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Dismantling the factory model of assessment

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Abstract

The Factory Models of the 1900's had a significant and lasting impact on the educational curriculum and testing frameworks developed in America's public schools. The child was viewed as a product, the school was designed as an educational factory, and standardized testing became the quality control mechanism for measuring educational progress. The effects of these structures can still be seen in today's public school organizations. Breaking free of the limiting effects of standardized testing requires changes in teacher education, school organization, curriculum frameworks, and especially, the methods of assessment currently used in public schools. Viewing assessment as 'reflective inquiry' rather than the measurement of accumulated facts, requires time, a new perspective, and dialogue among educators.
... For example, NCLB reform encourages educational programs that emphasize the mastery of basic intellectual skills on standardized tests but tends to neglect or exclude programs that emphasize students' affective needs for supportive social climates (The No Child Left Behind Act, 2001). Educators maintain that this one-sided emphasis on intellectual skills to the exclusion of student social support undermines student achievement in the long term Marshak, 2003;Serafini, 2002). ...
... Its origin was partly in response to the national economic need to prepare students to work on the regimented assembly lines of factories. These bureaucratic organizations press hard for efficient production and offer little social support (Serafini, 2002). They are all work and no play. ...
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This paper presents a comprehensive developmental framework for understanding five school reform models and portrays the ideal school model as a peaceful learning community with productive peaceful learners. The conceptualization of the peaceful learning community is based on a complex psychosocial systems theory of emergent well-being. According to this view, the development of student well-being is an active process of building students’ skills and dispositions for peaceful learning that goes beyond passively keeping the peace in schools (Harris & Morrison, 2003; Sandy & Perkins, 2002). Peaceful learning is a positive expression of student well-being experienced as unity within oneself and with other people (Danesh, 1995). It fully acknowledges and cultivates the enriching “unity in diversity” of the human psyche and humankind. This unity-based approach to education fosters a collective commitment to caring and competence for all learners and promotes the development of integrative student dispositions within the context of peaceful learning communities.
... The character of such school systems mimic the factory model of education which Serafini (2002) clarifies as one in which "[t]he child was viewed as a product, the school was designed as an educational factory, and standardised testing became the quality control mechanism for measuring educational progress" (p.67). In such contexts, teachers are challenged with the minimal importance placed on the teaching and learning processes because procedural quality is sacrificed for the sake of merely preparing students to gain high marks on tests. ...
... In particular, as Foucault (1979) suggested, although assessment is an educational tool it can dominate and even contribute to the formation of mass education, encouraging regularity and normality in learning processes as the only acceptable way of learning. It can also facilitate the top-down accountability of schools in terms of financial investment and time management, resulting in the increased use and frequency of standardized testing instead of its minimization (Scott, 2000;Serafini, 2002). Consequently, pupils' training for achieving high performance in standardized examinations is emphasised, narrowing significantly the curriculum into teaching basic skills, whereas children tend to develop their self-image as learners based on their attainment in meeting the expected performance levels, and in addition, attempting not to be viewed differently from normal learners. ...
Conference Paper
This thesis on curriculum development within inclusive learning environments for pupils identified with specific learning difficulties details the development of the concept of inclusion worldwide and its implementation in England. The research study documents inclusive and pedagogical practices within mainstream education, involving the relevant theories that underpin them, which influence considerably the learning processes of pupils who have been diagnosed either officially or by their teachers with specific learning difficulties, and especially with dyslexia at Key Stage 2 for literacy and reading. The principal focus of this study is the above pupils’ learning experiences as they were shaped by their school curricula, inclusive measures and learning arrangements. This study is further informed by moderate social constructivism and it incorporates grounded theory within three case studies. Ten pupils aged 9-10 identified with specific learning difficulties, and especially with dyslexia, their parents and staff members from three mainstream primary schools in London participated in the research. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, naturalistic classroom observations and document analysis and they were thematically analysed. A number of the schools’ learning and inclusive practices, namely seating arrangements and special provision, was found to influence significantly the learning processes of the children who participated in the research and eventually their self-image as learners. Individual teacher perspectives and practices tended to be in tension with the above pupils’ learning needs having crucial effects on their self-awareness, motivation, self-confidence and learning progress. The thesis recommends reconsideration of inclusive approaches, comprising pupils’ labelling, diagnostic assessment, pedagogical and assessment methods applied within literacy and reading classrooms. It also supports the acknowledgement of learners’ individuality in learning process through the reconstruction of learning environments. An alternative curriculum based on learning and curriculum theories as well as on those respondents’ perspectives and experiences is suggested focusing on their equality in learning opportunities and on their well-being.
... I understand using closed-response assessment instruments with a large number of students and using a factory model of education. 3 However as learning in pharmacy education is progressing to be more learnercentered and constructivist, a model of assessment that seeks to quickly quantify students' abilities does not seem meaningfully-helpful to me. As I scan other areas of education (such as medical and more general education), it is interesting to me that development of close-ended assessment instruments is an infrequent topic. ...
Working Paper
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Two Canadian settler teachers explore the intention and iterative, enduring process of reconciliation in high school classrooms through storytelling of their own lived experiences. They respectfully ‘call-in' other settler teachers who may feel paralyzed for fear of appropriation and the heaviness of this reconciliatory work. Weaving in how the 5Rs have guided the two teachers' journeys toward incorporating Indigenous pedagogies into their praxis and suggesting how these principles could support other settler educators who are beginning their decolonization journey, an Interwoven Living Framework that illuminates their learning ‘from' is developed. The framework is grounded in actionizing the 5Rs through the critical work of listening to, learning from, working, and walking with First Peoples. Using narratives, the teachers story their “walk” inspired by the words of an Indigenous student from their class, Poppy. They share a place to begin towards truly understanding how to become an entrusted Indigenous ally-to-be and how to actionize this collective work in high school landscapes.
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Developing assessment literacy is important for veterinary students because the demands of a veterinary medicine course require students to rapidly adapt to new ways of learning and assessment. In this study, we investigate the understanding of assessments at university from applicants and current veterinary students and how this understanding can be improved and developed throughout the course. Data were gathered from three groups-applicants, naïve veterinary students, and experienced veterinary students-using questionnaire-based surveys. Of the applicants, 69% expected university assessments to be different from those at school, whereas only 13% agreed they had a good idea of what assessments would be like at university. More than 50% of students in their first term agreed they had a good understanding of assessments at university, although students had no significant improvement in their understanding of assessments as they progressed through the course. All three groups agreed that having a better understanding of assessments would make them feel more confident about exams. We conclude that more could be done to prepare prospective veterinary students for different styles of assessments and that current veterinary students would benefit from the opportunity to develop their assessment literacy. An assessment literacy curriculum is therefore proposed to develop students' assessment literacy from high school through graduation. Further research could investigate the development of assessment literacy interventions aimed at both applicants and veterinary students.
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Chapter
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A framework that can be used to determine the potential authenticity of teaching practices is presented and explained.
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