Quotes About Children

"If we don't stand up for children, then we don't stand for much".
                            Marion Wright Edelman

"We have to make sure that our kids still feel good about themselves no matter what their weight. no matter how they feel. We need to make sure that our kids know that we love them no matter who they are, what they look, what they're eating".
                           First Lady Michelle Obama

These quotes inspires me to commit to doing all I can to assist children in their development and learning process. How I am to serve the whole child 

Testing for Intelligence

 Testing For Intelligence

 

North Carolina EOG standardized test are used to measure the progress of students from 3^rd grade to 8^th grade.  The results from NC EOG test, and NC End Of Course (EOC) test for high school students improve academic performance in reading, math, science, writing, and other subject. These tests are also use to determine each school’s Adequate Yearly Progress As required by the federal No Child Left Behind Act.            

I do understand the reason for some assessment tests. Yet I only believe these tests should be used to figure out where the child is academically, and how they can be helped, if they need it.

 I do not think having a child take a test is a good means of measuring a child’s learning potential. Test only measure a child knowledge at the point of time it is given. Sometime the test itself can be unfair to children. Children who have a hard time with test will not do well on them. There are many reason why some children do badly on test. Some children might had a bad or sleepless night. Children have not been exposed to the information on the test. I do not think a single test should determine whether a child is promoted.

Children as young as 3^rd grade are begin stressed to pass EOG test. Teacher start the first week of school preparing children for the EOG test. I think there is too much pressure on school aged children, especially at such a young age. Teachers and some parents put a lot of pressure on kids to do exceptionally well on these test. Having children to do these types of tests does not necessarily do a good job of assessing the child as a whole.

   

I looked at the Japan school system to see how they assess children. February is the month of school entrance exams in Japan.  All children go to the same type of school, until the age of 10. At the age of 10, they are assessed to determine which one of four different tracks they will go into. Each track then determines where they will go from there, whether to a university or a trade school. In Japan, where you go to Jr. High School, High School and College makes all the difference for your future, and the school exams are your ticket into these institutions

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 For some positives in Japanese education, one need look no further than the local kindergarten or the local elementary school. For everything other than English education, they are doing a good to great job of educating the children of Japan. Classes are creative, teachers are caring, on the whole, and students are happy and learning.

It the whole education system was like this from kindergarten to the end of university, the Japanese people would be happier, healthier and more productive, both in GDP and creative terms.

Unfortunately, this all ends at age 12. Those are the years that exam hell starts and from which students never really recover. The standardized test-based education system of Japan that starts in the junior high school years destroys any kind of initiative, creativity and especially thinking outside of the box. Unfortunately, these last three are what Japan especially needs in the 21st century; perhaps Japan`s most challenging 100 years yet.

For many years now, Japan has employed a test-based education system and passing the all-important tests is what educators and students, not to mention parents, are focused on. The result of all this test-taking and stress, is a nation of order takers who have trouble making decisions, let alone stating an opinion.

 

References

Burn, K. (2010). Japan and Its Standardized Test- Based Education System

 

North Carolina EOG Test Prep –www.time4learning.com