Taking the test Does a test really define who I am as a person? Does it inform you about my creativity, passion and, collaboration? If you defined my abilities by taking a test, I wouldn't be here obtaining my Master's Degree. As I was taking the GRE, I felt dumb. My palms were sweaty, I hadn't really slept the day before the test because I had all my family visiting, and my brother was going to graduate from SDSU in the evening. I Had too much in my mind. As I sat at the computer, I was the only one in site. Without taking or standing up, I had to complete this test for several hours. My experience was awful! I can imagine how High School Students must feel when they know that one test would define their graduation status. As a test taker, I had to know higher English vocabulary, and using Spanish as a support didn't really help. For the test, It meant I didn't really read, even though I spent countless hours reading articles, blog posts, quotes on twitter recommended by my PLN. I had to write an essay without any tools with a random topic about art. I knew that to "pass" this part of the test I needed 5 paragraph essay with Introduction, facts, evidence and conclusion. The same method I am teaching my first graders! (Should I be teaching them differently?) This test doesn't really care if I have been writing blog posts about my experience as an educator, and the resources found on the web to share with other educators. Then math comes along, and I feel more confident because I memorized how to find x, or find the degrees of a triangle. Does this really define me as professional individual? As I tell my first graders, everyone is different, everyone learns differently, and everyone needs help with something different. In order to learn, you need to ask questions. So I ask, What is the purpose of High School Exit Exams, or Graduate entrance exams if they don't provide any information on your work ethics, your collaborations skills, or your critical thinking? | A, B, C, or D As a new teacher, I always ask questions to my Dual Language teaching partner. I was wondering why don't students have study skills for test. That is how I was raised. In México, I would study for a test and then I would get a good grade. Here, she said, we use assessments learn about our teaching, and students' individual needs. It opened my eyes to seeing assessment through a different lens. These assessments guide for individualized instruction, but Tests don't. In Tony Wagner's Chapter 3 talks about how AP classes don't prepare them for skills they need for college education, and that tests just like GRE do not show students "problem solving skills, team work and leadership, professionalism and work ethics" How can students demonstrate these skills in an assessment? Can they create an Online Portfolio documenting social service, blog posts, giving and receiving critical feedback, and at the same time discovering their passions through project based learning? |
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AuthorDual Language Educator Archives
December 2014
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