The University system is stuck in stupid with the
latest fiasco being the “adversity score”.
They drive k-12 education to bow down to the big test demanding children
to be obedient servants rather than creative thinkers. As long as students can kiss ass and
regurgitate what they are told, they are college bound. Or if they can donate big bucks.
The new "adversity score" assigned by the
College Board on the SAT exam is no more than shuffling the deck chairs on the
Titanic. Simply giving points to
students based on family income, environment and educational differences, pigeon-holes
the students based on generalities rather than the skills and abilities of the
students themselves. A test score is not
an indicator of success in a College or University!
In order to assure Colleges and Universities have
sufficient information about a student, there must be systemic change at the
secondary school level. Envision a MAP
(My Action Plan) as a portfolio where students constantly move forward
documenting their success through demonstrated assessments. In the process they are allowed to re-take assessments
when they are unsuccessful and learn from their failures. Those assessments
will allow students to be monitored as they move forward in the process
enhanced by small pre and post-tests readily available to teachers to compare
with their daily progress in the classroom.
Those pre and post-tests, would replace the
standardized test that is rendered useless in this process. It is important to understand that assessment
is only as good as the information gathered and its application to the
education of the child. Remember, the
teacher sees the child a couple hundred days in a year while the artificial
standardized test as well as the SAT sees the student for a couple hours.
Now we must determine the requirements for
graduation. This has always been a
concern as the community needs of students vary. Now it is time to use your imagination. The previously mentioned MAP is a portfolio
of learning throughout the school years.
What if a student, at any age, would present that portfolio to a University
for acceptance? That University would
then analyze it, accept the student or, if not accepted, would identify skills needed
for acceptance. The student could then
return to high school or go to a community college to enhance those
skills. The University would then be
able to re-assess the student for possible acceptance.
This way students could hang on to their dreams and
continue to move toward their goal in life. They may choose a different course
to follow, but either way, their decision would be based on information
relative to their future, not just an SAT or other artificial tests. The decision is with the student along with
parents and trusted friends and professionals.
Children might not get to the end result at the same
time as everyone else. They aren’t
robots. But they will get to the end
result, a successful education and hope for their future in their world.
WWW.WHOLECHILDREFORM.COM
WWW.WHOLECHILDREFORM.COM
