At 04:29 PM 7/27/2012, Faye Coker wrote:
Testing kids with a one size fits all test doesn't help the students who have different learning styles, anxiety or learning difficulties. There are children in the ' very superior' IQ range who fail tests because the tests are written, but the same kids could possibly blitz the test if allowed to do it verbally, or with frequent breaks, or allowed to stand on their heads.
This is one of my big beefs with not only the education system, but also with the wider working world. There is too much emphasis on one style or way of being, and the problem is not limited to kids. Adult education has similar issues, and don't get me started on employers, where stock standard things such as interviews are an insurmountable barrier for people who would otherwise be able to excel in a niche in the right company.
Then you have the kids who again may be in the higher IQ range, but if they have difficulties understanding the perspectives of others, chances are they will not petform well on english tests where there are questions asking how a character felt, why they acted a certain way and so on.
That's me all over, I couldn't get English in Year 11 and 12, which was all about novel studies, and the characters. Never mind that I scored a very high mark (93%) in Year 12 physics without having to try, and 80% in chemistry, despite being bored with it, and not handling the endless string of lab reports well - i.e. performing well below my actual potential.
Then you have the kids with sensory integration and processing difficulties, or auditory sensitivity, who have trouble even being in a class or test environment.
I was (still am) one who is very prone to burnout, don't cope well with out homework or assignments, unless there is time in class for the latter. Not to mention executive function issues that mean I'm not well suited to the generalist roles that are most common.
There has been enough research in to underachieving kids, particularly those with higher intellectual potential. The results aren't pretty. The system causes these kids to fail all the time and things like NAPLAN are pointless exercises which do not reflect a child's strengths or knowledge in other areas. I know kids who were learning squares, cubes, square roots, algebra etc at age five but at age seven can not parrot their times tables and they are labelled as slow learners because of it.
The mentality behind these sorts of tests makes me angry. If the education system and the working world made minor adjustments to accommodate people who are different from the "norm", the payoffs would be huge. Not only would there be more people gainfully employed (and paying taxes), but we could have some extremely innovative industries, driven by the diversity and creativity of many unique people. 73 de VK3JED / VK3IRL http://vkradio.com