This week’s assignment was about the assessments school aged children are given. As a resident of North Carolina, I decided to look into the assessments my children will receive throughout their schooling.
Right now, North Carolina is updating its PK- 12 Standard Course of Study and school accountability system in order to integrate newer technology and 21st Century expectations. North Carolina will make the following changes: “1) new curriculum standards and adoption of the Common Core for implementation by 2012-13, 2) new student assessments – including formative assessments – for all subjects with a strong focus on graduation, and 3) an updated accountability model for schools that focuses on student graduation and preparation for career and college” ( ).
The main assessments given to NC students are the EOG (end of grade) tests. So much attention has been given to EGO’s that children really do get stressed out about them. It doesn’t help that teachers “drill” the students for several weeks before the actual tests are given. They also have mock EGO’s half-way through the school year to get an idea of where the children are academically.
EOG’s are given in grades 3 through 8 and 10. In addition to EOG’s there are also end of course tests given in Algebra 1, Biology, and English 1 once children are in high school. The last assessment is the North Carolina Writing Instruction System Pilot, which is given in grades 4 and 7.
In December of 2011, high school students took a new test known as PLAN. This test is given before the ACT which students who are planning on enrolling in postsecondary education often take their Junior or Senior year of high school.
In my opinion, there is too much attention on the EOG’s and not enough attention on the student’s needs. It seems like since the EOG’s have come around, teachers are prepping their students for the test rather than making sure that the children are receiving quality education. I hope when the new assessments are implemented, that the teachers will be able to get back to teaching for information gathering purposes rather than a test!
When assessing children, I believe it is important to know where the child is at academically but also socially and physically as well. Children need the fundamentals of the alphabet and numbers, etc. but they also need to know how to participate in discussion, ride a bike and other skills that are not necessarily measured by a paper and pencil.
In Germany, schools are considered to be “all business. Germans tend to separate their private lives from school matters” (). The typical day in a German classroom involves their studies, no field trips or clubs or any of that. Their day is shorter, with school ending around 1 or 2 pm however there are hours of homework given daily. It is not uncommon for children to be held back a grade level. Students stay in the same classroom and teachers move from room to room, while in the US it is the other way around. From ages 6 to 9, children attend primary school. At the end of this time, assessments are given in order to evaluate the children academically as they are placed in the next level of schooling. The next level of schooling is general school where children are being prepared for their occupations.
References:
The German school system. Retrieved from http://library.thinkquest.org/26576/schoolpage.htm.
North Carolina testing program. Public Schools of North Carolina. Retrieved from http://www.dpi.state.nc.us/accountability/testing/.
Standards and assessments. Public Schools of North Carolina. Retrieved from http://www.ncpublicschools.org/readysetgo/standards/.
Sutter, Ralph (2002). The educational system in Germany. Cuesta College German. Retrieved from http://academic.cuesta.edu/intlang/german/education.html.
Melissa,
ReplyDeleteI agree there is way too much "teaching to the test" in this country. The kids get really stressed out and I agree that it is important for the kids to gain social and emotional intelligence as well. However, after reading about the rigid instruction in some Western European countries I still think we have a better system.
Barbara
Hi Melissa, I have never heard of EOG, but it sounds very much like the FCAT in Florida. You mentioned many of my concerns (as usual), the biggest being that teachers no longer have the time to consider student's individual needs. Everyone must memorize and understand the information on the test... period. And what's so sad is that these tests are being offered at a critical growth period in these children's lives, when their social and emotional skills need validation.
ReplyDeleteGood post I enjoyed reading about NC, and their assessment of children and the changes that will take place. I also agree with you that more emphasize should put on the children needs and the development of them, and not numbers. When will they understand.
ReplyDeleteHi Melinda, I could not agree with you more, in this day in time teachers spend more time teaching the test and not teaching the whole child. I really enjoyed reading about the schools in Germany. Thank you for sharing!!!!!
ReplyDeleteHi Melinda, thanks for your informative post about testing done in North Carolina. Because testing is so high stakes, you always have that problem of teachers spending way too much time drilling students and trying to prepare them for the tests. I agree that more time should be spent assessing the very important multiple intelligences. I enjoyed reading about schools in Germany, and I really liked the picture at the bottom of your post!
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