Knowing vs. Remembering

The dichotomy between knowing a topic and remembering information needs some more attention. I am noticing that on assessments some students can mask a lack of true understanding with their excellent memory skills, as long as the test presents a question or problem in a format they are familiar with.

For example, if I ask students to fill in the data on a blank chart, and certain ones have seen that chart format in their book or notes or on a study guide, they can complete the chart successfully. But if I ask them to provide that same information in sentence form, they might struggle to do so. A student who really understands the concept, on the other hand, will be able to answer successfully regardless of their familiarity with the format of the question.

This suggests that we need to focus more on finding ways for students to reach understanding during instructional time, so that they will be ready for assessments. A first step will be to raise students awareness of the difference between the two - and thus my lesson plan for tomorrow.

SAT Left in the Wake?

About a month ago, Wake Forest University announced that it was moving to an SAT-optional admissions process. To date, it is the highest ranked (by US News & World Report) national university to do so.

Among the reasons given for the move was the concern that research shows the SAT favors students from higher socio-economic classes, partly through the practice of expensive SAT-prep courses. No doubt though, Wake will have to face backlash from people who will accuse them of 'dumbing down' to diversify.

To that I say, "Oy vey".

I can't argue about the correlation between SAT and SES because I haven't read the research on it. But I don't have to because it would not change my thinking - the SAT is but one tool of many, and should not be used a s sole determinant of college admission.

In its announcement about the admissions change, Wake indicated that it would base decisions on high school curriculum and grades, essays, extracurriculars, and personal interviews with admissions staff - a far more qualitative process than SAT cutoffs. Students will still have the option to submit their SAT scores as a way to build their admissions resume.

A recent editorial by Dan K. Thomasson, former editor of the Scripps Howard News Service, supported Wake Forest's decision by suggesting that qualities like resilience and motivation, critical to college success, cannot be measured on an assessment device, but should be viewed through a long-range lens on a student's life and academic career.

Out of curiosity, I looked at the list of schools that offer SAT-optional admissions, over 700 of them, according to Fairtest.org. While a good number of schools on the list are specialty schools that focus on areas like art & religion, there are many reputable universities as well. Some quality private colleges in Pennsylvania are there, schools like Dickinson, Franklin & Marshall, Gettysburg and Muhlenberg. Somehow these schools have managed to maintain their standards.

As to the charge of 'dumbing down' . . . some folks have a hard time recognizing that changes to the status quo can actually create progress. A generation from now we'll wonder what the hubbub was.

Assessment and Analogies

In the springtime many a school’s fancy turns to assessment. Despite increasingly agreeable weather and spring colors, assessment season becomes a nerve-wracking time for many students, parents, teachers, and administrators.

The high stakes nature of our current assessment process has fostered a sharp competitive climate that does much to hamper the real purpose of education – and that doesn’t need to be the case.

Let’s talk analogies to create some perspective.

Philadelphia Daily News columnist Elmer Smith wrote a piece some years ago about a Philadelphia high school student who received good grades, was a highly competitive chess player, and was by all personal accounts a hard-working and dedicated learner. However, his standardized test scores were fairly low, and as a result he found his choices for higher education were limited. Smith used the metaphor that the test results were a single still shot in the movie of the young man’s life – imagine deciding on an Academy Award based on a still. (While I contacted Smith some years ago and got his permission to use the analogy in a presentation I was doing, I never thought to archive the column – my regrets.)

On April 1, 2008, GE stock closed at $38.43. Should you base your decision on the quality of that company based on that day’s performance? Wouldn’t it be better to also consider that two weeks later it closed at $31.98, and two days ago it closed at $32.81? Looking at ongoing data gives investors a far better chance to make good decisions.

Nobody would be satisfied if their doctor just took their temperature and proclaimed them healthy. We would want to share our symptoms, to use information like blood pressure and heart rate, and maybe have blood drawn before feeling confident in the clean bill of health.

If you served on a jury, a single eyewitness account of a crime would make a verdict far more tenuous than one made with multiple eyewitness accounts, physical evidence like fingerprints, and surveillance video.

While it may be too strong to say we are prosecuting students with only a single form of evidence, the high stakes assessment model has overstepped its limits. Many educators and parents know that an ongoing diagnostic-prescriptive model based on daily observation and ongoing authentic assessments better serve students, yet every year many in the process become as skittish as Pennsylvania deer in late November.

Please refer to http://www.fairtest.org/ for a more cogent case against our current assessment model.