Assessments

I think in today’s society too much pressure is being put on the children when it comes to the assessments they are being given. Some of the assessments being used are not a true measure of what a child knows. Think about standardized test and the questions you may see on those. Most of the questions are based on how well you can memorize information instead of being about how well a child’s problem solving skills are. I think assessments should show growth and not just measure what a child knows at a certain time. Think about when you use to study for test, how often did you remember the information after finishing the test? Also consider that some people are not good test takers. Some people panic when taking a test and in the end do not do their best.  I think when measuring or assessing a child’s knowledge we could look at everything the child has done as a whole.

Assessments in England

I decided to take a look at how children in England are assessed. When talking about how children are assessed in England, I must first discuss how the education system works.  The basic curriculum includes something known as the national curriculum. These are subject and standards taught so that children in primary and secondary schools can learn the same thing. Under the national curriculum, children are required to reach a certain standard in each subject. The national curriculum is divided into blocks of years called Key Stages.  At the end of each key stage, a child’s teacher will formally assess their performance to measure the child’s progress. For each subject there’s something known as a ‘program of study, which describes what children should learn. There is also an ‘attainment target’ - usually split into 8 levels for each subject.  Between the ages of 7 and 11, a child will complete 3 assessments.  They complete a teacher assessment over English, math, and science and have to be in their second year in all subjects by the age of 7.This occurs during Key Stage 1(KS1). Between the ages of 10 and 11, a child will take a national test and a teacher assessment also in English, math and science. At this time the child should be at a level 4. All of this occurs during Key Stage 2(KS2).

Now we get to the actual assessment. During Key Stage 1, children will complete tasks and test over several subjects. These subjects are reading, writing, speaking and listening, math, and science. The teacher will use a child’s work to determine what level the child is at in each subject. The teacher will also consider the child’s spoken work and homework when determining the level. During Key Stage 2, the child will take a test that covers English reading, English grammar, punctuation, spelling, and math. It also includes mental arithmetic. If a child demonstrates higher achievement the head teacher may decide to have them take extra test to determine true level. At the end of key stage 2, the teacher will give a report on a child’s progression in English, math, and science.

Reference:

The National Curriculum. (2013). Retrieved February 16, 2013. https://www.gov.uk/national-curriculum/overview