Multiple intelligences and standardized testing

During a recent conversation with my sister-in-law, I inquired as to how my 3 ½ year old nephew was doing in preschool. I was dismayed to learn that he is going through what sounded like an intensive process to prepare him for an assessment he will have to pass in order to gain admission into elementary school in another year and half. Homework in preschool? A test at age 5 to gain admission to elementary school? I have been trying very hard to understand why my nephew at the age of 3, has to sit and practice his letters each evening instead of being free to play and run around outside like any other 3 year old. This has become a source of stress for his mother who struggles to get him to sit and focus and has created a negative idea about school and learning for him. 

Looking back at my own experience attending school in Sri Lanka, I remember the amount of emphasis that was placed on standardized testing. It truly was a source of stress to all; both children and parents. The school year was divided into three terms and at the end of each term we had to face an examination in each subject. The grades earned determined each student’s overall ranking in the class at the end of the year. At the national level, in fifth grade, children had the option of taking a test that would allow them to be transferred to a school with a higher ranking. For many children from rural areas this exam was their only path to gain access to a better education. In 9th grade all students began to prepare for a written national level exam referred to as the Ordinary Level exam that they took in 11^th grade where they were tested on content learned during the previous three years. The scores from this exam determined what majors the students were eligible to pursue. For the next 2 ½ years student prepared for another written exam referred to as the Advanced Level examination. Students were assessed on content related to their major and scores on this exam determines a student’s eligibility to gain admission into college. This exam is extremely competitive as this is the only path to gain access to higher education to state universities and they don’t have the capacity to accommodate all the students seeking a higher education. Throughout a child’s school career, the goal of parents and eventually the children is to use all possible means to excel in these exams, as these exams alone determine their future. 

                Only a few of my friends did well enough at the national level in the advanced level exam to qualify to gain admission to a state university. I was not one of them. Does this mean we were not as intelligent as others who did? The answer is no. It just means that some of us were either not as good as others at retaining information drilled into us or didn’t do well at test taking under pressure. Or it meant that a single written test was not at all the best way to assess all students. Unfortunately for us then and now, the structure of the education system requires such testing. I recall friend who used to get panic attacks each time exams were near. Another who would get stomachaches during exams. Although our intelligence was judged by our parents, our teachers and ultimately ourselves based on the results of these exams alone, many of friends have proven that test results alone don’t determine intelligence by going on to excel in their chosen career paths. What if were assessed on what we could instead of testing to find out what we couldn’t? What if my friend who was very creative but not so good at writing was allowed to do a science project on atomic structures instead of struggling to write them out during an exam? What about my friend who couldn’t remember much taught in class but remembered every line in the school play? What if our individual abilities and intelligences were taken into account rather than measuring it by comparing it to others? If so, many of us would have felt far less stressed throughout our school years and had a feeling of more self-worth about our intelligence. 

                I believe that each individual is unique in how they learn and the type of intelligences they have. I agree with Gardener’s theory of multiple intelligences (Berger, 2012). He believed that humans have multiple intelligences; linguistic, logical, mathematical, musical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, naturalistic and existential. Some display more intelligence in one area while others excel in another. My 10 year old niece loves to read and write and therefore does well in school assessments. My 13 year old nephew on the other hand is a hands-on-learner who doesn’t read unless he has to and struggles to maintain his grades but can figure out anything to do with electronics on his own. Is a formal written exam the best way to assess both? Both of them are intelligent in their own way but the type of assessments they face say one is more intelligent than the other. According to an article by the California Department of Education, “Students may perform poorly in a given subject not because they cannot learn but because the strategy used to teach them was inconsistent with their learning styles. And teachers and students alike often confuse mismatches in styles of teaching and learning with lack of ability”. I believe that it is important to recognize that individuals vary in their intelligences as well as learning styles. I believe that instruction should be modified to meet individual needs and the assessment methods used should allow individual children to display their knowledge in their own unique way. Students should be given the opportunity to be assessed over a time period rather than just in one instance. Consideration should be given to the fact that how a student responds to an assessment may depend on facts such as the assessment setting, whether the way the child is being assessed allows the child to understand clearly what is being asked of him etc. 

References

Berger, K. S. (2012). The developing person through childhood (6th ed.). New York, NY: Worth Publishers.

California Department of Education (2001). Effects of Multiple Intelligences on Instruction     Retrieved from http://pubs.cde.ca.gov/tcsii/documentlibrary/effectintelligence.aspx