There was a lot of information in the 3 chapters read this week. I especially liked Chapter 16 and its beginning quote from the Matrix, " Follow the White Rabbit." Not only did it make me laugh, it made me think about assessment and how we, as educators, are forced into assessments that are not of our own creation and what that does to education.
Sitting here watching my students on the first day of our annual CAT 6 testing, I am faced with a reminder of how important assessment has become, in whichever form is deemed appropriate by the almighty who make those decsions. "Stakeholders (e.g. parents, principals, administrators and policy makers) remain steadfast in viewing test scores as the main indicator of learning" (Gibson 328). It is interesting that Gibson's Chapter 16 revolves around assessment, considering what is going on at my school this week.
How did we (education) become this? At what point did standardized testing become the grand assesment that it currently is? We now exist in a "test score oriented educational culture" (Gibson 328). Why? I am curious what it is that everyone else thinks. Here is my uneducated theory: It has to do with the use of Standards. As soon as defined Standards became common in education there needed to be a way to assess whether or not students have met the Standards. The answer came in the form of Standardized Tests, which, unfortuntately, have become the driving force in schools. Not whether the kids have actually learned what they need, but can they do well on the state tests.
According to Gibson, "there will need to be some ways for the educators to record and report on the students' progress when playing games, so as to justify to the stakeholders that gaming is a leditimate way of learning, and not a waste of precious classroom time and resources" (Gibson 328). In terms of using games and simulations, "it is important for educators to work with game developers and instructional technologists to incorporate appropriate learning objectives into the games" (Gibson 333). Backwards planning anyone?
Last thought: Authentic assessment is neccessary to shape what comes next in curriculum. Too often, assessments are inappropriate or are used to give a grade, not to show what children really know.
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3 comments:
Your comments about assessments were good. I think schools are experiencing assessment overkills to meet the demands of the federal government. Do these tests really measure the quality of our schools, teachers, or students? Do they really provide the picture of what our students really know and what they are capable of? Don't get me wrong, I think assessments are good when they are used as general indicators of what students remember. However, I do not think they provide the big picture of a persons ability to work, perform, create, relate to others, communicate, or think. They definitely don't measure integrity, attitude, confidence, organization, or dependability.
My view of assessment is a little different than other educators. I like state assessments and feel that they are needed.
This may be the fact that I first come from the business world where companies and organzations are compared to eachother. Why shouldn't schools?
These assessment let your school know how it is doing compared to otehr schools. Our school tends to be below average on state assessments and our teachers/administrators start making excuses for this. We don't let our kids make excuses.
In real life our students will apply for the same jobs and the same jobs as students from other schools so we as educators need to know where improvements need to be made.
Great post, as always. Very thought provoking.
I personally agree with what I think you are saying... assessment needs to be determined by a human, not an exam. I think this is the philosophy behind alternative schools like Indigo Schools. I see some value in standardized testing, but not a large amount.
Regarding the backwards planning, why do you think this is backward? Why do you think it turned out this way?
And fianlly, how do you think simulations can help in an assessment process?
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