When my grandfather, as a young man, went to apply at the “Company,” they measured the circumference of his wrists. Then they assigned him to the sawmill: he didn’t meet the standards to be a lumberjack. Even though he had skill and stamina, experience had shown that the most important criterion for lumberjacks was overall physical build, which was objectively measured by wrist size.
This form of cursory evaluation seems like something from another era; evaluation criteria evolve with society. Currently undergoing a general reevaluation, our evaluation criteria are set to change in the near future, including in education.
It is rather ridiculous to wait for a final grade at the end of the school year when we generally know from the start who will succeed and who will fail within the rigid framework of most educational programs, rather than facilitating meaningful learning for everyone. The promise of adaptive learning lies in this direction. Many current assessment criteria—such as the ability to conceptualize, verbalize, or synthesize—can be treated in the same way as “wrist size.”
Everywhere, the pursuit of higher quality and efficiency is becoming the norm, and education will be no exception; this includes the joy of learning, the school environment, student health, and many other factors. The goal is to transform the behaviors and attitudes necessary to optimize student success—in other words, to increase our effectiveness.
“Is this graded?” is often the key factor that determines how much effort a student will put into their studies. As a result, more often than not, they will have forgotten everything once the exam is over. Instead of causing students to disengage from their own studies, assessment can become a key part of the learning process: Can I achieve the expected outcome? Am I satisfied? How can I improve? How can we improve? What’s next? I want to move in this direction—can you help me? We’re talking about accountability—above all, that of the students. This may even be the ultimate purpose of assessment.
Denys Lamontagne - [email protected]
Publisher of Thot Cursus
