Ken Robinson goes on the offensive against standardized testing in a post-industrial society … and hits the issue on the head:
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Ken Robinson on standardized testing
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[...] show while enjoying the beautiful weather during Spring Break. However, I happened to stumble upon this blog post today. He really has some great points! I just wish people in high places would [...]
Thanks for this – about time more of us address in various ways the impact on true education these standardised tests have.
In Australia, of course, parents have the option to withdraw their child from having to participate in NAPLAN tests, but even that is not made clear or known from official sites which, instead, perpetuate mis-information by stating that ‘all students’ participate in these (which is clearly untrue).
I have written a couple of posts on this, my most recent here:
http://blog.fourhares.com/01/03/2010/naplan-2010/
Wouldn’t it be great if we could pass a law allowing students to exempt themselves from the exams as “conscientious objectors?”
Someone famous once said that if we ignore history, we’re bound to repeat it. Having said that, there must be a way to present consumable information that, when tested on, doesn’t cram round students into square holes. I don’t agree with standardized testing, but if not standardized, with a common way to interpret results, then what? Some of the best teachers I ever had were creative, outside the box, innovators that knew what buttons to push, to see the lights come on, so to speak. Sadly, these teachers are bound by “teaching to the test” instead of delivering useful information on a broader spectrum. What ever happened to parents helping their children, by re-enforcing what’s taught in school? I can guess … they were “taught to the test” and they can’t help. More overly and getting completely off the topic, how about courses that teach our children life skills and how to effective speak, so that when they become President, they know how to pronounce a word like “nuclear”? Has anyone noticed how much talk radio has declined … “has went?”, “has gave?” This is our language people, it’s how we communicate, where do we go from here? Just sayin’ ….
Found what Dr. Robinson said to be so true. Each person, student, is different. People cannot be judged by one type of standerdized test or subject. If they could it would be easy to teach. Albert Einstein is a good example. He failed algebra, but understood physica like the back of his hand. IQ is more an individual score than a standardized score. I agree with Dr. Robinson, and would like to attend a siminar of his.
[...] opmerking van John Moravec in een discussie naar aanleiding van een van zijn posts op Education Futures (over Sir Ken Robinson die standaardisering in het onderwijs aanvalt) vond ik eigenlijk wel een [...]
[...] Education Futures – Ken Robinson on standardized testing. [...]
I must disagree with the reply that call for more laws. I firmly believe that we need fewer laws, like those that require standardized testing. Schools are failing in more ways than testing, they’re creating automatons designed to fill factory position rather than solve problems creatively and think critically. For example we perpetuate the idea or myth of gifted versus ungifted children in grading systems and separate kids into strata, we don’t allow them to collaborate like in real world situations, etc. http://bestchildblog.org/?p=295