Assessing learning with standardized tests

I don't know about you, but I'm finished talking about governance. At this point, I'd support the "rock-paper-scissors" method of governance if I thought it produced a good result! It's all about keepin' it real.... (oh geez -- if my daughter ever reads that I've committed those words to cyber-paper, she'll keel over with embarrassment! It's fun to be a parent sometimes!)

So now back to the heart of the matter -- education. A major question facing schools around the world today is, "How do we assess how well our students are doing?" It's a fair question, and the answers are important not only to parents and students, but also to the schools themselves as they strive to improve the quality of their educational programs.

While cruising the internet last week, you may have seen this article on CNN's education page about testing in the United States. It's an interesting read on the difficulties parents face making sense of test reports that too often seem non-sensical.....

If you have students at JIS in grades 3, 5, 7, or 10, you also may have received a packet of information and results for the International Schools Assessment (ISA). If you'd like to learn more about the test and the company that administers it (ACER, or the Australian Council for Educational Research), mosey over to its website at www.acer.edu.au.

When Robert and I lived in Jakarta during the late '90s, Sofia went to school at the Pattimura campus. Each year, JIS held a big presentation in the campus auditorium to discuss the results of the standardized tests (I think at the time they were the Iowa tests). The ensuing conversation was usually lively, but there was a real sense in the community that we were working as a team to improve the education for all children. We celebrated areas of strength in the school's program, and we talked about areas that could be improved.

I'm hopeful JIS will do similar presentations on the ISA results this year. It would be a great way to reach out to a group who's sincerely supportive of the school -- the parents.