Testing for Intelligence?
The progress young children make in all developmental areas is a continuous and ongoing assessment. Authentic assessments portray who the child is and what the child knows or does not know. One of the most comprehensive on-going assessment technique is the child's portfolio. This form of assessment should occur in a variety of settings, over a period of time, gathering data through many windows of opportunity which will give teachers and parents a tool to look back at what the child has done and see changes in his development.
"An individual profile integrates information from classroom assessments into a summary of a particular child's capabilities" (McAfee & Leong, 2011, p. 116). This summary can focus on one skill that a child might be having problems with or on the whole child. An individual profile helps teachers to know the children in their care, not only their strengths, but also their weakness, and their behaviors. One factor to take into consideration when interpreting assessments is the child's environment and cultural beliefs. "Different cultures also view concepts such as intelligence differently" ( McCauely, 2011, p. 2). Western cultures put emphasizes on the concept of IQ. Other countries see intelligence as the ability to perform certain skills that are necessary for family life and growth.
Assessment is important to understand if there are any developmental delays, or a disability, to understand a child's behavior, to plan the curriculum, and to provide a baseline to see where a child is at. Teachers must choose an appropriate, valid, reliable, and ethical assessment tool that can be used to assess one developmental skill or the whole child. I feel that children's assessments should happen at least twice a year so parents will understand how their child is developing and the teacher can understand what changes she might need to make for the child; assessment should bring about benefits for children.
"The earliest known standardized tests were administered to government job applications in the 7th Century Imperial China. The tests, built upon a ridge "eight-legged essay" format, tested the applicants' rote-learned knowledge of Confucian philosophy and were in widespread use until 1898" (Standardized Tests, 2013). China may have the longest history of tests and examinations in the world. These tests are still used today to assess educational outcome, and the scores of these tests are factors for promoting children into the next grade. Children in China usually attend school for nine hours a day and have little time for unstructured, relaxed play.
As I was researching on how China assessed their children, I did not find very much information. Children were required to take tests to get into their school of choice. Parents put a lot of pressure on their children to excel in school. "Study pressure has led to an increase in stress, psychological problems, and even tragedy" (China's children too busy for playtime, 2007).
One difference I found between the education system in China and the education system in America, is that if a child is having a difficult time understanding a concept, he is called up to the front of the class and the whole class helps. In American schools, this would seem like a punishment for the child as it may label the child as a slow learner. Parents in China are more involved in their child's education than most American parents.
China's children too busy for playtime. (2007, May). China Daily. Retrieved from,
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2007-05/13/content_871182.htm
McAfee, O. & Leong, D. (2011). Assessing and guiding young children's development and
learning (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.
McCauley, L. (2011). The development assessment of young children. Retrieved
from, http://www.priory.com/psych/assessyoung.htm
Standardized tests. (2013). Is the use of standardized tests improving education in
america? Pro Con. Retrieved from, http://www.standardizedtests.procon.org/
