This chapter of Ayer’s novel titled Keeping Track, concerns primarily with the idea of standardized testing and properly assessing students’ progress, as per mentioned in the title. As set in the tone of the chapter, it can easily be argued that Ayers does not necessarily favour standardized testing and fairly so. Ayers opens the chapter by writing: “the root of the word “evaluation” is “value”, and authentic assessment includes understanding what students value and building from there” (81). In my opinion, students learn best when they are genuinely interested in the subject matter and value the material being presented to them. In this context, students will fully immerse themselves in the material being presented if they are able to recognize and identify themselves in their work.
The problem with standardized testing, as raised by Ayers lies in the fact that they are inherently bias, focusing solely on one learning style. A classroom is filled with a diverse community of learners, each having their own individual needs necessary to achieve success. Standardized testing, as already raised by many, assumes that all students learn the same way, and as can easily be argued this is simply not the case. Far too often, teachers, students, and parents get overly preoccupied with standardized testing such as the EQAO, wanting their student or child to surpass expectations. But, the result on a test is not the most important part, it is the journey. Students should not be made to feel ashamed or guilty because of a grade they received, they should understand the value of the time and effort that is put into work. As in Ayers’ example, Quin was only preoccupied with being the first to finish the test, failing to remember whether he learned anything. This is the inherent problem with standardized tests. As previously mentioned, students learn best when they can fully immerse themselves in their work, and produce something that they take pride in. Although standardized testing is a part of the general discourse in many elementary schools, it is important to not focus our attention solely on achieving exceptional grade. The journey/process needs to be accorded the same level of importance.
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AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
January 2016
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