Assessment or not?
Wechsler Intelligence Tests is administered by school psychologist when given permission for children to be “tested” for special services in our school district. The test is administered as part of a battery of intellectual, academic, behavioral, and social-emotional measures and can be useful in differential diagnosis (e.g., mild mental retardation versus low average functioning) and in understanding a child's academic weaknesses (e.g., a problem in reading comprehension may be, in part, the result of low verbal reasoning skills).
The Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children is a flexible and unique measure of cognitive ability. It determines insights into how a child receives and processes information. These are two tests given to only those children who may have special needs in our school district. It is not used for any other students in our district. So, why is it so important if all students are not given these tests?
Does it really matter if a child is formally assessed? I think assessment should be used for check points. In my state, we have a statewide assessment called the Louisiana Educational Assessment Program (L.E.A.P.) which is only given in the public school. It is used as a measure in 4th and 8th grade students’ basic skills and knowledge in English Language Arts, Math, Social Studies and Science. Also, this test is used to determine promotion . If the student passes certain parts of the test, they will be promoted along with passing class room grades. On the other hand, if a student does not achieve a passing score on the L.E.A.P. and passes their coursework, the child will not be promoted to the next grade. Concurrently, if the student does not pass either the L.E.A.P. and the coursework, the student will remain in the present grade level. Finally, if the students go to summer school and pass certain parts of the test, they can be promoted if their coursework is passing. One would not imagine the amount of stress put on the kids. I teach in public school, the children hear L.E.A.P., L.E.A.P., L.EA.P. all year long. By the time the testing time arrives in March and April, the students are all leaped out. Do we need to put that much pressure on teachers and students? I don’t think so. Why can’t we use the results of the test to restructure or reteach the curriculum? To top this off, the governor of the state of Louisiana would like to use the test to determine teacher pay and promotion. This is not considering the school in which the students come from poor homes that do not stress academics. Those students enter school not even knowing the legal name. If you ask them their name, they say “Pookie.” Has anyone ever considered that these kids come to school at a disadvantage and have to be taught basics pre-kindergarten skills in Kindergarten and 1st grades? How do we expect them to be on the same level as advantaged students? I am not in favor of assessment for promotional purposes. This doesn’t make sense to me. Assessment or not, what is it proving? I don’t really think we need to access younger children but we do need to have some kind of standardized test scores to use as a reference point for gauging our student’s learning.
During my research, I read that the Arabs use the TIMMS scores to provide a valuable tool to reform educational reform. And that’s what testing should do, assist in reforming where the curriculum is in need of modification. The TIMMS for April 2007, concluded that there should be a shift from rote memorization to a greater emphasis on critical thinking which is in line with international trends in math and science. This results in this report should lead to educational reform in teaching methodologies. What do you think about this for our state? Should Louisiana use one test to determine if our children should be promoted or retained?
AMEN AMEN AMEN! Teachers in Tennessee have some of the same stress that you mentioned from Louisiana! I think that our role as educators is crucial but we cannot make up for poor home life, poverty, or other factors that may cause a child to be behind and not test well. I can relate to your post. Very good job!
ReplyDeleteKristi