Testing for Intelligence

I believe that when you are trying to measure young children holistically on an academic level I think there is a wide spectrum of things that you should look at one being the overall outcome of what they have learned over time. I think for every child they are not going to pick up on a topic in one day or one week, it takes time to introduce a subject or topic and then to let them absorb the content takes practice and hands on exercises to get them involved and understanding the content. I feel that this should be the same way the results of what they have learned should be measured, over time and not in one day or one week. I do not agree with standardized testing and I never have and it is for this very reason. We cannot just look at test results to measure the content of what a child is absorbing over the context of a year. The day of testing may not be a good day for the child, they could have been effected by varying circumstances the night before the test such as not having enough food to eat the coming days before the test, parents arguing or fighting, a death or illness in the family, or even a divorce. Many family circumstances can affect the child in the coming days before the test and all of this can have an effect on even the smartest child not scoring high on a test. We should measure or assess our children based on their overall grades and performance throughout the year to determine their outcome. Even if a child starts the year off with a bad start and coming to the end of the year the child has improved and starting getting reputable grades that is a great accomplishment and should be looked at as well.

I decided to reflect on the school age children assessment for Asian children and children in china because it seems many times when they come to this country they are already excelling in math and science classes no matter the grade level. Since traditional testing is still used most often for its own purpose, classroom assessment should coincide with what the students are learning and how they have learned it. Among the assessment tools that teacher will use for classroom assessment include:

• Performance-based assessment tasks
• Self assessments
• Peer assessments
• Teacher observations
• Portfolios
• Quizzes and tests

“A growing array of standardized, external assessments is available to measure student performance and program effectiveness. With the exception of Lingua Folio, which focuses on students' self-assessment and reflection, the testing instruments listed below allow the program to compare its results with those of other students and programs nationally and internationally” (Asia society,2013)

            For me personally I think standardized testing is not fair in accessing young children. I think there are many other successful ways that we can find out what level they are on and how much they are progressing.