A child should be assessed as a
whole, not just by their score on a test. I believe in formative assessment,
this allows the child to be graded on several aspects. An educator can use
formal and informal techniques to assess their students, such as observing,
developing portfolios, and providing feedback. I believe everything in a
student should be measured; a student may lack in one area, but might be more knowledgeable
in another, and we cannot see these results if only one area is examined.
The country I choose to do further
research on is The Netherlands. Having lived in the Netherlands for 2 months I
wanted to see how children in this country are assessed. Children in primary
education in The Netherlands are required to take courses in Dutch, English,
Arithmetic and Mathematics, Social and Environmental Studies, Creative
Expression (such as art related classes), and Sports and Movement (Primary
education. (n.d.). In the Netherlands each school is free to determine how they
will assess their students. Despite this fact, all schools are given report
cards at least once and that is at the end of the year. “Some schools express progress by means of
marks, while others give a written assessment” (Primary education. (n.d.).
I had a hard time researching information
based on assessing students in other countries. One thing I would like to know is how teachers
assess their students, and if they have different methods of assessment such as
the formative, summative, and initial assessment like we do in the United
States.
Reference
Elizabeth,
ReplyDeleteI like your idea on observation and portfolios to provide feedback because it helps students learn and can assess a student more thoroughly not only from the lecture.
I too believe that children should be assessed on a whole. Not all children excel in pencil and paper testing and I believe observations, work sample and hands on activities or instruments would be more indicative of a child's level.
ReplyDeleteI think it is awesome that you chose the Netherlands to post on. I think that children should be assessed by more than one way.. All children are different.
ReplyDelete