Do Assessments Assess?
A revolution results in massive transformations as it overthrows the old, leading to a metamorphosis in fundamental structures and modes of operation. Renewal is threatening and is often met with resistance, as it demands to let go off the known, forcing one to depart from a space of comfort into the world of uncertainty and ambiguity. The Industrial revolution has programmed humans to experience power through a sense of control and dominance over their lives and that of others. Hence the murky nature of another revolution, the digital age, has sapped the control from people’s lives and resulted in a sense of disorientation.
Educators are likewise flummoxed with the demands of change required across teaching and learning as technology and automation has seeped into every aspect of life. In an attempt to reform educational practices and reveal constant advancements, within this breakneck speed of digitalization, new policies and mandates are created, revised and continually reformed. In order to ensure that these policies are resulting in improved learning and teaching practices, accountability measures are set up. Data collection allows us to determine the advances in learning in concrete terms and makes communication of the same among the different stakeholders convenient and accessible. Accountability hence allows us to believe that everyone is held to high standards of performance. Yet, we have failed to highlight the negative influence of accountability on learning among students.
Our current evaluation approach is rooted in a reductionist approach. We believe that a grade, number, letter or label with adequately provide a complete picture of human learning. This system equates intelligence with academic ability. Yet, we know that such an approach is limited as there is great subjectivity involved in human behaviour. A grade is a poor communicator as it addresses learning as limited to a specific, narrow definition, and disregards the ‘how’ or ‘why’ of learning. These accountability measures are focused on achievement on a particular test rather than on the skills, knowledge and assimilation acquired. The ripple effect of this approach is experienced in the classroom as teachers are focused on ‘teaching to the test’ and promote a uniform, factory model of education. As a result, individual differences in learning, such as needs, interests or emotional dispositions are disregarded as grades take precedence.
Aristotle, a renowned philosopher and other Gestalt psychologists have stated, “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts” to signify that the larger entity is more significant than its individual pieces. Regardless, we continue to assess individuals rather than groups. Also, we continue to create boundaries by segregating subjects in school instead of creating a synergy between them towards a larger purpose. A child from Mallya Aditi International School, Bangalore, India, who scored a 100% in the recent 2019 ISC Board Exams remarked, “value is given to our ability to internalize information, recall and replicate it in a cohesive form”. Further, she states, “We’re in a time where a student can get a perfect score in political science without questioning and analyzing the politics of the world around her, where a student can excel at Economics without being able to apply it to his daily life. By building this holy mountain of marks, by worshipping those who make it to the top and castigating those who don’t, we forget that not everyone wanted to be a mountaineer. Some of us wanted to fly instead”. Our current obsession with assessment and data has broadcasted the message that success matters more than learning.
Therefore grades convey the message that extrinsic rather than intrinsic motivation holds greater value. This system of assessment that merits kids on their ability to obtain things from the outside will be detrimental in the long run as it serves to undermine the true essence of learning. Extrinsic motivation, that is the expectation to get something (like a good grade), for completion of a particular task (like studying) is beneficial while enabling students to tread new pathways or enlist student cooperation for certain tasks. Yet, the ultimate goal must be to ensure that education serves to also hone a child’s intrinsic motivation such that they learn to satisfy their sense of curiosity, personal sense of achievement and are encouraged to create value for a larger cause. Prizing external motivators in education will further perpetuate a culture of learners who merely seek a shallow, surface level and strategic route for short-term gains, namely examinations, rather than a deeper, more meaningful approach that will be beneficial in the long run. Moreover, extrinsically motivated kids will continue to preserve intense competition for individual gains at the cost of originality, collaboration, and the greater good.
Sir Ken Robinson, a British author and advisor on education has delineated the two aspects of assessment as comparative and descriptive. Even though assessments hold great potential for further goal setting, we have failed to capture its truest essence as we focus heavily on comparison rather than on description. We are caught in this race against the other instead of using the data to gain a more holistic understanding of the individual and progress monitoring.
Rather than engaging in this ceaseless pursuit of ‘fixing’ our current systems, it may be time to ‘create’ a new system, one that can be inspired by the past but not defined by it. Rather than merely changing the form of assessment to incorporate technology or more application-based questions, we need to begin by deconstructing the entire field of assessment in order to truly grasp the purpose, impact and relevance of the same in the given century. Professor Yuval Noah Harari, a historian, philosopher and author states that much of what kids learn today will likely be irrelevant in the future in his latest book, “21 Lessons for the 21st Century”. However, we continue to assess children and hold them accountable for content and skills that will in all probability be redundant.
Several academicians across the globe have highlighted the urgent need to target the 4 C’s in education, namely, critical thinking, communication, collaboration and creativity. Likewise, there is a shout out for more practical, life skill education instead of the more traditional, content and technical heavy education. Moreover, advances in neuroeducation have revealed the significance of emotions in education. Given the need to keep up with the galloping speed of change, humans will need to master the art of adaptability, resilience, learning how to learn, perseverance, curiosity, emotional problem solving and collaboration. Yet, these skills are not featured in report cards or parent-teacher meetings, as we stay stuck in old systems of assessment by focusing excessively on grades.
Some pioneers have recognized the need for this complete overhaul and have taken necessary steps towards the same. Finland has banned all standardized testing apart from one exam during student’s senior high school year. They do not subscribe to any rankings, comparisons or competition among students, schools or regions. Finland’s Ministry of Education and Culture, Pasi Sahlberg has stated, “We prepare children to learn how to learn, not how to take a test” to express the transformative approach in assessment adopted by Finland in recent times. Likewise, the Green School in Ubud, Bali does not subscribe to testing as a tool to evaluate learning. They prepare children to take complete responsibility for their own learning through practical projects that emphasize entrepreneurial competence, environmental education, and skills related to collaboration, communication, risk taking and decision making. In a similar way, Singapore has taken the bold step to stop all examination rankings. The Minister of Singapore, Ong Ye Kung remarked, “I know that coming in first or second in class or level has traditionally been a proud recognition of a student’s achievement. But removing these indicators is for a good reason so that the child understands from young that learning is not a competition, but a self-discipline they need to master for life”.
Instead of using standard and uniform modes of assessment, we need to consider a more descriptive, strength-based approach that emphasizes the student’s unique nature of learning. The impact of this reformation will change the nature of discussions in the classroom as well as eliminate the unnecessary stress and pressure experienced among students, teachers and parents alike. Moreover, this will lead to a more favourable approach to evaluations as it will accentuate the self-esteem of students, open up new channels of communication among parent, teacher and child, convey respect for each individual learner, and bestow equal weight to all areas of the curriculum.
