Assessing Children

Assessments are important.  They give us information regarding whether children are on track or not. However, we must consider that children differ from one another in personality, intelligence, home environments, etc. Results can be skewed by the child being tired, lack of interest or motivation and test anxiety. My daughter is an excellent student but suffers terribly from test anxiety. Luckily she is in a system that considers other factors beyond test results.

 

In South Africa, children participate in the ANA or Annual National Assessment.  During this assessment, home and first languages and mathematics are tested. The test is given in all eleven official languages. Each year there are deficits in education. In 2005, the country embraced OBE or Outcomes Based Education in the hopes of improving the education system. This new way of teaching is characterized as a learner-centered approach in which emphasis is on what the leaner should know, understand and demonstrate. Teachers are skeptical of this approach because of perceived time constraints in the classroom and large pupil to teacher ratio. In February 2012, there were more than 12 million learners in 24, 365 public schools taught by 365,447 teachers.

We already know the benefits of assessing children. The question is how the assessment should be interpreted with so many mitigating factors to consider.

South African Government Information (2012). http://www.info.gov.za/aboutsa/education.htm