Is it necessary to assess children? Is it necessary to assess their learning?

            I believe that the assessment of children is necessary. Assessment of children provides information as to a child’s strengths and weaknesses. These assessments indicate whether or not there are medical issues that need to be addressed, such as hearing loss. They can also indicate problems with cognitive or social domains. Once that information has been gathered, it can be used to guide teachers and healthcare providers to insure that the child receives the proper care and education.

            Because these assessments involve the whole child, they require the participation of several different professionals. Medical professionals are needed to determine if a child’s physical development is on track; while educators determine if a child’s cognitive and social skills are on a par with his peers. If a child is determined to have delays in either of these areas, it may be necessary to involve other specialists.

            Whether or not it Is necessary to assess a child’s learning is a hotly debated issue. The problem that I see with standardized testing is that it is used to determine the success of the school system; this reduces the student to the status of a product. Since we are talking about individuals, this is a distasteful situation. While I understand that people are looking for a way to hold their schools accountable, I’m not convinced that standardized testing is the appropriate avenue.

            While I was researching what other countries do when it comes to assessing their students, I found it interesting that many of the arguments raised in Germany sounded like those that have been voiced here. Germany is relatively new to standardized testing. They didn’t begin using them until around 2004 and they did so in response to poor showings on an international standardized test. From the beginning, concerns were raised about teachers potentially “teaching to the test” and ignoring instruction in subjects that were not included in these tests. There were also concerns that the tests had a narrow focus on cognitive objectives without any consideration of factors that affect a child’s learning.

            On a positive note, it seems that some countries are realizing that there are other aspects of a student that should be looked at beyond their cognitive achievements. Several countries, including Germany, have begun testing a child’s creative ability. I think that this is a good thing because things change so quickly in the world now, being a creative problem-solver is an important skill.

Waddington, D. J., Nentwig, P., & Schanze, S. (n.d.). Making it Comparable. New York, NY: Waxmann. Retrieved October 11, 2014