Colleges may be headed down the same path of testing
student achievement, according to a recent Washington Post article. The University of Texas has been tracking
student growth since 2004 using a test called the Collegiate Learning
Assessment. So far, 500 schools have voluntarily participated in testing,
either using the CLA or other equivalent tests.
A recent study drawing from a broad selection of schools has found that
36 percent of college students do not demonstrate any increase in test scores
from freshman to senior year.
Fortunately, colleges have so far staved off attempts to hold them
accountable for student outcomes.
At one point the article quotes a student, who
scored an astounding 34 of 36 on the ACT, as asking: “How much better at
critical thinking can you get?” It is impressive how this student has mastered
critical thinking, but I find his or her words to be valuable beyond, perhaps,
what they were intended to mean.
Our testing culture has been so focused on meeting
basic skill proficiency that we have not implemented any tests that measure
critical thinking skills. During my time
teaching, I have been drilled that good planning has clearly defined goals and
desirable outcomes, which should be in turn measured with assessments. Based on our school systems’ concern with
increasing HSA scores, we must therefore intend for our students to struggle
with basic proficiencies throughout high school.
I imagine the assessments for the core curriculum
will make an attempt to measure critical thinking once they are released. I am concerned that we will not be able to
score the tests efficiently even if they are written adequately. If we can measure critical thought, and our
test writers are capable of writing a test that does so, it may take a massive
scoring event similar to the AP tests. Otherwise, we will be measuring critical
though purely by multiple choice.
In a perfect world, when high school classrooms are
full of students who have mastered reading and writing and are able to focus on
pure critical thought, whatever that actually is, how will we hold teachers
accountable? We are having enough trouble accurately gauging how much students
improve at reading each year, which is relatively easy to measure. If schools are to actually teach students how
to think critically, we should stop testing them altogether. But, since that is
not likely any time soon, we should attempt to test critical thinking skills,
or at least something beyond basic proficiencies in “core” subjects. Our assessments should reflect our ultimate
goal, and as it appears now, our goal is minimal at best.
1 comment:
Immediately, when I read your blog post I thought of project based schools. I think project based schools correlate to your ideology perfectly. The ability to create a curriculum that implement assessments that are experiments and project based enhances student’s ability to apply various concepts learned in different content areas. These forms of assessments allows for higher level questioning and moves students to performing higher up on blooms taxonomy. Projects and Experiments promote application and what better and more accurate way to show understanding and comprehension than applying what you know and learned.
I agree, our students lag behind with their critical thinking skills. In many classrooms across the city, students are expected to memorize and regurgitate information. The expectation should be to get kids to conceptually understand the concepts in greater detail. Many critics would argue that our students are too far behind that it would take away from instruction time to get disadvantaged students to conceptually understand challenging concepts. Many would concur that attempting to get kids to really understand why a circle is 360 degrees instead of telling to just remember a circle is 360 degrees is a daunting task and will completely throw off the scope and sequence. This feeling of panic and the action of rushing stems from so much emphasis put on MSA testing and making AYP. The pressures of state testing promote teaching to the test and neglect the idea of developing critical thinkers.
Teachers are extremely conscious to the fact that their evaluations are dictated by the data. Data meaning how well their kids performed on standardized testing. This level of pressure forces teaching to focus on covering all the material on the scope and sequence pre-MSA. The focus is put on remembering how to solve problems, use formulas, use acronyms to remember steps, and identify information. We have to move students higher up on blooms taxonomy and have them synthesize and apply concepts in various real life situations. Critical Thinkers are the future and we have to mold our students with that belief and with urgency.
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