Although I do not agree with all the standardized tests
children have to take, I do think assessing children’s skills are
important. It is important to know what
children understand and what they need more help in understanding. For example, my preschoolers practice the
skill of counting all the time. Usually
this practice takes place in a small group or whole group. Having the children
count together is great but sometimes I need to take children aside and really
assess whether they know how to count on their own without other children
counting with them. I need to do this
assessment to know whether counting is something they need work on. Sometimes I might do my assessment by just
having them count for me or by observing them counting during lab time.
I do not agree with all of the computer tests children have
to do these days. I think that children
need to be able to answer assessment questions in their preferred learning
style. Many children need more hands on
opportunities to really be able to answer questions. There needs to be different ways for children
to show what they really know about a topic. I believe teachers need to be able to assess
children by observation and not always by a standardized test.
Since 2010 New Zealand has had a curriculum for the years 1
– 13, which is typically ages 5 to 13. For primary education (1-8 years) they follow
national standards in reading, writing and mathematics. Teachers are expected
to assess children in regards to the standards and regularly report the progress
to parents. New Zealand’s education
system is highly inclusive in regards to special education. Children from year 3 to 10 take the
Progressive Achievement Test (PAT) each year.
This test is taken at the beginning of the school year and maybe at the
end but it is not taken more than two times a year. This test has four different parts that
measures reading vocabulary, reading comprehension, listening comprehension and
mathematics. The data from this test can
be compared to other children taking the test.
Each one of these tests takes approximately 25 to 45 minutes. Other tests children take in New Zealand are
the STAR test, which is a reading test and the AsTTle, which stands for
Assessment Tool for Teaching and Learning.
This test is a numeracy and literacy assessment tool.
The PAT test sounds a lot like the NWEA test our elementary
students take at least twice a year. The
NWEA is done on the computers and tests different areas such as reading and
mathematics.
References
Nusche, D.,
Laveault, D., MacBeath, J. & Santiago, P. (2011). OECD Review of Evaluation and Assessment in
Education: New Zealand. Retrieved from http://www.oecd.org/education/school/49681441.pdf
NZCER. Understanding PATs – for parents and the community. Retrieved from http://www.nzcer.org.nz/tests/understanding-pats-parents-and-community
