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Written by Todd Whitcombe
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Sunday, 28 June 2009 |
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So said Mark Twain. It is a sentiment that many people feel still applies today. The implication is that there exist two types of learning - the stuff you get in schools and the stuff that you get in the “real world.”
Of course, this is a false dichotomy. School is the real world. Very much so for our children. It is a highly competitive and social space where kids are exposed to all sorts of levels of behaviour.
Indeed, it is in many ways much more intense than the “real world’ since it is not an environment that kids can escape. They can’t simply change schools or quit because they don’t like the school that they are in or because they don’t get along with their co-workers. Their options are very limited and most of the choices are made for them.
That said, there are ways that schools differ from the real world. For one thing, in school tests are much more obvious. We are all tested every day in any number of ways. Whether it is working out the tip for a restaurant meal or driving or any number of work related tasks, we are constantly being tested.
In school, though, tests are much more specific. They tend to focus on a single subset of information on a subject. They have time limits and are marked to tell you exactly how you are doing. And the answers are generally either right or wrong.
We test students this way because it is regarded as the easiest way to measure their learning about a subject. Unfortunately, that is not really what it measures. Rather, it measures a student’s ability to take tests.
Usually the two things - learning and ability to take tests - are correlated but not always.
I have taught many students over the years and encountered more than a few that knew the material but did poorly when it came to testing. I have also encountered students that did very well on their tests but retained little of the material once the exam was over.
However, for most students, learning the contents of a course lets them write their tests and do well. This is the important point in all of this - learning the contents of a course is what is important not the results of the tests. Tests are simply an assessment tool that might assess if the learning has happened.
Last Wednesday’s Citizen featured a story discussing Southridge elementary school’s intention to drop its honour roll and principal's list. The reasons provided stem from a commitment to learning rather than the taking of tests.
“The research that supports this decision states that when the focus is on achieving external recognition, such honour roll and principal’s list, students look for ways to obtain the best marks rather than on ways to improve their learning.”
In the same issue of the paper, there is also an article discussing a book by Pam Proctor called “Honouring the Child: Changing Ways of Teaching” in which she discusses a much more student centered approach to learning. An approach where tests are de-emphasized in order to provide a more constructive learning environment.
There has been much movement towards a learning centered approach at all levels of schooling but there is also a lot of resistence to the notion.
After all, without tests, how will we know how well our kids are doing?
It is unlikely that we will eventually get to the point where the learning is truly what matters and we can do away with the assessment mechanisms. There are too many structures in our education system to do away with tests entirely. And, as I said before, we are tested every day so getting rid of tests might not be the best idea.
But de-emphasizing their role in the education process might not be a bad idea. It would certainly make my job easier. This past month, I have been involved in three
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separate meetings with faculty from all over this province and beyond discussing students entering university. The general consensus is that the emphasis of the past decade on “provincial exams” and “standardized tests” has been to the detriment of learning.
Students are coming to university with a mindset that all they need to do is pass the tests and all will be fine. This, of course, is not going to help them when they enter the “real world” and their employers actually expect them to know what they are doing.
Having said all of this, students are competitive. They will quickly figure out who has the best marks and who doesn’t. Removing the honour roll and the principal’s list will not change that. Nor will it do anything to change the self-esteem of students at the bottom end of the academic bell curve.
It is the tests that are the problem and need to be addressed. It is the tests that should not interfere with a student’s education.
Dr. Todd Whitcombe is a professor at UNBC and a politically active member of the community. His column appears Mondays. E-mail:
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 28 June 2009 )
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