Child Assessment

I do not agree with how schools are testing children now days. They are putting way too much pressure not only on the students but also on the teachers. Teachers need to make sure they teach what is going to be on the test so that they can get good scores and not lose funding for their school. While they are busy focusing on this they are not looking at educating the whole child and truly educating them about things that they will need to live their every day life.

While doing research about testing in other countries many I found did the same type of standardized testing. Finland however, is a country that does it differently. In Finland grades are emphasized very little so that children are not competing against one another. Until grade 5 students are only given narrative evaluations instead of grades. After that their grades are based on how well they performed relative to their individual potential. Dr Sahlberg says  “It is not primarily what individuals know or do not know, but more what are their skills in acquiring, utilizing, diffusing and creating knowledge that are important for economic progress and social change.” Even without standardized tests Finland has ranked among the top 3 countries in testing done in math, reading and science. This is a country we need to look more to when developing our country's education.

I will leave with one great comment from Dr. Sahlberg,  “If there is no standardized testing, students can focus on real learning and teachers don’t have to worry about preparing their kids for assessments.” 

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/economy/canada-competes/how-do-finnish-kids-excel-without-rote-learning-and-standardized-testing/article11810188/