I think in today’s
society too much pressure is being put on the children when it comes to the
assessments they are being given. Some of the assessments being used are not a
true measure of what a child knows. Think about standardized test and the
questions you may see on those. Most of the questions are based on how well you
can memorize information instead of being about how well a child’s problem
solving skills are. I think assessments should show growth and not just measure
what a child knows at a certain time. Think about when you use to study for
test, how often did you remember the information after finishing the test? Also
consider that some people are not good test takers. Some people panic when
taking a test and in the end do not do their best. I think when measuring
or assessing a child’s knowledge we could look at everything the child has done
as a whole.
Assessments
in England
I decided to take a look
at how children in England are assessed. When talking about how children are
assessed in England, I must first discuss how the education system works.
The basic curriculum includes something known as the national curriculum. These
are subject and standards taught so that children in primary and secondary
schools can learn the same thing. Under the national curriculum, children are
required to reach a certain standard in each subject. The national curriculum
is divided into blocks of years called Key Stages. At the end of each key
stage, a child’s teacher will formally assess their performance to measure the
child’s progress. For each subject there’s something known
as a ‘program of study, which describes what children should learn. There is
also an ‘attainment target’ - usually split into 8 levels for each subject. Between
the ages of 7 and 11, a child will complete 3 assessments. They complete
a teacher assessment over English, math, and science and have to be in their
second year in all subjects by the age of 7.This occurs during Key Stage
1(KS1). Between the ages of 10 and 11, a child will take a national test and a
teacher assessment also in English, math and science. At this time the child
should be at a level 4. All of this occurs during Key Stage 2(KS2).
Now we get to the actual
assessment. During Key Stage 1, children will complete tasks and test over
several subjects. These subjects are reading, writing, speaking and listening,
math, and science. The teacher will use a child’s work to determine what level
the child is at in each subject. The teacher will also consider the child’s
spoken work and homework when determining the level. During Key Stage 2, the
child will take a test that covers English reading, English grammar,
punctuation, spelling, and math. It also includes mental arithmetic. If a child
demonstrates higher achievement the head teacher may decide to have them take
extra test to determine true level. At the end of key stage 2, the teacher will
give a report on a child’s progression in English, math, and science.
Reference:
The National Curriculum. (2013).https://www.gov.uk/national-curriculum/overview
