Holly Blog #5

“The Role of the Curriculum” was the chapter’s theme this week. One thing I found particularly interesting was the discussion on large-scale assessments. The purpose behind this testing method is “to evaluate how well students are achieving according to the curriculum mandates of that particular province/territory” (pg. 136). 

There are definitely pro’s and con’s to this kind of standardized testing. From the “pro” side, I can definitely see that it keeps teachers accountable to the curriculum. The provinces/territories have created a curriculum for a reason and I think that teachers should fulfill such requirements, but yet have the freedom to teach those learning outcomes in a way that would best suit their students. As for the “con” side of the argument, these tests do not assess creativity and other learning skills. It can also cause teachers to “teach to the test”, where they teach specifically what will be assessed, instead of innovative methods that would cater better to the students knowledge development (pg. 144). 

I remember these assessments during school, but I don’t remember being very anxious about them- like the text stated about it harming self-esteem and mental health because of incredible stress (pg. 144). I also didn’t realize that other provinces differ in terms of assessment like Alberta, who are assessed in not only math and English, but also social studies, science, and French (pg. 137).

I think these assessments can be beneficial because it gives a look into how students compare across our country, which can then identify if help is needed in certain areas. Yes, I think this could be stressful as a teacher- trying to make sure that your students know what you’re supposed to be teaching them, but isn’t that kind of important? I realize that there is so many extremely beneficial learning skills that assessments can’t evaluate- which I am all for, but if there’s no large-scale assessments, then who are keeping teachers accountable for teaching curriculum?

Discussion Question: Where do you stand in terms of large-scale assessments- “for” or “against”?