Dear Fellow Classmates of EDUC 6160,

Thank you for all positive feedback that was given throughout this course.  I appreciate the time that you all made in sharing your thoughts and ideas through discussions and postings.  I wish continued success in your remaining courses.  

Denise

When I reflect on my studies so far, I think about the different milestones of development that we study in order to understand the whole child.  We look at what is typical for different stages and ages and we use that information to help guide instruction, to help inform parents and to simply provide support for young children and their families.  The above quote signifies that no matter what is typical for an infant, or child to do by a certain age, one should understand that children are unique and in their own way they will make gains.

Testing for Intellignece

Reliability of assessments used to measure what students learn isn't reliable and therefore very limited.  There are many factors including, a student having testing anxiety, and language or cultural factors.  Using this as a means to scale students doesn't provide a full profile of the entire student.   It doesn't measure what children have actually learned nor does it bring into account the progress a student has made throughout the school year.  Real-world challenges and knowing how to preserve, work with others cooperatively and apply other skills cannot be measured from a test.  

There is so much pressure not only on the students taking the test, but also the teachers.  With the change in teacher accountability, more pressure is placed on teachers to work miracles or they job security is at risk.



Despite are practices to differentiate instruction to students we still asses them the same way as their non-disabled  peers.  As a special educator, I work with students with a variety of disabilities and learning styles, yet when it comes to standardized testing they are still expected to take.  This has always been somewhat of a challenge for me to comprehend.

“Finland--which is one of the top performers on international tests--has gone in the opposite direction”.  They don’t use standardized tests as often as the U.S.  Students there take more low states tests rather than high-stakes tests.  Students aren’t over-tested.  

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/16/standardized-testing-a-fo_n_2145623.html