Standardized Testing
We live in a society and culture where there is an obsession with test scores. As a teacher, I believe that standardized testing should be used in moderation and should not be the sole means of assessing a student’s knowledge and ability. Teachers should use different forms of evaluation as different students learn and perform at different skill levels. Standardized testing does not take into account a student’s creativity, critical thinking or effort. Meanwhile, it promotes rote learning and memorization. In addition, through years of experience, I can confidently say that standardized testing causes stress and anxiety to students, which does not help them in anyway. Teachers often feel pressure to “teach the test”, consequently this puts meaningful learning in the backseat. Here are different ways that teachers can use to evaluate students:
- Oral interviews. Teachers can interview their students one on one in order to assess their listening and speaking skills. Ask students to use the vocabulary they’ve learned in class and be grammatically aware.
- Oral presentations. This allows students to research a given topic and gives them a platform to build on their public speaking skills.
- Portfolios. Teachers can ask students to choose their best work to be evaluated. This allows teachers to make their students on their strengths and not their weaknesses.
- Creative writing. Allows students to showcase their writing and creative skills.
- Group projects. Students can work together and develop their interpersonal and communications skills.
- Video making. Students can learn media and technology skills when making a movie. This can be in the form of a commercial or news segment. Students will learn how to be critical thinkers and must keep in mind who their audience is.