After reading chapter 5 “The Role of Curriculum” I found myself agreeing with many of the controversies and negative feeling that surround large scale assessment. I feel that the reasons for these large scale tests are unfounded and that the money spent on conducting them could be used more wisely. Pouring the money directly into classrooms seems like a wiser use of resources (pg. 143). I believe that it is a poor decision to judge teachers on how their students perform on these large scale tests. This could lead to teachers to alter their teaching styles to focus solely on getting results from this standardized test (pg. 144). I believe process should be the focal point of student learning especially at a young age rather than just results. Also critical parts of education are excluded from these paper tests such as creativity and exploration (pg. 144). While agreeing with most of the negatives regarding large scale assessment I also find myself disagreeing with the reasons for large scale assessment. I don’t believe this type of assessment identifies the best teaching practice. I only think that it identifies the best method for surface learning rather than deeper understanding of the concepts being taught. Regurgitating knowledge should not be the basis of the effectiveness of teaching practices and programs. I strongly believe that large scale assessments do not have a positive role in education of our children.
Discussion question: As a teacher how would you approach preparing your students for a large-scale assessment?
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