In my opinion when you are assessing the "whole child" you have to take everything into consideration. Things such as the socialization skills, self-help skills, oral language skills, fine and gross motor skills, and their academic skills (literacy, mathematics, scientific thinking) all needed to be measured. An assessment that measures only mathematic and literacy skills can not give an accurate measure of what a child knows. If we are concerned with how children develop we have to assess all aspects of their development not just the lessons from math and reading class that they can regurgitate.
My parents are originally from Jamaica. In Jamaica they assess children using standardized test (exams). They use the following testing schedule :
- Grade 1 Readiness Test
- Grade 3 Assessment Test in Mathematics and Language Arts
- Grade 4 Literacy Test
- Grade 6 Achievement Test in Mathematics, Language Arts, Science, Social Studies and Writing (
However, the country is also going through a social reform in their schools. They have begun administering a social assessment in upper grades and providing students with a low score with peer counselors.
"Education in Jamaica." Education in Jamaica. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Oct. 2012. <http://www.my-island-jamaica.com/education_in_jamaica.html>.
Alethea,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that children should be assessed in all areas including social and emotional skills. I feel children are still learning how to regulate their emotions through their school career.
I agree with your thoughts on assessing a child as a whole. I think it is important that they are supporting children in Jamaica whom have lower scores with someone who can mentor them.
ReplyDeleteI was really interested to learn about the reforms in Jamaica. I wish the U.S. education system would take more of the "whole child" into account when assessing.
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