In the United States, it is common for students to be assessed in the core subjects (language arts, math, science, and history). These assessments are usually in the form of standardized tests. Students simply write responses to a long list of questions. The questions only test one aspect of the students' development. When viewing children holistically, there should be a range of developments that are assessed in various ways. One way to start is by looking at Howard Gardner's multiple intelligence theory. The multiple intelligences include linguistic, musical, logical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and naturalistic (Parkway & Standford, 2004). Children may have a high IQ in one area and a low IQ in another area. By assessing according to the intelligences, one can see areas of development in each of the domains. Additionally, educators should consider different learning styles and should use various forms of assessment. Not all students are successful with pencil and paper tests. Performance- based and project- based assessments are great ways to assess knowledge and development. In the first assessment, teachers observe the children while completing a task. The task could require certain biosocial and cognitive developments that can be assessed during the observation. The other assessment involves the students working in teams to produce a final product. This type of assessment allows for psychosocial development to be assessed. Assessments should reflect the diversity among children. All children are not the same therefore, alternative methods must be used to assess areas in all of the developmental domains.
Assessment in China
In china, educators are putting much effort into school-based assessments. There has been a major reform over the past couple of years issued by the Ministry of Education (MOE). The goal of the reform is to make the assessments more student centered. The first way they hope to achieve this is by expanding the curriculum to include practical knowledge. Students are taught how to solve real-life problems, and teachers were given the freedom to create unique assessments. Traditional tests were limited and assessments are now focused on the students' progress. Portfolio assessment is strongly encouraged. The MOE also stopped ranking students by percentages to eliminate competition (Lingbiao, 2007). Furthermore, the amount of assessments that are given has been reduced. All of these changes in assessment is due to one goal: viewing the children holistically.
Personal Experience with Assessment
From my personal experiences with standardized tests, I would strongly suggest that educators use a variety of assessments. My scores on standardized test never reflected how well I did in school. My school grades were much higher than my test scores. I believe this is because my teachers used various forms of assessment in the classroom. The state assessments were timed pencil and paper tests. The timing aspect of the tests would cause me to have anxiety, and then I would not be able to perform at my best. Educators should consider the amount of pressure they put on students when they require them to finish a test in a certain amount of time. For this reason, I believe that time limits for standardized tests should be eliminated.
References
Lingbiao, G. (2007, January 6). Assessment reform in China: A respond to the international trend in the new century. Retrieved from http://xypj.cersp.com/GLB/LUNWEN/200701/3223.html
Parkway, F. W. & Stanford, B. H. (2004). Becoming a teacher (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.
Krista,
ReplyDeleteThank you for bring up the importance of assessing children in a multitude of ways. I too have a hard time taking test. I get myself all worked up and I then over thing everything that I am reading. We did not have yearly standardized test when I was in high school; however I had to take the SAT three times because my mind went blank on it. Same thing happened when I took the PPST in 1986, so I could take upper level education courses and my Exit Exam so I could obtain my teacher’s endorsement. Each time I knew the material, but my mind goes blank because I am so nervous.
Rhonda
Hi Krista, I had the same personal experience with assessment. When it came to time test, I always suffered from text anxiety. I can remember loving to do writing assignments or project to demonstrate what I learn. When it came to standardized test, I struggled with even now.
ReplyDeleteThanks,
Andrea
Krista,
ReplyDeleteYour comments about consideration being given to the child's learning style is so important. I think many of us suffer from paper and pencil-type test anxiety. By offereing a variety ways to measure student progress, it gives us a more realistic picture of a child's ability. I think in many ways those people making the decisions about how we are expected to assess children in a formal way such as state standardized tests are really missing important elements by relying so heavily on just the test.
It was interesting to read about the shift in thinking in China in terms of assessing children's ablilty and progress. I think the addition of practical knowledge is something we could learn from in our educational system. In my Head Start program , portfolios are a big part of how we monitor progress. Maybe the school-age world needs to consider making this part of how we measure a child's progress.
Hi Krista,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your blog. I agree, there are too many standardized tests. We all know children and adults learn and understand things differently, so why are we creating tests that do not best fit their learning styles? Many children get lost in the system of standardized testing. I think when we do this to children they are even harder on themselves and may even fear testing. If we would work indiidually with children and look at the whole child we would be able to offer a greater benefit to struggling children.
Krista,
ReplyDeleteThank you for all of your contributions to EDUC 6160. Your research based information, in weekly discussions, provided me with much more information than I started this course with. Good luck with your future courses and have a great holiday.
Amanda