Activity 3 - Contemporary issue or trend in New Zealand (Week 27)

The New Zealand Education Review Office in 2012 identified three areas that schools need to address to promote good practice and help priority learners achieve at a recognised National level:

       1.    Shifting the focus to student centred learning

2.     Knowledgeably implementing a responsive and rich curriculum

3.     Using assessment information to know about, and plan for students' learning

The topic which resonates most for me is based around assessments and how we conduct them, analyse them and use that information. The three recommendations are interlinked but I would argue that a clear understanding of assessment needs to occur before delivering a rich curriculum with students at the heart of their learning.

ERO identified that only 17 percent of Primary schools collected, analysed and used achievement data well, including using it to set appropriate targets for improved Maori student achievement. This is a shockingly low percentage. Priority learners need teachers who understand how to assess both summatively and formatively, can analyse the data to determine a child’s strengths and then find innovative ways to provide a rich curriculum to fill the gaps.

I have been teaching for longer than I care to admit but for oh so many years I believed I knew what assessment was all about. I capably administered SATs tests in the UK to 7 year olds who had previously been given group and individualized learning opportunities with hands on, fun stuff. All that was halted at SATs time and children were sat in rows to complete papers in silence. This was total anathema to me.

Even in New Zealand assessments were viewed by myself and colleagues as a necessity at the end of a task to test whether what you had taught had sunk in. I was really successful at administering standardized tests, marking them, entering the data for school reporting and then filing the paperwork away. What a waste of time and added stress for my students.

I do believe there is a place for Standardised tests as long as what we are assessing is used to inform curriculum choices and to create opportunities for student centred learning. The National Intelligence Council Global Trends reports that: individual empowerment will accelerate owing to poverty reduction, growth of the global middle class, greater educational attainment, widespread use of new communications and manufacturing technologies, and health-care advances. (NIC, 2012, p.ii). Greater educational attainment through student centred learning and an increase in student agency have never been more crucial.

Assessing pupils both formally and informally should form the basis for what we are teaching and why. Working alongside pupils to highlight strengths and set personal goals with clear steps on how to get there is critical if we are to empower individuals to achieve. The expected learning students should make both in Achievement and development should be clearly understood. A child’s prior knowledge should be explored and previous progress noted before planning student centred learning. The gaps between expectations, prior learning and achievement need to be clear so pupils understand the learning they need to make. To ensure assessment is relevant for our students we must build on their interests, strengths and learning needs. Curriculum delivery also needs to align with culturally responsive practices.

I fear I never saw testing as being crucial for my understanding of student’s needs or gaps in knowledge or skills. I certainly never saw analyzing a test as best practice to inform my planning and sharing that data with a child was not what a test was designed for. I have my own views on National Standard expectations which could be discussed at length. They appear to be here to stay and if assessing students means we have clear expectations for their learning, share targets, devise clear steps to get there to empower our learners and also celebrate successes then that is clearly better than filing away test papers.

References

National Intelligence Council. (2012). Global trends: Alternative Worlds. National Intelligence Council: US. Retrieved from https://globaltrends2030.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/global-trends-2030-november2012.pdf

Education Review Office. (2012). Evaluation at a Glance: Priority Learners in New Zealand Schools. Retrieved 18 May 2016, fromhttp://www.ero.govt.nz/assets/Uploads/Evaluation-at-a-Glance-Priority-Learners-in-New-Zealand-Schools-August-2012.pdf