The ways in which a child
develops are intertwined and no matter how we try to separate them we can never
fully understand child development until we understand how all these paths of
development intersect. To say that we can figure out everything about a child
and their education and development by taking one simple test or by taking part
in one exam is naive and very foolish. In order to understand how any one child
is developing or progressing it is important to know about all parts of their
development, including intellectual development, spiritual development,
emotional development, physical development and the development of their
relationships. The way a child processes emotions will most definitely be
impacted by the relationships in their lives or their spiritual beliefs taught
to them by their families. Physical development is always important in child
development but a lot of people do not realize that this area of development can
also affect things such as intellectual development. Given all if this
information I think it is extremely important to consider all parts of child
development before judging a child and how they behave and learn because you
never know how one situation in their life may affect all of the other areas of
development.
In other countries things like child education assessments aren't the end all and most important part of education like they can be in America.
Most European countries are starting to move away from standardized testing because it doesn't provide a clear picture of everything a child needs to continue their development and I think that we should move in the same direction. Standardized testing tells me where my child is academically bur it is my relationship with her that tells me whether or not she is a normally functioning eleven year old girl (if that exists, LOL). I know that she can share emotion and has string relationships because I pay attention, not because of some test. I am of the opinion that we should change the way standardized tests are used to aid the school in changing and planning curriculum, not punishing the kids for doing poorly.
In other countries things like child education assessments aren't the end all and most important part of education like they can be in America.
Most European countries are starting to move away from standardized testing because it doesn't provide a clear picture of everything a child needs to continue their development and I think that we should move in the same direction. Standardized testing tells me where my child is academically bur it is my relationship with her that tells me whether or not she is a normally functioning eleven year old girl (if that exists, LOL). I know that she can share emotion and has string relationships because I pay attention, not because of some test. I am of the opinion that we should change the way standardized tests are used to aid the school in changing and planning curriculum, not punishing the kids for doing poorly.
Hello Jennifer,
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your comments and opinions about standardized testing for students. I agree with your assessments. A child needs to be assessed on their determination and commitment to completing a project. Their creativity and methods for achieving a correct response. There is so much more to development than just memorization and rote learning. In the early childhood field, we focus on helping children use persistence and not give up. When we are testing for the correct answer, they will give up if they don't get the answer quickly. We are setting up many children for failure when we are only looking for the correct answer.
Thanks, Mary
I agree we United States should move away from using Standardized Test to assess learning. Most children are learning but test scores don't necessarily detail what the child learned.
ReplyDeleteI agree and your comment about your daughter made me laugh out loud! If we move away from standardize testing (which I agree we should) the whole system would be turned upside down. Funding would be a mess. THere is been such weight put on testing that politicians would have to completely rethink who is really running schools. Food for though: how would we ensure that all schools are teaching children effectively?
ReplyDeleteWe do weekly assessment tests and those are based on what the children have learned throughout the week. At the end of the year they will take their main assessment test that will determine whether they move on to the next grade level or not. As usual we still do the regular MAP test but we try to see what our children are actually learning.
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