MAMAY P's Pinoy Halu-Halo: teaching to the test

Showing posts with label teaching to the test. Show all posts

Saturday, November 9, 2013

Guilty as Charged

Assessment of students’ skills and performance through observations and other traditional testing methods is not only for the concern of the learners but also for the teachers. This is because the outcome of the evaluation does not only reflect the level of students’ understanding but also indicate the quality of instruction received by the learners. Wary of this implication, teachers do their best to see to it that their students’ performance and skills meet the standards set by school officials. To achieve this, more often than not, teachers result to teaching to the test. Is this cheating?

Teaching to the test refers to giving instruction to students of the contents of the standard tests that they shall take in a given time. Nothing is wrong in this definition. The problem lies when the teachers or instructors give the exact items or similar to it during class discussion or review. Some academicians assert that this kind of tactic is wrong because it is tantamount to cheating. Popham (2001) argues that item testing is unacceptable because it takes away valid inferences about the outcome of the assessment because the result assumes that the students also understand the other contents of the curriculum not just the items appearing on the test.

Veteran educator Jeanne Clements (2013) argues in favor of teaching to the test and recommends its wide use. However, she is not talking about reviewing the exact items on the standardized test but on the specific contents of the test. She stresses that the test does not rely on rote memorization of facts and concepts. She further asserts that no one condemn licensure examinations for professionals when the reviewers also result to teaching to the test.

As a student at Tapinac Elementary School in Olongapo City, I had never experienced that my teachers were actually using the outmost form of teaching to the test, which we can also refer to as “cheating to the test.” We can all infer that my teachers knew before hand the contents or subject matters of the standard or achievement tests to be given at designated time that they needed to teach us students. However, they never drill us on the actual test items or “clones” of them. They just presented us with the format and the directions of the actual test to familiarize ourselves to save time. Since we knew before hand that the result of the test will not become part of our final grade (which we never knew if ever true), test anxiety was diminished.

Nowadays, teachers’ performance are also gauged against the results of their students’ evaluation. As a result, they result to “cheating to the test” or during performance evaluation conducted by principals and other district supervisors. One of the tactics employ during visits of high ranking school officials and achievement tests is to tell low-performing pupils not to come to class during the date of the visit or test. A drill before the visit is perfected by simulating the visit’s scenario through giving high achievers their roles, that is, who will answer first, who will ask question and what, etc. This results to high satisfactory rating to students, teachers and schools.

To overcome their shortcomings as administrators, principals and teachers, there are many instances that sample or the actual test papers are being reviewed by the students and teachers. Because no one from the students up to high ranking officials of the district want to get a failing or unsatisfactory rating or remark from those above them, the performance maybe conceived as cooperative. This kind of drama becomes unacceptable when the learners do not gain from the experience. As long as the students understand the materials being presented and taken during class and these items are not the actual items, teaching to the actual test items is not wrong. This is also what is happening during review classes for the professional accreditation and certification. Teaching to the test is reprehensible if the test items being reviewed are the actual and same items or their clones.

As some teachers are guilty to some form of teaching to the test, as a student, I am also occasionally guilty to “learning to the test.” This is especially true when the teacher provides you with so many reading materials and that you do not have enough time to read them all. As a result, I tend to read and study only those that answer the study guide questions and the learning objectives. This becomes challenging because I also write what I read to fully understand them. I believe that this strategy is not at all faulty since I cover the essential knowledge and skills that need to be learned. This is different from high school where you are assigned one particular textbook to study. However, I do hope that a compressed and comprehensive reading materials is provided that tackle the essential elements of the module without sacrificing content and higher order skills, if time is limited to comprehend various materials and media.

Images from

1) http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Education/Pix/cartoons/2012/10/12/1350042607200/Ros-Asquith-Lines-cartoon-001.jpg

2) https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj52DQ3SCyNi2790LSQSabHOqI6IGPM13uKTA0gvS58Pp3rBo8reMV2L4G-OunM9hBz_yHBP8escNW_sz0dFSvixAKTYolUSwjiNKnI-sbj611BZvZZIs2Skw1ogmmSYhtivXl_yIM3yM21/s1600/david-sipress-prospective-teacher-being-interviewed-by-principal-is-given-impossible-to-cartoon.jpg

3) http://seattleducation2010.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/testing1.jpg

4) https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUtXYFDpRCXiOqkQtsxIz83YljcIxcRW-jFVj98lfDb_03byLsqgbm5VmLD8ztquKZ84XaKj6MxKQZcorn-7ZnH6dyxjhumBArGvpTFTbAEf28PYAJRFA0VOa-Il6BJ3Ki0OEN8zNaQFI/s640/1b2.jpg

5) https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVsfoztllNHOFjX6sKT2Eg0WoX3u45BHAaKXWv0mZF9KiYGqVKVQgXl1mOu8_O9vREkWdgnY-PYTZNWnwcScufO1zIXdBKyir_6S9kDQq94eSk_4_0DV0RilqHeHmKIvYNkwIjuG9XAwUe/s1600/multiple+choice+cartoon.png

6) https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgASvgC4_WgHfSDyNqAckGWDKPgJ79PWp7OMmzyhqN1awk01pYV5DffPYY_n9o6V-uYkVKTZ3Z0uubBhVbe7SrerN7UrDE3ha9NmrZSn5h0rMrNvvgrfMPnBi6jC1qqJRnJ6hzm90X1m-I/s1600/Learning+to+Take+Tests+Sign.jpg

References

Clements, J. (2013). Common Core: Veteran Educator Urges Teachers To ‘Teach To The Test’. In CP Opinion. Retrieved from http://www.christianpost.com/news/common-core-veteran-educator-urges-teachers-to-teach-to-the-test-100938/

Popham, W.J. (2001). Teaching to the Test? Helping All Students Achieve. 58 (6), 16-20. Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/mar01/vol58/num06/Teaching-to-the-Test%C2%A2.aspx

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

The Impossible Dream?

The very purpose of assessment is manifested when the teachers or instructors are able to know with precision the previous understanding of their learners, identify how these students approach their learning, provide adequate opportunities to enhance/improve their learning process and how to use appropriately the information gathered in the formulation of the next instructional design and approach to teaching in accord with the learning goals and how students viewed meaningful learning activities.

To craft a formative assessment to be used in the entire Philippines for elementary, high school and even tertiary students are not only overwhelming but also impossible. To gauge the performance and skills of every student based on a uniform standard or criteria is difficult because such assessment can be unfair and bias. This is because the students, the infrastructure of their learning, the provision of instructional materials and the qualification of their teachers are mostly varied and diverse.

It is not wise to evaluate and compare the level of understanding of Juan of Quezon City about the “Laws of Motion” with that of Khalid of South Cotabato where the former has all the equipment and materials in conducting experiments on the subject matter while the latter does not have even a physics book to know about it. Even if the same students have the instructional materials and equipment, the result of their assessment cannot truly represent their learning if the quality and time spent by their teachers on them are not the same. Juan’s teacher has master’s degree in Science or Physics and teaches full time and only that subject while Khalid’s instructor has Science as minor subject and teaches Physics once a week and other subjects.

However, to formulate a formative assessment on a national scale is still possible if the assessment criteria are varied, in accord with the learners’ background and achievement, and implement only to specific students and schools having the same qualifications as previously identified. For example, the assessment with the purpose of improving/enhancing the mathematical ability of grade 4 pupils in La Union can also be given to grade 4 students of Iloilo if both students have similar opportunities and level of instructions. In the same manner, English proficiency of Grade 8 students of Quezon City can be evaluated and compared with those students of Manila because they have similar learning/teaching backgrounds. In essence, a specific formative assessment should be given to students and schools possessing the same learning/teaching experiences so that the information collected will be fair and comparable.

Devising a national formative assessment is positively challenging if the education officials from the national government to the school are willing to participate in its planning, execution, monitoring and revision. But the greatest challenge would be seen in their preparedness and eagerness to come out with specific assessment tasks and address the outcomes of the assessment. This is because most programs of the Department of Education of the Philippines to enhance/improve basic education start and end with pilot studies. They are often short-term, short-lived and die with the shortage of funds. The very aims of the assessment programs are not well-defined. Even if they are, the implementation of corrective measures often only reached the recommendation stage.

To be successful, national formative assessment should be primarily aimed to identify students’ weaknesses and strengths on particular topics or subjects, and to determine how instructional strategies and learning activities can be revised and improved in accord with the learning goals previously articulated and discussed with different stakeholders.