As professionals, it is important that we understand the way in which each child learn best. In order for this to take place, we must assess the child’s abilities so that adjustments can be made to ensure learning takes place. The problem arises when a child becomes labeled based on one or two test scores. If a child is given a pre-assessment at the beginning of school, there is most definitely going to be varying differences between student scores, because of their diverse cultures and living conditions. These children have not been given the same opportunities to learn. Once they are in school where the teachers have observed and assessed each child’s learning style, they are able to foster the child’s development.
I think that too much attention is placed on test scores and not enough on the child’s progress. Just like not all children learn the same, not all children test the same. Some children do very well in school, but panics when it’s time to test. Whenever, our children are preparing to take a placement/ assessment test, they are always instructed to go to bed early and eat a big breakfast, because “studies” show that children do better on test when these two things take place. So what happens if these things are not accessible to some of these children? I do think children should be assessed to provide us with a better understanding of what areas need improvement, but I think this can also be identified through the child’s classroom work and included in the overall score of the assessment results.
Asia
Millions of children living in developing countries or marginalized areas have schools that are unfunded with teachers who lack adequate training and students who may or may not reach the basic literacy and numeracy levels of development. These developing countries understand the importance of education for all children is essential for economic growth, social stability, and the functioning of a stable and equitable community of nations. According to Friske (2000), “In order to talk seriously about educational quality, it is important to be able to define it and to measure it” (p. 9). Student’s achievement is measured by test and other assessment devices. In the past, political and educational leaders focused on the teacher’s preparation, textbooks availability, and class size, but this data was difficult to measure. They needed to look at something that was measurable, so now they focus on output and results (Friske, 2000).
