@Chumly,
Quote:What is the nature of understanding anyway? In any case I would argue that knowledge is not the same as understanding, and the ability to perform well on written exams is not understanding either.
Test taking is a skill in and of itself - especially with multiple choice tests, which is what these standardized tests most often are. You have four answer options. You can almost always eliminate two right off the bat. Of the other two, one is the correct answer and one looks at least somewhat logically feasible. It's a matter of applying skills at that point for problem solving and simple elimination.
Well that works for math, but not so well for language arts. You can have two different spellings presented of the same word, but there IS no process for determining which one is right and which one isn't - you have to know that.
We've just changed to something called functional skills exams in the setting I'm teaching in. These are adult learners who are working toward their Level I and II numeracy and literacy - the equivalent of GED level or tenth grade skills in the United States and GCSE level here in Britain.
The men used to come in, having been assessed, would be placed in the appropriate class and then want to take practice tests to bolster their confidence toward taking the actual exam. If they took enough practice exams - they could pretty much memorize the answers.
There was a student in the last highschool in which I taught who got a perfect score on his SAT-1600. I asked him how he did it. He said, 'Every Saturday for two years I've spent four hours doing SAT practice questions.'
Okay, do they learn anything from doing this? Sure they do. I don't think anyone can deny that. If you can read the question and read the answer and you didn't know the answer before - you will know it now. You've learned something. It's like me using my crossword dictionary to complete a crossword puzzle. My dad called it cheating - I called it learning. I could not use the dictionary and leave it blank, or I could use the dictionary and learn something.
The question is how valuable is it if they don't know or 'understand' how to apply it?
That's why I'm so happy that in the venue in which I work, we've switched to the functional skills method of exam.
Instead of having a maths problem that reads (for Level 1):
Regulations state that each child must have 2.5 sqare metres of floor space in a nursery. One room has 36 square metres of floor space. What is the maximum number of children that this room can be used for:
a) 12
b)14
c)15
d)18
They give them a page with diagrams and blank work space with scenarios like these:
Sam is going to tile his bathroom. He plans to make a border using white and coloured square tiles. Each tile is the same size, but some tiles must be cut in order to make the border.
They give the dimensions of the tile and a diagram of the suggested border design. Then they ask these questions:
1) What is the height of Sam's border?
2)How many tiles are needed to make the part of the border shown above?
Sam decides to tile the wall above his bath like this: (shows diagram) The wall is 2m long. He wants 5 rows of tiles above the bath. Sam finds these instructions:
a) Mark the middle of the wall with a vertical line
b) stick horizontal rows of tiles on either side of the line
c)cut the tiles at the end to fit
How many of each type of tile will Sam need to buy?
Sam thinks he can fit a complete row of tiles without cutting any of them. Is Sam correct? Explain how you reached your answer.
Sam wants to make a different symmetrical pattern using both types of tile for his border. Use this diagram to create a pattern for Sam. Explain how many of each type of tile your pattern uses.
And instead of 50 multiple choice questions - there are three. You get no credit if you don't show your work - even if you get the correct answer. You get credit for showing your work and more credit for doing the work correctly and coming up with the wrong final answer than if you just come up with the correct answer, but showed that you didn't know how to work it out correctly.
The new literacy test asks that you write. It might say, 'Use the word monitor in a sentence correctly' when in the past it would have something like:
The word 'monitor' in line 11 (of a pre written text) means:
a) control
b} oversee
c) supervise
d)check
Of course these functional skills tests will take much longer to grade. Maybe they're not practical - but I do think they will give a more accurate measurement of what someone has learned and understands.
And I know that I teach in a way that I'm more comfortable with. You start from the very beginning, having broken the skill down into separate conceptual parts and you build skill on skill.
You don't say to yourself - he has to have algebra to do this - I'll just make sure he knows how to plug the numbers of the formula in for the letters- and he'll come up with right answer on this specific problem.
Which is what teachers are often forced to do when time is of the essence and scores are on the line.
The problem I have with NCLB is not the basic premise or intent.
And it's not that it has made teachers and schools accountable.
It's that it has turned individual children with distinct and individual learning styles into commodoties.
Got a kid in your class whose a good test taker? YEAH - let's keep THAT one.
Got someone who isn't?
That kid is now a 'PROBLEM' for you and your school.
I think that's a despicable way for a teacher to be forced to look at a student.
And that's what NCLB does.
There've been standardized tests as long as I've been in school myself. They can offer good information about a particular student. But when those tests are used as a weapon against a school - it hurts the students moreso than anyone else.