The topic of assessment in education is a hard topic to discuss since we all want to criticize the system but don't seem to have any solutions we like. Assessment is the way we evaluate students on how well they've learned and retained the information taught to them and how well they can apply it, however we have discussed that there are so many different learning styles. This makes it hard to teach to individual learning styles and to evaluate them based on these as well. The question was brought up if we should teach to individual learning styles and provide accomodations. I think it's important to incorporate different learning styles because as previously discussed we all don't learn the same way and it wouldn't be fair to the kid who's a visual learner to be lectured to all day, it would give someone else an unfair advantage. However by the same token it must be hard to accomodate all styles of learning (this is why I will not be a teacher). I think there are definitely ways to experiement and try different techniques to see what works the best. I think in our class having the blogs, papers, participation, reading and powerpoints gives a variety of ways for us to learn the information. I believe we should accomodate for those with learning disabilities and possible language barriers. English as a second language becomes an issue with some subjects, such as language arts. Is it fair to give a non-native english speaker a dictionary to help them write an essay in class or with a vocabulary test?
The assessment issue is also difficult because we tend to put so much pressure on tests, whether they be standardized tests or not. I know my brother comes home so upset when he gets a 99 on a test, which seems ridiculous. Personally I remember taking a test in 7th grade that my teacher told me was only to evaluate how the teachers were doing. Little did I know that that test decided whether I was able to get into Math A and Earth Science a year early. Since they recognized that my score on that one test was significantly lower from my other tests (probably because I didn't care about my answers as much) they gave me the opportunity to take another test, however it was around finals time and I opted not to. This just goes to show how heavily weighted a single test can be on the future of our education.
There have been some proposed solutions such as assessing based on performance, creating a portfolio and/or exibitions, however I feel like these are so subjective and hard to grade. As we discussed in class, what makes someone's artwork better than someone's essay? I think the option of creating different projects is a good one but it's the application and evauluation that we need to be weary of.
This is an article introducing PLATO Assessment and the need for formative assessment which England discusses in our education system.
http://www.plato.com/media/Technical-White%20Papers/2/The%20Need%20for%20Formative%20Assessment%20in%20Education.pdf
I agree with England that we need to institute individualized teaching and assessment into our education system. She says, "Rather then trying to force square pegs into round holes, find a puzzle board that will allow for the unique traits of all." (pg. 50) I think this is a great analogy; the only problem is I think it's easier said than done.
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I agree with you on your suggestions and thoughts on individual learning. I do believe there are ways to incorporate various learning techniques into the classroom. I think we place so much emphasis on tests that we forget what it is like to actually learn. If we impart knowledge on students, catering to their individual needs they all may be able to succeed on the same exam. I think the first step is to give students the knowledge, and leave room for assessment. We can see if kids are doing better on tests once they are able to learn the work.
I think that it will be difficult to stop putting so much emphasizing on assessments, however once we can overcome that i think that we can focus all our energy and attention to accommodate and provide children with the choice off learning in different styles and a more enriched environment, only then we will be able to develop the proper assessment that will be fair and more efficient in testing and determining the quality of knowledge the students have accurred.
Our schools have very little interest in "individualizing" the curriculum in the way that progressive educators, such as Dewey, advised. The reason being that the government has "corporatized" schools and now they are running them as a business. In business, you have the leaders and the followers and there is ONE end product desired. Schools have begun to resemble that model.
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