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June 15, 2001
In the context of this new model of leading, teaching, and learning, how do leaders assess what's working and what isn't? Do the usual methods of assessment-standardized tests come to mind-get thrown out?
WARLICK: Holding schools accountable is not the problem. The method is the problem. Giving students a standardized test to assure that they all meet specifications is an industrial-age solution to an information-age problem. If our assessment method were more relevant to preparing students for an unpredictable future, then it would serve to encourage education reform rather than hinder it.
High-stakes testing, like all other pseudo reforms, will fail. It will either happen as a result of the system recognizing its fallacies and adapting, or it will happen as students and parents rebel, and simply stop taking the tests.
It's difficult to determine what accountability should look like. However, I believe that if I were still teaching social studies, the best service that I could provide my students would be to take them to the media center for tests. I would encourage them to use any books, magazines, computer software, or the Internet to answer the questions on the test. If students demonstrate the ability to teach themselves, then we have prepared them for an unpredictable future.
OHLER: Pardon me if I rant, but you mentioned the "a" word-assessment.
We assume the problem is our inability to determine appropriate assessment strategies when in fact this is only a symptom of the problem. The real issue is that we are confused about our goals. And because assessment follows goals-or it should, in any event-it makes sense that our assessment strategies should be confused as well. If our goals were clear and consistent-not to be confused with uniformity, as diversity is healthy-our problems with assessment would clarify tremendously.
There are a couple of ways we could go with the assessment issue. If governments demand statistical accountability, then standardized tests will reign supreme. This will often come at the expense of true mentoring, creative problem solving, and all of those SCANS (Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills) skills such as teamwork, negotiation, and teaching others. It will end our schizophrenia within school, but exacerbate it between school and real life. In the end, businesses will not get the kind of workers they want, and society will not get the kind of citizens it wants. My advice to those seeking assessment solutions: spend your money figuring out your goals; then spend what is left over on assessment.
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