What's Missing?
This is not a multiple choice question and it's not a trick question. Feel free to add your own answer to the prompt: What is missing in assessment today?
My answer to that question is logic and balance. Let me explain my analysis and conclusion with a story. My son was an average student in elementary school. He complained about the stories that he had to read and was a more engaged reader when he came home and could read Ranger Rick or National Geographic for Kids. In school he read literature and wrote narratives. He did well in math but until middle school his language arts grades were ordinary. In 8th grade, during career day, he listened to a Pfizer scientist explain his research. In the course of that day, my son decided that he too, wanted to be a scientist. Since that day he completed high school at the top of his class, scored 5s on his AP biology, chemistry, and physics tests, earned a Bachelor's degree in biochemistry and completed a PhD in molecular and cell biology. He is now working as a research scientist, searching for a cure to infectious diseases.
Clearly, I'm proud of him, but my point is that if he were allowed to flounder through years of standardized test preparation in language arts and if we hadn't seen his STEM spark and arranged for enrichment, there's a good chance he would be a frustrated scientist and mediocre literary writer. He now writes for scientific journals and presents at international conferences.
The logic of waiting until all children achieve mastery on standardized tests, combined with the emphasis on a narrow set of standards, is hurting our children and doing irreparable harm to our future. It's time to change this lock-step progression. For children who need additional time and support to develop mastery, it is essential to provide that. Rather than keeping everyone on the bunny slope, move those who are move advanced to the black diamond trails. Let's support their progression to the 21st century skills that will move our country forward and make it globally competitive. This means assessments must be developed that measure skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, and creativity. There needs to be logic in what we teach and balance in the way we assess.
posted by Assessment Network @ 4:44 AM
2 Comments
2 Comments:
I think that what is missing in assessment is an extension for those learners, like your son, who master a subject but are not pushed to learn more. Often times, when a student masters a subject, it is presumed that the learning is over. What we need to understand as teachers is that the learning is never over, but it is hard to blame the lack of exploration and further learning only on teachers. Because of the pressure put on teachers to have high scores on standardized tests, there is no time to waste on students that already "get it". Although three or four students have mastered a topic, there are most likely 12 or 13 more that have not, and time must be spent on these students to ensure that they pass the test. But, if the tests differentiated and leveled, the way we are trained to teach, then an appropriate amount of teaching can be spent on each student, and everyone will be taught and tested at an appropriate level. Rather than testing students at "grade level", test them on their abilities and skills. This way, each student can work where they are comfortable, make progress when needed, and extend their learning when necessary. High achieving students will not be pushed aside if this new way of testing is adopted.
I think the emphasis on grading and homework is creating a world where students are doing what they can to "get by". The past few days at my internship students have been figuring their grades so that if they failed or didn't take their final, what they're grade for the year would be. I think assessments are becoming a "mountain" to them and once they're over it the understanding and knowledge they gained seems to vanish. Creating assessments that motivate students and engage them seems like a daunting task these days, but if done correctly students will remember the activity in a year or a few years and still understand the concepts that it entailed. There are too many discrepancies in grading and teaching to really correctly measure how well assessments are doing in education right now. In a class in my internship she distinctly doesn't allow the students to work in groups often because she believes that students aren't being trained to think on their own anymore, between the internet and cell phones students are always looking at other ways to "think". How can students really complete assessments if they're not thinking for themselves? It's a weird thing to contemplate. Sorry went a little off topic but it's so frustrating!
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