Friday, February 26, 2010

in the craziness of innovation, how does public school assess it


the key questions- 
what do we assess? what should be standard? what should/could be one size fits all?
                                          
                          update: beta tool to document/measure/validate
               may 2: update: perhaps clearer version
                                         

1. used to be: the standard we wanted for every student was fixed content - so we assessed at each building - in each state - how much each student had learned (and/or memorized) that fixed content, aka csap/act/sat/etc
We were creating students to work in factories, to follow rules, to assure a status quo.




2. today: the standard we need for every student is fixed access/
process /connectivity- so we need to be measuring that accessibility to connections and process for each student at each building in each state. 
Because of the capabilities the web allows - we are now creating students that are indispensable, students that create factories we can't even comprehend, students that write new rules, students that don't accept the status quo, and most of all - students that are patient and embracing of irresolution .


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I started working through these ideas over a year ago with my expert individual tutor. They are just now starting to really make sense to me. Perhaps you will understand his explanations of assessment better than mine.

I can't suggest/push/offer enough - the importance of an expert individual tutor in today's open sourced world. That is the one biggest thing web access has to offer our students. If we feel the need to standardize/equalize anything in public education, it should be that every student has access/connections to and a process with one of these.

true assessment is an ongoing process with constant feedback via Michael Wesch 
let's help kids move toward self-assessment

and individuals should never be rated on a standardized test unless, of course, we believe cogship is the best we have to offer our students ..via Tom Peters:


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