j (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} chance1of2) wrote,@ 2009-09-28 15:34:00 |
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Pass or Fail
I recently had a conversation with a friend's father over education. I didn't know he was a teacher, and he seemed eager to engage me in a discussion of pedagogy.
He argued, as others have, that there should be a separate track towards vocational schooling for some students. Not everyone is college material. In the same line of reasoning, he complained about being required to allow students to retake tests. He was concerned that a re-take of a test was an unfair assessment for students since they had already seen the test (and presumably would prepare specifically for it.)
I'm not here to contend his logic, as we didn't have a lengthy discussion of those issues, so I'm not fully representing his views, but to present a few claims otherwise.
The option for vocational school is probably beneficial. At the very least, some students may actually want to pursue that route rather than the collegiate one, and I think there is something to be said for giving 18-year olds a choice. "Indoctrination" does begin to creep into my mind the more we presume to plan a persons life, to some extent, for 15 or more years. However, there is a problem with this discussion. Most of the students who would be tracked for vocational schools are those who are failing out of the collegiate track. This would seem to indicate that schools are failing, and vocational schools don't fix the failing schools... they give the students another opportunity. I believe we should present students with opportunities, but schools must be fixed as well. The possible societal implications of this I'll leave for another day.
As for re-takes of test. I think I understand the concerns. At the same time, I have misgivings about allowing students to fail. Our job is to educate students. (Our meta-job may be something more nefarious, such as social sorting.) We have a responsibility to report student progress to the school/community/parent/student. I believe the two can co-exist. Teach the students, test, re-teach, re-test. If a grade is a reflection of what students have learned, and the test is valid, a re-test can replace the original.
I think the two issues are tied together, as school grades seem historically, socially, to be measures of value, not learning. Much the same as salaries tend to be measures of value and not productivity. These students with low grades, "without value," may have well been assessed during their youth over issues of family income, stability, books available, pre-school activities, and probably in this way have a predictable "value" factor without wasting time in school. As educators, we have a responsibility to make sure the grades are about learning, and not about value, so that equity can be reached, at least in school.
I have rambled a bit. Perhaps I will pull a point or two from here for a later, more cohesive thought.
j
I recently had a conversation with a friend's father over education. I didn't know he was a teacher, and he seemed eager to engage me in a discussion of pedagogy.
He argued, as others have, that there should be a separate track towards vocational schooling for some students. Not everyone is college material. In the same line of reasoning, he complained about being required to allow students to retake tests. He was concerned that a re-take of a test was an unfair assessment for students since they had already seen the test (and presumably would prepare specifically for it.)
I'm not here to contend his logic, as we didn't have a lengthy discussion of those issues, so I'm not fully representing his views, but to present a few claims otherwise.
The option for vocational school is probably beneficial. At the very least, some students may actually want to pursue that route rather than the collegiate one, and I think there is something to be said for giving 18-year olds a choice. "Indoctrination" does begin to creep into my mind the more we presume to plan a persons life, to some extent, for 15 or more years. However, there is a problem with this discussion. Most of the students who would be tracked for vocational schools are those who are failing out of the collegiate track. This would seem to indicate that schools are failing, and vocational schools don't fix the failing schools... they give the students another opportunity. I believe we should present students with opportunities, but schools must be fixed as well. The possible societal implications of this I'll leave for another day.
As for re-takes of test. I think I understand the concerns. At the same time, I have misgivings about allowing students to fail. Our job is to educate students. (Our meta-job may be something more nefarious, such as social sorting.) We have a responsibility to report student progress to the school/community/parent/student. I believe the two can co-exist. Teach the students, test, re-teach, re-test. If a grade is a reflection of what students have learned, and the test is valid, a re-test can replace the original.
I think the two issues are tied together, as school grades seem historically, socially, to be measures of value, not learning. Much the same as salaries tend to be measures of value and not productivity. These students with low grades, "without value," may have well been assessed during their youth over issues of family income, stability, books available, pre-school activities, and probably in this way have a predictable "value" factor without wasting time in school. As educators, we have a responsibility to make sure the grades are about learning, and not about value, so that equity can be reached, at least in school.
I have rambled a bit. Perhaps I will pull a point or two from here for a later, more cohesive thought.
j
