Functions of tests in learning
EDUCATION Minister Dr Maszlee Malik has called for a curriculum policy review and recently talked about reducing the frequency of tests/examinations for students particularly in the early years of school.
We cannot live without assessments or tests as they are part of the total curriculum experience.
What the system needs is a shift in how we as a society see testing and use it.
The current perception of testing in schools is dominated by the view that it is a tool to measure learning. In many cases, it is then interpreted as the effectiveness of teaching.
This perspective by itself is not bad, but individuals can manipulate it, such as teaching for a test and memorisation.
From a pragmatic point of view, we must accept the fact that testing will drive learning. As any child will tell you, “We do not learn to be tested, but rather learn for a test.”
Testing, if used correctly, can bring about positive results. What stresses the students is the mechanism of testing used in the system and not so much the test itself.
This can be seen from three perspectives – frequency, tools and outcome. My daughter who is 10 years old hates the year-end exams. It is a week of torture for her and she feels the entire year of learning is defined in a single episode. At the end of it, she knows she will be labelled and sorted among her peers.
For many, this is a humiliating experience and distracts from learning. The outcome does not impact future learning or promote good learning. All it does is validate rehearsing by repetitive work and rote learning.
The question or tool for testing tends to be centred on one right answer and is punitive in nature. It does not promote a sense of exploration.
We need to develop testing instruments that will capture the true essence of the content and, more importantly, the ethos of the subject. In this sense, the government’s introduction of higher order thinking skills (HOTS) in the examination regime must be seen as a positive move to promote critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
If we believe that testing changes the learning behaviour, we need to be patient so that these intentions percolate to the teaching strategies and, subsequently, to learning behaviour. Teachers should be constantly reminded that test questions must be designed in such a way that they measure both the content knowledge and the thinking associated with the subject. For example, we want our teacher to design tests that measure scientific thinking rather than only scientific facts.
There is a bigger gap in the social sciences. For instance, questions in History need to go beyond names, places and dates. The true value of history is in inculcating critical thinking and the sense of consequentialism – an understanding that we are who we are as a consequence of the past.
Parents must also play a role in these processes. Assessments are not a game parents play to win, but a game they play to learn. Trying to figure short-cuts will only hurt them in the end.
Assessment is a process and not just a number on the page. Parents need to always get involved with the teachers and correct the perception of testing. They need to see assessment as a rung in a ladder that the student uses to climb and to support learning, as opposed to a ruler to measure.