When dealing with assessments it is believed that some testing should be conducted to get a clear view of what one does not know so that they can obtain knowledge to succeed in life. In my opinion our children are tested too much in schools which include the ITBS, SRI, CRCT, and AR test. When is enough...enough? As an adult I have grown to hate test because sometimes it does not measure whether or not the content studied as been retained.
When looking into other countries I researched Botswana and assessments are given to move on from on level to another but test are not given there as they are in America. If you would like to read about Education in Botswana you may click on the following link:
http://www.sacmeq.org/education-botswana.htm
Stephanie,
ReplyDeleteI love the graphic, and you are right - there is just far too much testing going on. I think Botswana is on to something in only testing for promotion, and even with that I have reservations - it is not error proof. I just do not think tests should be the only determining factor in any decision.
I felt the same way about tests until I completed my first masters degree. That was when my "tests" were finally all performance based. My professors allowed us to show that we have retained the knowledge that they gave us in a paper that we wrote or by presenting the information to the class. Those are the ways that I shine. The information about Botswana is very interesting. Thanks for the link!
ReplyDeleteHi Stephanie! I must admit, I am not a good test taker and never have been. Yet, I am a prime example that standardized testing isn't a reliable source of data when it comes to my abilities and levels of knowledge. I graduated Valedictorian but scored poorly on the SAT and ACT tests for college. The war of using standardized testing in comparison of a students abilities and levels of knowledge have been going on for years and it's no secret, but our children are faced with the same issues each year. Will they ever put a stop to it or revise the tests somehow? It took a big toll on me. My report card says I'm smart, but my test scores makes me feel dumb. That's no way for a child to feel and I'm sure I was not the only one!
ReplyDeleteI think that testing children only to promote them to the next grade is a good thing because it measures the progress the children have gained throughout the year. But not testing them through the year does no allow them to see if they are gaining the information that is being taught to them.
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