by Katherine Winton (’25) | February 3, 2023

Students are generally well-versed in many subjects, attending classes, taking exams, and (hopefully) performing well. But when teachers are given tests in subjects that they do not teach, how well do they perform? The Lancer put five teachers from different subjects into a classroom and have them take one another’s tests in order to answer this question.

The Lancer: Whose exam are you taking, and when was the last time you took a class in this subject?

Mr. Daniel Meyer: I am taking Schuggs’s exam, and I can’t even remember the last time I took a history class… I’m assuming it was high school… How many years ago was that? Twenty plus.

Mr. Evan Pasion (’03): I’m taking Ms. Sherrard’s AP Lang exam. I took a version of this class from Mr. Quinn in 2001.

Mr. Matt Scharrenberg (’95): I have Mr. Meyer’s. I maybe took science in college… So I would say 1997.

Ms. Amy Sherrard (’10): I have an economics test; I’ve never taken economics.

Mr. Zachary Herhold: I think I have Mr. Pasion’s test, and the last time I took a math test was freshman year in college, so 2009.

TL: Do you feel ready for the test, and do you have any last words?

DM: No, and I hope this doesn’t affect my future employment.

EP: I will say no, and I apologize to Mr. Quinn if he did teach this in class, because I do not remember it anymore.

MS: No, and I’m telling you, whatever I get on this is what your grade will be to start the second semester.

AS: I’m going to say maybe because maybe I listened to enough NPR to understand econ.

ZH: I’m going to say no. I’m not prepared, but I’m not going to use any last words, because the ones I would use would be profane.

After all the teachers completed each other’s tests, they returned them, graded them, and handed them back to each prospective “student.” Their tests were graded by their respective instructors and returned to the test takers.

TL: On a scale of one to ten, how hard would you say the test you just took was?

DM: I would go 6 or 7; I felt like there were enough context clues and I’ve watched enough of the History Channel that I could get a sense of what was going on.

EP: If I were in the class, it would be a 4 or 5, but having not known what anything means, about an 8.

MS: This was a 10. I had no idea what the hell was going on. I have no idea what HTP—ATP or NADP is….

AS: I think if I were taking econ, it would be a 4, but since I’ve never taken econ, I didn’t know anything, so a 10.

ZH: Mine was hard. I have a car loan currently, and that thing was asking me to calculate some of those functions, and I still don’t think the context clues made sense to me, so I’m going to say a 9. 

TL: After grading their test, how would you say the other teacher did on the test that you gave them? If they were a student discussing their grade with you, what would you say to them?

DM: I would say there’s a lot of room for growth. I would say that without attending class, it would be very difficult to be successful on that test, but the great thing is there’s so much more to learn now. Try again.

EP: I would say it was a solid effort, but with some additional collaboration time, they could bring themselves up to class average. But they’re already above average for a Bellarmine student, so they should feel good about themselves.

MS: Excellent on the multiple choice…. For the written, let’s use the text a little bit more; there might be answers hidden in there for you, so let’s work on the written because that’s really where you get to demonstrate your knowledge.

AS: I would say great concept, not enough exploration.

ZH: I would just like to start by saying that Amy is a pleasure to have in class. She’s really bright. But you just can’t ace the supply and demand test if you don’t know the supply and demand laws and how to graph them, and I think that really held her back.

TL: How would you say that you did on your test? Did it match your expectation of how you thought you would do coming into it?

DM: I was a little nervous going into it, and I kind of just looked at the context to see what I could do. I was pleasantly surprised that I passed, but I think a lot of that was simply being lucky that a lot of World War Two movies are entertaining.

EP: I’m happy with my performance; I got above fifty percent. I fully expect to get it up to eighty-five percent at the next collaboration. I’ll be seeing Ms. Sherrard.

MS: I am disappointed. I thought I would maybe know something; I knew nothing.

AS: I thought I was only going to get 1 out of 19, but I got 4 out of 19. I’m going to ride that minimum fifty percent out into the sunset.

ZH: I’m shocked. I did not recognize a lot of this test. Two of the ones I felt better about, I got wrong, and everything else, I got right.

TL: Finally, having gone through this experience, is there anything that you would like to say to students?

DM: The test only shows the smallest sliver of what you know.

EP: Mr. Herhold got a passing score, so what’s your excuse?

MS: I don’t have anything thoughtful, but I think I would’ve done better if I was in class.

AS: Class is a lot easier if you attend and are awake.

ZH: I would say I’m really impressed by our students. To have that depth of knowledge is really impressive to me, and it obviously goes away after a couple of years. I hope they enjoy getting to know a variety of subjects.

This experience has provided a better view of how well (or not so well) teachers perform in subjects they do not teach. Evidently, even teachers admire that students attend a variety of classes and have such expansive knowledge.