the searchable PDF right there above the button they use to start the test.

Failing an exam on material that was previously mastered could could spark a conversation about different ways to study and retain information/knowledge.

That's exactly the conversation I'm trying to have, but I'm getting responses of, "test administration failure," and, "the tests are getting rid of dead wood," instead.  I have run out of study methods, etc. to share with my cadets and hoped that the community here would have some ideas of their own to share.  Was that hope in vain?

How many cadets are we talking here? Two, or eight?

Two in the past four months, but those two led to the loss of their siblings too.  Five in the last four years.  Maybe not huge numbers, but my squadron typically has 15 or so active cadets so losing any that have been in the program for 2+ years hurts, especially over something that should be fixable.

[Fester]

If someone can take an open-book test at home, but then has a problem taking a milestone test in a proctored environment, it tells me that they have probably been "CTRL+F-ing" their way through exams and have not been actually learning any of the material.

This was my thought as well.

I would suggest looking at the scores of the ACHs - if they are acing those and tanking the Milestones, that's
an indication they are not taking things seriously, and it's a study-habits issue. WB, especially, rarely gives cadets
too many issues beyond the drill portion, and that's usually point-able to poor teaching at the unit, corrected when it becomes apparent.

Unless all your cadets are tanking in the same way, you should not be beating yourself up about it, and
frankly, a cadet(s) quitting because they can't pass a milestone, especially Mitchell, may well be the system
working, because they clearly were not getting anything else out of the program, or at least not enough to
stick around. There's plenty of cadets out there who all but ignore progression beyond the minimums to
participate, and just have a grand old time anyway.

If they are ignoring progression, they are ignoring their Oath.

Added: And if they are ignoring their Oath, their Leadership is failing them.  Epically.

[Fester]

If someone can take an open-book test at home, but then has a problem taking a milestone test in a proctored environment, it tells me that they have probably been "CTRL+F-ing" their way through exams and have not been actually learning any of the material.

Of course they are, after all, NHQ basically tells them to do that by putting the link to the searchable PDF right there above the button they use to start the test.

Failing an exam on material that was previously mastered could could spark a conversation about different ways to study and retain information/knowledge.

That's exactly the conversation I'm trying to have, but I'm getting responses of, "test administration failure," and, "the tests are getting rid of dead wood," instead.  I have run out of study methods, etc. to share with my cadets and hoped that the community here would have some ideas of their own to share.  Was that hope in vain?

How many cadets are we talking here? Two, or eight?

Two in the past four months, but those two led to the loss of their siblings too.  Five in the last four years.  Maybe not huge numbers, but my squadron typically has 15 or so active cadets so losing any that have been in the program for 2+ years hurts, especially over something that should be fixable.

I've experienced this frustration more than once.  I had a cadet pass his Mitchell leadership exam after 5 other failures.  After each failure, I suggested a different study method (Quizlet, re-taking all chapter quizzes, creating flash cards from these quizzes and then studying them, etc...)  Currently have a cadet working on her 4th attempt at the Wright Brothers test.  She's improved her score 10 points or more on each attempt so I use that progress to encourage her further.  If it's a test that another cadet in your unit has recently passed, I might suggest having those two cadets pair up as study partners. 

The tests are NOT easy.  They are not meant to be.

[Eclipse]

If someone can take an open-book test at home, but then has a problem taking a milestone test in a proctored environment, it tells me that they have probably been "CTRL+F-ing" their way through exams and have not been actually learning any of the material.

This was my thought as well.

I would suggest looking at the scores of the ACHs - if they are acing those and tanking the Milestones, that's
an indication they are not taking things seriously, and it's a study-habits issue. WB, especially, rarely gives cadets
too many issues beyond the drill portion, and that's usually point-able to poor teaching at the unit, corrected when it becomes apparent.

Unless all your cadets are tanking in the same way, you should not be beating yourself up about it, and
frankly, a cadet(s) quitting because they can't pass a milestone, especially Mitchell, may well be the system
working, because they clearly were not getting anything else out of the program, or at least not enough to
stick around. There's plenty of cadets out there who all but ignore progression beyond the minimums to
participate, and just have a grand old time anyway.

If they are ignoring progression, they are ignoring their Oath.

Added: And if they are ignoring their Oath, their Leadership is failing them.  Epically.

No argument there.

[TheSkyHornet]

So, this is where I would talk with my Cadet Commander, Flight Commanders, and First Sergeant to discuss study techniques for the milestone exams. They've conquered them first-hand. Their input should be valued. And they should be doing a lot of the mentoring to assist the cadets having difficulty in studying and passing their exams.

You might be sweating too much over this, though. Sure, it's a big deal that there's a large withdrawal; but is that rooted in testing being the issue, or the relationship they have with the two cadets who decided to drop?

If the entire roster starts fading, and they're not in the same family, then you're probably doing something wrong as a unit. But this may just be, in this case, an adverse overreaction by parents who pulled their kids out of the program (to no benefit of the cadets).

[MSG Mac]

 If you have several cadets going for a milestone, try getting them together to have a test prep training using questions from the samples at the end of each chapter.

[jb3]

I just proctored a WB test today for a cadet that previously failed it. I sat quietly and watched him move his mouse between answers. He passed and I can tell that he studied a lot. The main reason that I think he failed last time was the testing conditions. We previously did milestone testing during meetings but recently stopped as we weren't providing cadets the best possible testing conditions. Now we try to arrange to meet at the Base Library or USO on a non-meeting night. This takes more SM support but our meetings are too chaotic to provide the right environment to test.

[I_Am_Twigs]

I've found that I've never really had problems with my tests, milestone or not. I once winged an aerospace test and passed it with an 88% (I wouldn't recommend doing it, although, I'm pretty sure I became a page flipping wizard that day).

I think I've only ever "CTRL+F-ed" my way through a test once, and that was because I hadn't read the chapter in a while, I also didn't have my books on me. It wasn't my proudest moment. I'm a big advocate for actually reading the books, not once, but at least twice before taking a test.

I recommend focusing on the main ideas of each chapter or section. For example, I always had trouble understanding "The Great Man Theory" (Volume 1: Chapter 3), so I would read that section several times until I got it. Another idea may be to have them explain to you the idea behind each theory or idea, this way they may be able to connect a couple dots while explaining and become more familiar with the topic.

I've noticed that knowing the basic idea is usually enough to passed the tests with ease. With the Mitchell, from my personal experience, it depends on what aerospace test you're taking. Despite reading from 3rd edition books, I've found that the 2nd edition test was actually better (I took the test 7 times [my mistake was not studying enough], all of my highest scores were 76-78 and eventually 80 with the 2nd edition test, whereas my lowest was a 66% and that was with the 3rd edition test) because it was more focused on the mechanics or concepts rather than the history, which is what I preferred, so if you have a cadet that's better with remembering history or who did what, when and for whom, then the 3rd edition aerospace test would be the better option.