Testing, Testing 123

Critical Issue: Rethinking Assessment and Its Role in Supporting Educational Reform
Have we made our bed BUT must we lie in it?

I think it is so funny that this article was written in 1995. I spent quite a bit of time looking at this article thinking it was current (2003-5) and how it supports change related to the modern educational structure created by NCLB. Now upon reading its copy write information I find it predates NCLB, what a mind blower. It is amazing how well this information meshes with today’s problems in schools related to assessment and boy if they thought change should happen back then they must really think change should happen now. I guess we went the opposite way of their vision and became a country more essentialist and more reliant on high-stakes assessment. Although I feel that much of the ideas expressed in the article are in direct response to use of tests like the California Achievement test and the Stanford Achievement test the overall debate is still relevant. In a way it may be even more relevant today then in the 1990’s. I see and understand the relation but I can help but feel some divide/discourse because education, technology, and society all have changed so greatly over the last 10 years.

Is technology the answer?
I don’t know, but I feel that with the use of technology we may have the chance to create learning environments that get the best of both worlds. An optimal learning environment that will help us assess students, teach basics but is rooted in a constructivism.



References:

Bond, L. A. (1995). Critical issue: Rethinking assessment and its role in supporting educational reform. Retrieved, November 11, 2006, from http://www.ncrel.org

Cates, W. M. & Columba, L., (2002). Educational philosophies: Edt 471: Planning for
implementing technology in school settings. Retrieved September 26, 2006, from
http://lehigh.edu