Testing for Intelligence

When I think about standardized tests and a child being 'tested' it kind of makes me cringe. Kottler, Zehm, Kottler (2005) state that to be an effective educator one must use varied groupings and lesson formats to reach all the children in the classroom. So, if we are teaching and children are learning in multiple ways, why are we testing with only paper and pencil? This issue truly bothers me from a personal standpoint as well, I have members of my family who do not test well; it doesn't mean they are not competent in the areas being tested. I have strong beliefs against standardized testing being used as the only means of measurement for achievement. I am in support more of measuring the 'whole child' and using multiple areas of assessment to determine the 'academic level' of a child. Additionally, I feel a more wholistic approach should be used to assess the effectiveness of teachers too; I have heard that the scores on standardized tests, in some places, determine an educator's job. So that means if a teacher has a classroom full of children or even a quarter full of children who are not test takers, he or she will lose her job? That's wrong on some many levels.

There is so much more to a child than a score on a test!!! Anyone who has stepped foot into a classroom for even a short period of time should be able to tell you that and it's time that we take the stress off of standardized tests and find new ways to assess the children in our classrooms.

Kottler, J., Zehm, S., & Kottler, E. (2005). On Being a Teacher The Human Dimension. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Haitian children face what sounds to me as a much harsher outlook. On a 10 point scale a child must average 5 points to pass a class given three "trimestrial exams a year with a final in July, families must purchase textbooks (and most do not have the money to do so) and if they do have a textbook it may not be in alignment with the Haitian material, children are in school from Oct to July with a vacation at Christmas and Easter. This information came from http://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/598/Haiti-EDUCATIONAL-SYSTEM-OVERVIEW.html but every article I looked in for information discussed how the Haitian education system needs to be redone. Some even mentioned how the earthquake in 2010 seriously impacted an already struggling educational system through the loss of teachers, children, and buildings that housed the schools.

So the 'testing' to assess not only occurs here in the USA but in other countries as well. But again, I cannot stress enough how important I feel it is to find an alternative to assessment than a test.