Exams don't define a pupil's worth
By Wong Chi Wen |
March 28, 2012, Wednesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
WHEN I was still schooling, it was once mentioned by a former principal that "What is of worth must be examined." I find these words relevant as we ask this question: How should one define the worth of a student and how best to determine or assess it?
To determine a student's worth, many schools subscribe to the traditional "pen and paper" tests. Using tests has its merits; it is useful to encourage and reward individual efforts to learn and it is also easy for schools to administer. On another level, the provision of educational opportunities would be based on aptitude and merit rather than on (subjective) influence or prejudice.
On the flip side, tests focus on "well-structured problems" when many problems in school and real-life are often "ill structured." It is also widely acknowledged that besides good test scores, we should also take into account other attributes like creativity, motivation, integrity and social skills when we define the worth of a student. Using tests only measure a narrow segment of a student?s potential.
Educators often describe students to unpolished diamonds. The value of a diamond is determined by the characteristics known as the ò4Csó ? clarity, color, caret (weight) and cut. Similarly, test scores should be combined with other relevant information when assessing the academic ability of a student.
At Shanghai Singapore International School, we are constantly re-inventing ourselves. Thus, we use the term "assessment" and not "testing" when assessing students. When these different pieces are placed together, we have a good idea where the student is at and use this to help a student improve.
We believe that an education is a process and we want to capture this process as holisitically as possible for individual students so that they can be assisted along in their learning journey with us.
(Wong Chi Wen is head of Primary Science at SSIS.)
To determine a student's worth, many schools subscribe to the traditional "pen and paper" tests. Using tests has its merits; it is useful to encourage and reward individual efforts to learn and it is also easy for schools to administer. On another level, the provision of educational opportunities would be based on aptitude and merit rather than on (subjective) influence or prejudice.
On the flip side, tests focus on "well-structured problems" when many problems in school and real-life are often "ill structured." It is also widely acknowledged that besides good test scores, we should also take into account other attributes like creativity, motivation, integrity and social skills when we define the worth of a student. Using tests only measure a narrow segment of a student?s potential.
Educators often describe students to unpolished diamonds. The value of a diamond is determined by the characteristics known as the ò4Csó ? clarity, color, caret (weight) and cut. Similarly, test scores should be combined with other relevant information when assessing the academic ability of a student.
At Shanghai Singapore International School, we are constantly re-inventing ourselves. Thus, we use the term "assessment" and not "testing" when assessing students. When these different pieces are placed together, we have a good idea where the student is at and use this to help a student improve.
We believe that an education is a process and we want to capture this process as holisitically as possible for individual students so that they can be assisted along in their learning journey with us.
(Wong Chi Wen is head of Primary Science at SSIS.)
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