9. Without testing, how will I know how my child is going at school compared to their peers? I don’t want them left behind.
Answer
Teachers regularly undertake testing to check what children understand and what they need to work on. That won’t change, we are just removing all the administrative burden of formalised testing. Our changes will also stop the distortion caused by ‘high stakes’ assessment (where students, teachers and schools are judged on the results). High stakes assessment makes teachers and students focus their energy on learning how to take tests, and game the system. What a waste, when they could spend that time learning how to think. We have to overcome this obsession with testing because it is holding us back.
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Tony McCombs commented 2017-02-22 09:25:22 +1300Currently, there are different levels of technology in schools. This should have minimum standards to allow more kids to participate, collaborate & learn.
Testing could be replaced with monitoring & feedback to ensure the students are getting the support they need to learn at their best.
Having a strong technology platform to support teachers & students should enable self-paced learning where teachers facilitate & support, enabling students to achieve their highest potential.