Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Holistic assessment

yes, assessments in school are going holistic. And I am so glad, coz that is the only way the teacher should truly assess the child, I feel.

I was actually quite pissed during the 1st semester coz, the school was supposed to have phased out exams for the children, and the children were to be assessed "holistically". But what happened was, every other week, they were given a test for each subject, and the test accounted for 5% to 10% of the final grade. And they told us when these tests were going to be held.

As a result, they expect us to prep (and many parents actually do!) their children for these assessments. So how holistic can that be? The result was:lots of parents being stressed out every week preparing for all these tests! Even "show and tell" was no longer a "show and tell" like we know it, becoz it carried a certain percentage of final assessment. It became a memorise and tell!! And it really took away all the fun for show and tells!!

well, for my child's school it is a a Pick and tell assessment this week. The best part is we do not know what the teachers will bring in their basket, for the children to pick from. And ... it will be impromptu. So, no prepping and no stressing in the home!

And the best part for me, my child is No 1 on the class register and will be the first to do it. I wont worry, and I wont have time to, coz by the time I know it has happened, it will be over! I know of some super kiasu parents already asking around the other classes to try to find out so that they can prep their kids for it!! Chill man! Your child is only in P1, education is a long, long journey.

3 comments:

bp said...

i hear u on how crazy it gets with the KS-ness! i really also prefer the no prep and no stress and especially letting the children be impromptu! down here the teacher will also say not to worry if our child forgets to bring something for show-n-tell, the teacher can always just give him something else that he can still share with the class impromptu!

i am sure D had fun! what did she pick?

doc said...

holistic - i 1st heard this word when apllied to the new nursing course more than 10 years ago. sad to say, the standard has gone down the slippery slope.

perhaps the concept is a good one, only the application has gone awry.

NomadicMom said...

As my S1 would say to me all the time.. "TAKE A CHILL PILL!"