Considering a
commitment to viewing young children holistically (i.e., a commitment to
"the whole child"), what, if anything, do you believe should be
measured or assessed? Explain your reasoning.
I honestly found this question really hard to answer. To
begin, I know that I do not believe in standardized testing for many reasons.
First, I believe that one method of assessment is not a true testament of a
child’s abilities. I was always very fortunate in that I perform very well on
examinations. My younger sister is probably brighter than me and in high school
was always more driven and motivated however, she for one reason or another
cannot perform well on exams. Her marks would be stellar all year and then
would plummet after writing a final examination. How fair is that? She always
did well in school so this didn’t affect her very much but for others it could
have a huge impact. As a teacher I am always looking for ways to make my
students successful. I get to know my group of learners and then plan
activities and lessons accordingly. Assessments are also done this way. My
students get ample opportunities to show what they know and what they can do in
ways that suit their needs and their learning style. So now if I teach grade 3
and this is the way my students have worked and found success the entire year,
now they all have to sit down and show what they know in a rote paper pencil
examination? How backwards is this? Students should be seen holistically and in
order for this to occur they need to be able to express themselves and what
they know in many different ways. In as many ways as it takes so that all can
be successful. When I work with others on a task I am thankful that my
co-workers all have different skills and talents to offer up. My weaknesses are
often times someone else’s strengths and vice versa. I believe that as teacher’s
it is our job to help our children learn and to make learning fun and enjoyable
so that they are eager and engaged to continue bettering themselves. I have
seen with my own eyes the pride they have in their achievements when someone is
genuinely rooting them on. They want to impress and please someone they know
truly cares about their success. Therefore, I believe it is important to
measure how far a student has grown. To take where they are at, celebrate
successes and give encouraging next steps. In a perfect world this is what the
educational system should be based on- success for all!
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In what ways are school-age children assessed
in other parts of the world? (Choose a country or region of the world for which
you have a personal affinity.)
This week I
looked at Japan and the way in which school aged children are assessed in
school. The first thing I noted is that in Japan students have standardized
testing in Literacy, Numeracy and also in Science. This differs from the
Ontario system in that only Literacy and Numeracy are tested in our system. The
second difference is that testing is the bulk of education when students reach
junior high level at 12 years of age. An article from Japan Today states that: “Unfortunately,
this all ends at age 12. Those are the years that exam hell starts and from
which students never really recover. The standardized test-based education
system of Japan that starts in the junior high school years kills any kind of
initiative, creativity and especially thinking outside of the box” (Moderator,
2010). The article explains that it is not only the students of Japan that have
a difficult time with this educational system.
It states that the teachers are too. “Many have to take time off work
due to stress, while others create a life of drudgery for their pupils. Many
Japanese seem to have lost their love for education and learning once they
enroll in junior high school” (Moderator, 2010). The Japanese are often deemed
as pioneers and even masters when it comes to education. It was really an eye
opener to read an article that depicts their system as full of faults and
archaic.
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What additional
ideas, comments, suggestions, examples, and/or concerns related to assessing
young children would you like to share with your colleagues?
In Ontario Canada, our students face provincial testing in
both literacy and numeracy in Grades 3, 6, and 9. This testing is completed by
paper and pencil examinations where only students who have individualized
education plans indicating a need for assistive technology can use alternative
methods to complete the exams. This infuriates me because students who do not
learn in such a way are unsuccessful. We talk about differentiated instruction
all year round as teachers. We give our students multi-modal learning tasks and
then all of a sudden the students are all given one form of assessment and are
expected to succeed. We have established years ago that students learn in
different ways, our Ministry of Education funds and mandates teaching to
multiple intelligences and then our government makes us assess everyone in a
rote, one answer, black and white, archaic testing method. Furthermore,
teachers and school boards have begun to “teach to the test” meaning that they
now know a formula of what types of questions are asked and they spend all year
beating it into their students’ heads. How wrong is this? Is this truly an
indication of what our children can do or is just skewed data and a very
backwards system?
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References:
Moderator, June 16, 2010. Japan
and its standardized test-based education system. Japan Today. Retrieved from; http://www.japantoday.com/category/opinions/view/japan-and-its-standardized-test-based-education-system