Educational Testing

The United States focuses heavily on standardized testing and curriculum that is catered to the tests. While it's nice to have a foundation and guideline to follow when comparing schools across the nation, it does not give children the opportunity to explore and learn more than what is required for a test. I believe in order to properly measure student's intelligence, we must focus on the process of learning. How do they intake information? How long does it take them to process this information? Are they able to apply it to different areas of their life? What concepts do they struggle with, and why? There are so many ways to assess a child and find out more about them as a learner, but instead we expect every child to test the exact same way and excel on the same scale, when it's not realistic.

My father grew up in Iran and would tell me stories about his education experiences. In Iran, assessments have always traditionally been summative and nation-wide. If a student failed a summative test at the end of the year, they would have to redo the entire year including all the same classes. A few years ago their education system attempted to revamp assessments and make a change from the traditional standards to a more modern approach. The emphasis is "on changing quantitative assessments to qualitative ones and replacing summative with formative evaluations" (Arani, Kakia, & Karimi, 2012, p. 9). This piloted change revealed that children's learning improved and there was overall less exam stress since it happened throughout the learning.

I believe it's important to take this into consideration because learning is a process, and we must try to observe the process rather than solely the end results. Having students use journals, portfolios, and other cumulative methods more effectively gauge growth and understanding.


Arani, A.M., Kakia, L., Karimi. V. (2012). Assessment in education in Iran. Retrieved from http://www.nwu.ac.za/sites/www.nwu.ac.za/files/files/p-saeduc/New_Folder_1/3_Assessment%20in%20education%20in%20Iran.pdf

 Bidwell, A. (2013, December 3). American students fall in international academic tests, Chinese lead the pack. Retrieved from https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2013/12/03/american-students-fall-in-international-academic-tests-chinese-lead-the-pack

Comments

  1. Trish TowneDecember 9, 2017 at 9:33 PM

    Hi Tara,

    I can not imagine having to take a whole year over from failing a summative test. That sounds tough and stressful. I also feel we put too much stress on the end result rather than how we get there. If we focus all of our time on the information, we miss out on all the other skills that should be developed as we learn.

    Trish

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  2. Deaja SwainDecember 10, 2017 at 4:49 AM

    Tara,

    I resonate. How can we give students all this information not knowing how they learn? Focusing on the process of learning is a very important factor. Each child is different and we shouldn't be comparing them to each other. Wow! Having to take the whole class over because you fail the summative test at the end of the year is definitely tough.

    Deaja

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  3. UnknownDecember 10, 2017 at 1:31 PM

    I agree with you on the standardized testing. Students should not have to take a test that the state provides to see how much he or she knows. The information they provide on that does is nothing a child learned in the classroom. To me, it is a process to learning, and this is not the way.

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousDecember 10, 2017 at 4:08 PM

    Hi Tara!

    I am against state standardize test as well. I feel that state standardize test is not made for all students. It is very strange that they still exist being as though school systems are moving into differentiated instruction, and how are children learn different. The fact that these test are hours long and our students do not like the concept of sitting in a chair for that long. I like that you said process learning is a better way to assess students.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Megan SmithDecember 10, 2017 at 6:27 PM

    I love your ideas of journals or portfolios to show a child's progress, rather than standardized testing! I belive that these are great ways to show parents and funders how individual children are developing. Standardized testing also does not allow children to show off "how" they know things, but rather that they simply know those things.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Trish TowneDecember 19, 2017 at 8:00 PM

    Tara,

    It has been so wonderful to have you in another course this semester. Your insights into the subject matter have been helpful and thoughtful. I truly appreciate all of the comments you have left for me on the discussion board and on my blog. I have also enjoyed your stories. They helped the content of what we were studying more relatable.
    Hope to have you in the next course/courses! If not, I'm sure our paths will cross agiain.
    Wishing you all the best,
    Trish

    ReplyDelete

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