Education
Recently, Harvard professors ceased giving final exams as part of their overall assessment of student performance (Strauss, 2010). In a radical transformation of official college policy, the Faculty of Arts and Sciences voted to eliminate exams and require professors who wish to administer them to file an application form. The reverse used to be true: exams were the norm and professors wishing to opt-out would have to ask for permission.
What has caused this startling turn of events? Evidence, for one. In Test Problems: Seven Reasons Why Standardized Tests Are Not Working, Sadker & Zittleman (n.d.) outline empirical evidence supporting a shift away from examinations as the primary measure of student success. Examinations do measure a certain type of achievement, but they should not be used as the only method of gauging student progress and performance. One of the core reasons cited by Sadker & Zittleman (n.d.) include student stress.
Examinations are only one of many different types of academic assessments that...
Student Engagement and Mathematical Justification The following paper begins with the description of student engagement. It moves further to identify the effect of student engagement on student performance. In addition to that, the paper also focuses on the importance of mathematical justification. The paper also highlights the importance of student engagement in mathematical justification. Furthermore, the paper comments on the options that the teachers have for improving the student engagement in their
The shift toward standardized testing has failed to result in a meaningful reduction of high school dropout rates, and students with disabilities continue to be marginalized by the culture of testing in public education (Dynarski et al., 2008). With that said, the needs of students with specific educational challenges are diverse and complex, and the solutions to their needs are not revealed in the results of standardized testing (Crawford &
This helps them deal with administrative tasks such as applying for grants, reporting their progress, appeasing parents, etc. In addition, teacher-based methods of assessment have at least one positive implication for students. According to Flood et al., teacher-based assessments allow teachers to enter the process of scaffolding with significant foreknowledge. Flood et al. (2003). suggests that all good assessment includes a component in which a teacher plans and sets
Now we have examined two extremes in educational thought that have developed over the past century. Teacher centered and student centered philosophies differ significantly in their approach to the student-teacher relationship. Teacher centered philosophy does not depend on the student's wants and needs at all. Teacher centered philosophy uses antiquated methods, such as rote learning. However, these methods are quickly being replaced by a more student-centered approach. Student centered approaches
Communicative Language Teaching the Best Methodology to Prepare Students for the Cambridge First Certificate Exam? Based on its emphasis on authenticity and relevancy to students' lives, it has been argued that the communicative language teaching approach may represent the best methodology to prepare students to take the Cambridge English: First for Schools (also known as First Certificate in English or FCE for Schools), which demonstrates student progress in second language
Abstract No teacher can entirely avoid the realities of student standardized assessment. But teachers must make informed choices in the classroom in regards to how students are instructed, based upon individual student needs and awareness of student diversity. There are significant questions regarding the potential biases of many standardized tests, particularly in regards to historically discriminated-against racial, ethnic, and socio-economic groups. Teachers must be aware of these questions and biases and
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