How to Turn Test Retakes Into a Classroom Staple

Road tests, welding certifications, the bar exam, and even airline pilot check rides allow for retakes. If adults get multiple tries to pass important tests, why shouldn’t students? Why are classroom assessments treated differently?

When classrooms operate on a “You had your chance” system, grades end up reflecting how quickly students learn, or how well they navigate a teacher’s rules. Students should instead have more than one opportunity to show what they know and can do, which is far closer to how learning works in real life.

The common counterargument about redos is that they lower standards. But in practice, retakes are a better reflection of how learning actually works. Teachers are raising the bar; they’re refusing to let students take a failing grade and move on, and they’re acknowledging that different students work at different speeds. The true challenge for teachers isn’t about whether retakes are worth it—it’s how to make retakes work within the day‑to‑day realities of classrooms.

Consider just a few of the questions that come up when students get another chance to show what they know:

• How should students adjust their preparation before they take an assessment for a second time?
• When, specifically, will students be able to retake an assessment?
• Will students who prepared well the first time feel less motivated if retakes are available?
• How can teachers encourage the students who most need a retake to take advantage of the opportunity?
• How should teachers respond to colleagues who worry that their own students will now expect retakes?
• How should teachers respond to colleagues who feel that offering second chances undermines responsibility and accountability?

As university teacher educators with more than 35 years of combined middle and high school classroom experience, we’ve spoken with teachers across the country about how they’ve addressed the biggest retake questions. The teachers shared concrete solutions as part of a book that we recently cowrote, and we’re passing along some of those solutions for other educators.

Make Sure the Second Attempt is Better Than the First

Teachers have repeatedly emphasized to us that the point of a retake is better learning, not just a better grade. Some students haphazardly prepare for the initial assessment, and so on their own, they rarely know how to study differently for a second attempt. Many students need help pinpointing where their understanding broke down; if they head into a retake without that insight, real improvement is unlikely.

Teachers should first diagnose the problem: Did the student miss key instruction due to absences? Are they disorganized and missing materials, or unsure how to review their notes? Are they holding a misconception that needs targeted reteaching?

Once the reason for the low assessment score is understood, the next step is to create a study plan. Collaboratively, the teacher and student can brainstorm ways to prepare, with the student committing to one or more options. These options include completing the exam study guide, reviewing the materials used in class, creating a digital presentation on the topic, annotating the readings or other materials, creating and reviewing flash cards for key vocabulary or concepts, or doing targeted practice problems aimed at specific gaps in knowledge.

Establish Retake Logistics

Once the reason for a student’s low score is clear and a study plan is in place, the next challenge is logistical: When, exactly, will students get to retake the assessment?

Many teachers choose to build retakes into the school day. In several Oregon high schools, for example, a weekly “flex” period gives students time to see teachers outside of regular class, which means students with sports, jobs, or family responsibilities can still access extra help and retake opportunities.

In schools without built-in flex time, teachers often team up, rotating responsibilities so that each hosts one lunchtime retake session per week. When content‑alike colleagues use common assessments, their students can get expert support from any teacher on duty. Other teachers embed retakes directly into class by using a workshop model, where some students work on practice or enrichment while others sit for a retake. This strategy allows the teacher to meet multiple needs in the same period.

In addition to scheduling considerations, teachers should weigh the benefits of targeted retakes. It’s rare for a student to miss the mark on an entire assessment; more often, they struggle with just one or two parts. In these cases, it’s far more effective for the teacher and student to pinpoint specific gaps and limit the retake to those areas, rather than repeating the whole test.

Targeted retakes mean less grading for teachers, who only rescore the sections tied to missed learnings. Targeted retakes are also a more focused practice for students, who can concentrate on the skills they have not yet mastered, instead of redoing what they already know. There is little reason to reassess a target when a student has already shown clear proficiency.

Grade Less and Learn More

It’s true that retakes can take extra time and energy, but the alternative—students are stuck with a failing mark and no path forward—is far more costly. By high school, many students have experienced repeated academic failure; some have never been taught how to study effectively, while others are convinced the material is simply beyond them. Many students stop trying altogether. Structured chances to relearn and reassess, paired with clear scaffolds, are signs to students that adults are not giving up on their learning and that improvement is still possible.

To address colleagues’ understandable concerns about whether retakes lead to lowered standards, teachers should consider inviting departments, grade-level teams, and professional learning communities to look at retakes research together. It also helps when teachers present simple before-and-after data about retakes in their classrooms. Teachers can even incorporate short student reflections about how the option to retake has changed their effort level, lowered their stress, improved their confidence, and sharpened their sense of fairness.

A thoughtful retake process for summative assessments offers another benefit: It often goes hand-in-hand with grading fewer pieces of formative practice work. When teachers reserve grades for demonstrations of learning and use retakes to help students reach proficiency, they send a powerful message that every student is capable of growth—and that the job of grading is to recognize where students finish, not where they stumble.