I completely agree with you. However, until college admissions offices
reexamine what they consider important (as some are beginning to do) and
given that it is a priority, stated or not, among many of our schools to
graduate our students into top tier colleges and universities, the more
standard assessment practices that have ruled the day will continue to hold
sway. There are not a lot of formal assessments out there that measure a
student's ability to research, problem solve, think critically, analyze,
write clearly, and work cooperatively with others to complete a task and/or
solve a problem -- all skills that most of us claim to be critical
components of our educational program. Let's face it -- being able to
complete a project that demonstrates mastery of these skills is all very
nice, but not nearly as important as scoring well on the CTP, SAT, AP, etc.
Best wishes,
Stephen Edele
Head Elect
The Harbor School
Vashon, WA
-----Original Message-----
I love the idea of using the laptops during assessment. We have not
moved that way yet at our school, but it makes sense. The tools are
available to use, so turning them off (spell check and the internet)
make no sense to me. It seems to me we should be teaching students how
to learn, and how to problem solve, how to go out and find the
information if they are not sure.
I agree this requires a totally different way of thinking about
assessment, but the world is changing and I personally think assessment
should change too.
Renee Ramig
Director of Technology
Seven Hills School
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