Grey areas of school admission policy- A search for new assessment ideas.
As a parent and teacher this is an issue that has haunted me for the past 8 years. Do our pre- school students need a form of assessment that exists currently. Let’s put ourselves in the shoes of a 4 year old. They are expected to walk into an unfamiliar world and interact with strangers. How many adults themselves are comfortable in the midst of strangers?
Why are we still clinging on to old traditions in an era that is replete with new thinking? I’m glad that at-least for the past 1-2 years there appears to have been a silent revolt. The government has also considered it as an area that needs rethinking and reform. Very often when this issue is discussed, the most common counter argument that one is faced with is ‘How else can we filter out and admit students from so many applicants? What is the alternative form of assessment?
Have we as educationalists, parents, policy makers at government levels and common man given this adequate thought? Can we do something on our part to rid them of this unnecessary stress which is going to part of their future?
In order to answer this, we need to look at how a 4 year old perceives and understands the environment around them and possible experiences that they might have had in their previous years. Exploring these might be worthwhile in designing alternative forms of assessment.
Many education theories revolve around providing the child a safe environment. Thus it is essential to create an environment that the child feels safe to be part of. In order to achieve this, we need to keep in mind the design of the room/ environment that the child is going to be present. Elements like furniture, mats, carpet, arrangement of materials (puzzles, blocks… )
One of the first questions that my little daughter asked me on telling her about coming into school as part of her admission procedure was- Mama, will there be small mats that I can sit on and work? A thought that had never crossed my mind! But on hearing it, I was able to make the connection immediately. My mind and thoughts went back to her own Montessori class environment. It’s a room that does not have many chairs/ tables but other essential elements for a learning environment. However it has small mats that they treasure and are responsible for- from picking it, to opening and sitting on it for all activities and even take responsibility for placing it back in its original place. Even this seems to be far away from the reality of our assessment environments.
An area to assess might be communication skills. Could we just listen in to conversations amongst children or with adults to gain an insight into their vocabulary? The focus of conversation being on questions or talk associated with their familiar zone of understanding like home, family, nature, previous or current school……This will give us an idea of their listening skills, ability to speak with clarity, interpret simple questions…They can even be asked to share a story that they have heard or create their own based on fantasy- which is a characteristic feature associated with children of this age. They can also be asked to act as their school teacher/ friend/ parent/ a pet / animal ……..- these would reflect their keen observation skills and creativity. Another area to assess would be their motor skills and other related skills associated with activities involving physical tasks.
Most children would have worked with puzzles, blocks of various sizes, Lego- material, shapes…. based on familiar objects or organisms in their environment. Amazingly you will find that most children will gravitate towards them. Besides, it also gives us a wonderful opportunity to get an idea of their level of curiosity, development of motor skills, problem solving skills, ability to follow and interpret simple instructions, sequencing skills…
They could even have a range of fun activities involving some physical movements like dance to specific music, simple sports/ other activities (even just place ball, bat, dolls, cars, toy kitchen sets… ), drawing, colouring and cutting. These are suitable and familiar stimuli that are close to their heart and they would produce spontaneous responses that would act as indicators to aid assessment.
If schools can afford it, we can even minimize human unfamiliarity impact on their performance, thereby gaining an insight into their true potential. How do we accomplish this? After all we live in an age where many impossible things have been achieved through the use of appropriate technology. Is there a possibility of using cameras, tape recorders and other relevant gadgets….as tools to aid in obtaining data for assessment? The parents/ accompanying familiar adult can be provided with a list of questions/ instructions and activities on entering the area/ place where the assessment is going to be performed.
All these would ensure less stress levels, place the child in a comfort zone area, cater to multiple intelligences and at the same time obtain an assessment that is more reliable and valid.
All these and many more new suggestions will definitely demand flexibility in thought- unlike possessing a set mind frame, more time and team work dedicated to design of admission assessment procedures, …..Are we prepared to invest in all these factors to transform the existing systems of assessment? It’s never too late to make a beginning, so that future generations can be spared of this trauma.
The more minds thinking about it, the better would be the results. Please add on thoughts and ideas that could be incorporated as a proposal for new admission procedures at this level.
That's a beautiful write-up. (Perhaps you'd like to copy it all here in your post - it is not that long and would be easier to access and read?)
I was reminded of the meeting Totto Chan had with the headmaster of the Tomoe - the "school in a train" in "Totto Chan - the Little Girl at the Window" (which I think is a must-read for anyone involved in education). I will post a link to the pdf of the book (on Arvind Gupta's website) or upload it here myself.
Need to rush now.. will write more on this thought-provoking piece...