I believe that it is important to measure all aspects of a child. Because learning and aptitude may change through life, just measuring a child’s linguistic or problem-solving performance at one given time doesn’t give a clear picture of what the child may be capable of.
Unfortunately, standardized tests are aimed at children who are strong in linguistics. A child has to be able to read the questions, internalize and understand what is being asked, and answer them. They don’t take into account a child that may understand the material but need to express it through another way. A perfect example of this is when I taught eighth grade science. We were studying the states of matter and I allowed my students to demonstrate in any way they chose what they learned. Some chose to write, some drew, and others chose to “act” the states out as a group. The important thing was that I could assess which students understood states of matter and which didn’t. Had I assessed this with a traditional “paper & pencil” test, some of these students may not have been able to demonstrate their knowledge.
Howard Garner and his multiple intelligence theory show that children can be intelligent in many different ways. They may be stronger in logical-mathematical thinking, musical, spatial, or bodily-kinesthetic. Only through performance assessments (such as the one I described above) can you truly measure what a student has learned.
In France, the "baccalaureat" used to be a narrow examination with focus on humanities and mathematics. But as French schools became more diversified, it has become a differentiated with 28 different options and 23 different sets of questions. At age 15 to 16, students begin a three-year, specialized course of study. The exam includes essay-type questions in the core subjects (history and geography, French, and philosophy) and students take additional exams in their area of concentration (philosophy and liberal arts, economics and social sciences, or mathematics and the sciences). Some subjects, usually languages, also include oral exams.
Hi Kathy,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your post. I enjoyed feel so bad that our students intelligence is measured in one instance. Like you stated in your example of the states of matter students have different ways of showing their understanding.
Kathy,
ReplyDeleteI also really enjoyed reading your post! I love the example you provided of how you tested your 8th graders allowing them to choose the method. I would bet those students still remember the states of matter and could go into detail as well! Such a great idea!
Lydia
I enjoyed reading your post. I agree that testing should come in different forms. Assessment is important; however, it should be done in several ways and different times of the year. One test should not determine a child's development.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your information. Cindy
It's hard to believe we are already in Week 8 of our second class ... Thank you for sharing your insight throughout the discussion posts and via your blog. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading your thoughts and have appreciated hearing your more personal stories. You helped me understand the concepts better - thank you!
ReplyDeletePerhaps we will be in the same group again in the future!
Lydia