Assessing the Whole Child

We live in an age of high stakes testing, where even the youngest children, those in kindergarten are expected to perform at a certain level. These tests are high stakes for both the student and state. Students are increasingly placed in academic tracks according to their test scores as early as third grade. Schools who don’t meet Annual Yearly Progressed, as mandated by the No Child Left Behind legislation, lose funding and can eventually be shut down as in the case of Reynolds Elementary school here in Philadelphia where I served as an STW. When this school shut down 40 teachers where displaced and hundreds of students had to be rerouted to different schools, many miles away from their homes. Because of this there has been a growing push to rethink how we assess students. Should a single test be allowed to determine so much? Beyond the fact that scores change, a more fundamental question is whether any single test can measure the complexities of the human brain (Berger, 2012).

A growing community of developmentlist like Howard Gardner believe that the answer to this question is no. For Gardner, he believes in what he calls multiple intelligences—the idea that human intelligence is comprised of a varied set of abilities rather than a single, all encompassing one (Berger, 1012). For Gardner humans posses seven intelligences which consist of linguistic, logical, mathematical, musical, spatial, bodily–kinesthetic (movement) interpersonal (social understanding) and intrapersonal (self-understanding), each associated with a different part of the brain (Berger, 2012).

Some school districts like Park-Ridge Niles in Illinois have adopted this understanding of development, which I wholeheartedly agree with. Administrators become concerned that the standardized-testing frenzy was preventing educators from assessing other important aspects of a child’s education and development (Delisio, 2009). I support Superintend, Dr. Sally Pryor statements regarding assessments, “standardized test don’t tell the whole story…our district is committed to educating the whole child…this demonstrates that other skills are important.” (Delisio, 2009). The district thus launched an assessment system where students are not only assessed in content areas but areas described by Gardner such as social/emotional development, critical thinking. Problem solving, physical education and fine and applied arts.

I believe that the model Park Ridge Niles school district adopted is a perfect example of what children should be assessed on when taking the “whole child” into consideration. Assessment from my opinion shouldn’t just look at test scores in content areas of math and science to make critical funding and placement decisions, but need to look at other areas of development like the ones purported by Gardner, in order to get a more accurate picture of a child’s development as well as how well a school is doing or not doing. In looking back, I believe that such an assessment model might have saved the teachers and students at Reynolds.

When looking at how children are assessed in other countries I looked at two, one which consistently ranks in the top 10 educational systems in the world. The two I chose was England and Japan. First, England’s system has a national curriculum they use to test all children. Achievement test are administered as early as elementary, up through high school. These scores are then used to rank primary and secondary schools. Once a child reaches 16 he or she is required to take a state exam which will determine whether or not a child will move on to an upper level secondary school. At the conclusion of secondary school another exam is administered to determine the university that the student can attend and the area of specialty (Rotberg, 2006)

Japan’s school system which consistently ranks in the top 10 educational systems in the world has a highly competitive examination system. One of the most interesting facts I learned about Japan’s educational system is that it doesn’t hold teachers accountable for student scores administered on standard test (Rotberg, 2006). Also, elementary and lower secondary students don’t take high stakes test nor are they assign to schools by achievement. The examination pressures begin between lower and upper secondary school, when examines results determine the upper secondary school that students will enter(Rotberg, 2006) There are also, supplementary schools(juku) that many student attend to help prepare them for the entrance examples in to college.

In conclusion, I believe children should be tested in an range of areas, much like those purported by Gardner. With such things as school funding and placement at stake i think a more comprehensive approach to assessment is a must! It simply is fair for a school to lose funding based strictly on the scores of standardized test. I was happy to learn that some school districts like the one in Illinois understand the importance of accessing the child in multiple areas to get a more complete picture of children’s development. My hope is that to other school districts will follow their lead!

References
Berger, K. S. (2012). The developing person through childhood (6th ed.). New York, NY: Worth Publishers.

Delisio, E (2009, May 25th) Beyond Standardized Testing: District Focuses on Assessing the Whole Child. Retrieved from Education World. Wedsite: http://www.educationworld.com

Rotberg I.C. (2005) Assessment Around the World. Journal of Educational Leadership. 65, 58-63