We use the field test as a replacement exam.  We do not allow re-writes.

Chandra Cabor

I have a very hard 15 multiple choice question test I give on the second last day of classes. It covers the entire course, they are diploma style questions, and they can't use graphing calculators on it.  Students can use the mark on this test to replace any unit test.  It gives students an incentive to ramp up their studying earlier than they might otherwise.  Also, I only do rewrites in exceptional circumstances so this is good for hard working students that have one bad test. It reduces the pressure from parents and students to do rewrites.  I was worried the first time I did this that it might artificially bump up my students marks but it hasn't been an issue.  If they work hard enough to do well on this replacement test, they almost always do very well on the diploma too.

I provide the opportunity to write replacement tests, but only after the students have performed corrections on the original test and met with me to discuss area's of confusion. Each test (original and rewrite) follows the diploma exam format, including some released diploma questions and questions from the assessments and exemplars document. I normally limit students to a max of 2 potential rewrites, as I want to try and avoid artificially inflating grades.

I tried uploading the file and it says the file size is too large.  It's only 1.4 MB so I think the file size limit needs to be increased.  

Here's a link to two versions of the test in Dropbox.  You can download them from there.  

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/fy9ydti9n4vbk0m/iEYg0diNt4

It's the same test, just with the questions scrambled.  I hand out alternating versions to students sitting beside each other just in case there are wandering eyes. 

There's .docx, .doc and .pdf versions.

I used to use the field test as a replacement exam until I realized that those questions are being tested, not the students and so their validity has not yet been established.

I used to use a single replacement exam covering the whole course to replace a single topic unit test until I realized that I was using trigonometric understanding to arrive at a mark for exponents and logs.

I used to limit rewrites until I realized that was putting a limit on how much my students were allowed to learn.

I give three (or some years four) topic tests during the year. I allow students to rewrite any or all of them. To earn their rewrite, a student must first correct their original test, then complete a rewrite package (review questions from the units covered) that is relevant to their areas for improvement. After I see evidence that a student has new understanding of a topic, then they can write a retest. All of my test and retests are written so there is very little worry about cheating or about luck playing a role in any improvement.

Mark inflation is not something you can measure by comparing a classroom mark to a diploma exam mark so I don't worry about that, and since student's understanding has improved their marks should improve so any increase is not inflation but accurate current reporting.