PBL knows that students are not standardized, they don't
learn in a standardized way, and that our clientele can't be assessed in a standardized manner if we are looking to foster innovation.
Not exact matches
Two new Quinnipiac University polls show that New York voters trust the teachers» unions more than Governor Andrew Cuomo to improve education
in the state, and two thirds of New York State voters say the Common Core aligned
standardized tests are not an accurate
way to measure how well students are
learning.
But because student - performance data on the state's
standardized science exam indicated that our students did not understand these subject areas
in a deep and meaningful
way, the teachers decided to use a new approach: They chose to embrace a project -
learning strategy to connect science and colonial history through a local historic site that dates back to the 1640s, the Saugus Iron Works.
The PZC tackles challenging issues about the kind of teaching and
learning that should be done
in classrooms all around the world, but is not being done,
in part because of the pressure for certain performances on certain kinds of
standardized tests,
in part because teachers teach what they were taught and
in the
ways that they were taught 10 or 50 years ago.
But using the format of a
standardized test as a teaching tool can enhance student
learning — the question is how to do this
in a
way that captures students» interest.
Collective human judgment informed by reliable evidence is a much better
way to assess teaching and
learning in schools than data - driven judgment based on high - stakes
standardized tests.
The fact that
standardized testing is not an appropriate tool for measuring 21st century
learning in general, or
learning with technology
in particular, has yet to be addressed
in a meaningful
way.
Today's factory - model education system, which was built to
standardize the
way we teach, falls short
in educating successfully each child for the simple reason that just because two children are the same age, it does not mean they
learn at the same pace or should follow the same pathway.
But then, despite facing a budget shortfall and laying off dozens of teachers, School Superintendent Paul «education reformer extraordinaire» Vallas, announced that he was instituting yet another full round of
standardized tests
in June because he believes that more testing is the only
way to prevent teachers from allowing a «lull»
in learning to take place
in their classrooms.
While students do need some practice so that they are familiar with the organization and method of the
standardized assessment, too much causes students to become fatigued, disconnected from
learning, and stressed
in ways that affect their performance.
Their mantra there, as it is here
in Connecticut, is that
standardized testing is the only
way to force teachers to teach and children to
learn.
Yet a number of the
ways in which many (admittedly privileged) independent schools achieve their impressive
learning outcomes - such as high
standardized - test scores, strong graduation rates, and distinguished college admissions - are actually well within reach of public schools.
While innovative assessments can refer to a variety of assessment tools, competency - based
learning (CBL) systems, are one of the
ways innovative assessments can become a precursor to the end of the
standardized assessment era.1 Here, we will dig
in to what Competency Based Education is and why it is something worth keeping an eye on.
By constantly monitoring students» progress (
in ways other than
standardized tests), principals uncover constructs that create differences
in student
learning.
The competency - based model is revolutionary
in that it will allow students a choice to demonstrate mastery
in a variety of
ways and places other than
standardized examinations
in traditional classrooms — for example, through Extended
Learning Opportunities (ELOs),
Learning Seminars, and Place - Based
Learning projects.
For example, teachers rely on Diagnostic Reading Assessment scores to find out where students are having difficulty
learning, but
standardized assessments do not tell teachers what is getting
in the
way of
learning, nor how to help a student overcome the obstacles to
learning.
Only with a deep understanding of student
learning — one that goes beyond the reading of a
standardized test score — can teachers alter their practice
in ways that open up new and targeted opportunities for their students to achieve academic success.
Collective human judgment informed by reliable evidence is a much better
way to assess teaching and
learning in schools than data - driven judgment based on high stakes
standardized tests.
He also seems to believe that
standardized tests are the only
way we will «know if they're
learning what they need to succeed
in college,
in career, and
in life» — which makes sense if you remember that he never taught, so he must not be aware of portfolios, formative assessments, playing checks, demonstrations, essays, poems, term papers, quizzes, drawings, dances, improvisations, compositions, science experiments, interviews, observations, and hundreds of other assessment tools that tell us what students know and can do
in rich, meaningful
ways.
By ignoring the multitude of outlets for student potential,
standardized tests fail
in recognizing that students
learn and are successful
in various
ways.