The Financial Times reports on a new phenomenon: educators around the world see the pandemic as an opportunity to break free of standardized exams.
Tony Stack, a Canadian educator, was developing a new way to assess children even before coronavirus. The decision to scrap end-of-year assessments after the pandemic struck presented the chance to put the “deep learning” approach into practice. “It offered an opportunity for an authentic learning experience, outside some of the constraints of an exam,” said Mr Stack, director of education for Newfoundland and Labrador province. This alternative model, used in 1,300 schools across eight countries, that prioritises skills and independent thinking “set a way forward for a more ethical approach to assessment,” he explained. “Skills that students need to learn through the pandemic cannot be assessed in a single test,” he added.
Most viewed the abrupt cancellation of exams in countries around the world as a regrettable loss that CONTINUE READING: Educators Everywhere See Chance to Ditch Exam Straitjacket | Diane Ravitch's blog