Measuring Quality Learning Through Assessments

I feel that assessments are very important to measure a child’s development. Assessments allow teachers and parents to see where children are both academically, emotionally, and socially. With the help of assessments it allows children to be placed in the correct classes and programs to help best suit their needs. Placement testing is the most accurate way of making sure students are placed in skill appropriate classes. However, I do believe all standardized testing should be a mix of multiple choices, true or false, and essay. These types of tests give the child a chance to feel confident that they are given the opportunity to their best. Some are better at certain kinds of test. When assessing a child, we must make sure that we are free from and biases and are prepared with the proper tools to deal with the results. Assessments are a great way to find if there are any developmental flaws that a child may have. I we can catch any problems before it’s too late, we can prevent long-term problems.

Germany's state-run primary school pupils start their education at the age of five or six. For the first two school years, they are not given marks for their academic performance. Parents are merely handed a school report on their child's abilities and behavior at the end of each school year. From the age of seven, pupils are subjected to continuous assessment. Every piece of work, including tests and homework, is marked on a 40/60 per cent oral/ written basis. The marks go towards an annual school report. When pupils leave primary school at 10 or 11, they are provided with a recommendation, based on continuous assessment, to decide what type of secondary school they attend. I like the fact the children are given a specific idea of what type of school they should attend based on their assessment (Cassidy, 2008). I feel that this would give the child the best chance at succeeding in school and learning in a way that they could understand. Going to a school that would cater to their needs could also boost their confidence in schooling and make them feel that they can accomplish anything. Have been to three different colleges, I feel that if schools gave an assessment to see what school would best fit that person, the dropout rate would be less.

Cassidy, S. (2008, February 08). Our children tested to destruction. Retrieved from http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/our-children-tested-to-destruction-779790.html

Neglect

After looking at all of the different topics on stressors that could affect a child’s development, the one thing that came to mind would be pure neglect. I work with CASA, and many times children are removed from the comforts of their own home because they are not being looked after. I have worked on two cases where children were taken out of the home because parents could not get their lives together and refused to take care of their children. It breaks my heart have the children that I work with, ask “when can I go home?” Children suffer developmentally when things like this happen, because sometimes they don’t understand why they are in the situation they are in. The children are confused and feel that it’s their fault. Children begin to lose sleep and even start acting out in school. It’s already bad enough that a child is losing sleep, but when behavior becomes an issue, then it’s even worse. I can recall on of the children on my case saying that if he would act out at school then maybe they would call his parents and they would come see bout him. I feel that once a child is stressed and doesn’t know where they will lay their heads the next night or where their next meal will come from; their willingness to thrive goes away. For a child to succeed and grow to their full potential, a child needs the tools to be able to access the life skills necessary to survive in today’s society. Neglecting a child’s needs can cause emotional and physical delays. Neglect can come in all forms and if we don’t educate parents, caregivers, and others we are putting more children at risk.

Some people think neglect is not as damaging to a child as physical or sexual abuse. But that is not necessarily true. Chronic neglect can strongly impact a child's health and development. According to research, neglect is the type of child maltreatment most likely to re-occur in a family even after child protective services intervention. Research also finds that the more chronic or recurring neglect is in a family, the more likely that children in that family have been physically abused or sexually abused as well. Neglected children are more likely to show up in the juvenile justice system during adolescent years and are less likely than physically abused or sexually abused children to receive services for their developmental delays. Children in the foster care system because of neglect tend to be younger than other maltreated children in out-of-home care.

                In 2011 Russia had an estimated 800,000 orphans.  Most of these orphans have a living mother or father who has abused, abandoned, or neglected them. The Russian government takes the parent’ rights away and places the children in orphanages. Orphans are considered graduated at the age of 15 or 16. They are sent back out on the streets without any support system or guidance. This becomes a never ending cycle. Once the child is grown, they tend to turn to drugs and have children of their own, and their children become orphans.  I found this shocking. I can’t believe how many children go without families and are left to fend for themselves. I have more appreciation for the system we have in place for our children here in the U.S.

Russian ophans: how many and who cares. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.bigfamilyministry.org/russian_orphan_information.html