MEASURING INTELLIGENCE

Commitment to anything in life will always show continual unrelenting input. This is why the issue of 'how we should assess children's intellligence keeps going through reformations and transformations. Scholarly institutions cannot but use standardized measures to measure academic achievements. One must ask however, 'what is the objective of the standardized test in comparison with our intention'. Standardized tests has several things that make it either advantageous or disadvantageous. 

According to PRO CON .org, standardized testing gives an overall better performance to national achievement. Since the introduction of  'No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) mandated annual testing in all 50 states. US students slipped from 18th in the world in math in 2000 to 31st place in 2009, with a similar decline in science and no change in reading.' 

It also says ' standardized tests are a fair and objective measure of student achievement, that they ensure teachers and schools are accountable to taxpayers, and that the most relevant constituents – parents and students – approve of testing'

The opponents of this stand say ' the tests are neither fair nor objective, that their use promotes a narrow curriculum and drill-like "teaching to the test," and that excessive testing undermines America's ability to produce innovators and critical thinkers'

Looking at the true development of a child. Each child learns uniquely and there is the need give each child the opportunity to learn which was not a point in consideration at the introduction of standardized testing. 

History revealed that Standardized Testing was introduced to as an easy way to test large number of students quickly. this was an outcome of an educational historical revolution which removed children from the farm to the classrooms.

 The brief history puts it this way " as the Industrial Revolution (and the progressive movement of the early 1800s that followed) took school-age kids out of the farms and factories and put them behind desks, standardized examinations emerged as an easy way to test large numbers of students quickly (time,US ).

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1947019,00.html#ixzz22XTQA1U8

Over time this testing has tried, in the bid to manage time and large number of people, have streamlined testing to what it called Basic Maths and Vocabulary skills. This in my own opinion does not focus on making a whole child emerge.

Researches and studies have helped humans to live better life in all areas of life. Recent studies has revealed that some people who do drop out from school, which implies that they did not conform to the tests, yet they thrive well and even excel in life have some forms of intelligence that we are ignoring. The computer giant, Bill Gates is one of such several icons.

Thus to view the development of a holistic child, the introduction of multiple intelligence, is a most welcome idea. according to teachervision website," no single approach to teaching and assessment can possibly work best for every student, teachers face a challenge. What's the best way to match assessments to students' learning styles?

Read more on TeacherVision: http://www.teachervision.fen.com/intelligence/resource/4933.html#ixzz22XXXfILf

Howard Gardner groups student capabilities into eight broad categories (each student's unique learning style is a combination of these intelligences):

• Logical/mathematical (uses numbers effectively)
  
• Visual/spatial (is artistically or spatially perceptive)
  
• Bodily/kinesthetic (excels at tasks that require physical movement)
  
• Musical (perceives and/or expresses musical forms and patterns)
  
• Linguistic (uses words effectively)
  
• Interpersonal (responds well to others)
  
• Intrapersonal (is reflective and inner-directed)
  
• Naturalist (makes distinctions in the natural world)

Read more on TeacherVision: http://www.teachervision.fen.com/intelligence/resource/4933.html#ixzz22XYF9LDh

This give a fair access to every child for learning and evaluation.

ASSESSMENT OF PRIMARY PUPILS IN NIGERIA.

Nigeria introduced Continuous Assessment in order to attend to a holistic Child Development.                       
 What is Continuous Assessment?
Continuous assessment was formally introduced into the Nigerian educational system in 1982. it is often regarded as “Assessment for learning” because the purpose of assessing the child is to help him learn and not to find out if he has satisfied the objectives of learning. In continuous assessment, the pupils are assessed in the cognitive, affective and psychomotor domains, a number of times and at certain intervals using a variety of assessment techniques such as tests, projects, assignments, observations, questionnaires, interviews, portfolios, checklist, sociometry etc. The results of these assessments are recorded and kept on a continuous basis for future use in decision making on the pupils and for guidance purposes. Continuous Assessments is therefore different from former system of assessing pupils at the end of teaching. It is therefore a formative mode of assessment (iaea.info).

This good intention is not however achieving its purpose as you know of every concept introduced. It is a far cry from it. The reason for this failure is actually the interpretation of the policy to both the teachers and pupils. We abuse anything not properly defined.

'The current assessment practices in most Nigerian primary schools is a far cry from what continuous assessment is meant to achieve, hence
its impact is yet to be felt' (iaea paper).

  

One major reform introduced is to make assessment formative, spanning all through the learning process so as to provide pupils and teachers access to feedback which will help improve learning. It is however regrettable that most schools still practice the traditional method of assessing pupils in the summative mode.
Many teachers misconceive continuous assessment to imply continuous or repeated testing of learners.

The disadvantages also abound. "In the Nigerian society, this social importance attached to test results, and
certificates has motivated unhealthy ambition aimed at not only to pass by all means, but also to score high marks, hence pupils cheat during tests and examinations using numerous methods such as copying from textbooks, copying from a brighter child by “giraffing” or through planned collaboration of copying verbatim what he/she has written as answers by a weaker child. A child can also write answers to the questions and pass it to another child to copy or a brighter learner will finish writing his answers and take over the scripts of the weaker learner to write for him/her (aiei, paper).

Given the two different counties scenario mentioned above, my recommendation for evaluating children's intelligence is that we give every child the opportunity to develop maximally by building on their area of intelligence. This would strengthen  children's moral in learning and also build their confidence.

Most importantly, it will help them develop into healthy adults who understands by mastery of his strength that he is uniquely himself and that, that 'self' has been nurtured to grow and face the real world where application would be demanded. He meets the real world with a smile of  I HAVE BEEN GROOMED TO FACE YOU.

That is when we have developed the individual child.

Rererences:

http://standardizedtests.procon.org/

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1947019,00.html

http://www.iaea.info/documents/paper_1162d2034d.pdf

http://www.teachervision.fen.com/intelligence/resource/4933.html