Testing for Intelligence

I thought this is a difficult topic to discuss since all children are capable of learning but may require various learning styles and techniques. As a 3 year old educator we are required to assess students every quarter. These assessments are provided by the company and are designed to measure a small portion of each child’s growth, such as cognitive development, gross motor development, fine motor development, and social development. I think that these areas should be observed and assessed more than just quarterly. I am a firm believer of Vygotsky, and his philosophy which is through play and interaction children learn from their peers, parents, families, teachers and surroundings.(Berger, 2009) With that said I believed that younger children’s social development should be measured more than any other area, because the majority of the day younger children that are in childcare facilities are participating in free play. In Japan education is viewed as very significant, and like United States they are required to assess middle age students with standardized test. Educators are made to teach to the test like many other countries. Many children, parents, and educators have developed stress due to this matter. “It is not only the students who are having a difficult time; the teachers are too. Many have to take time off work due to stress, while others create a life of drudgery for their pupils. Many Japanese seem to have lost their love for education and learning once they enroll in junior high school. Indeed, too much test-taking may result in shallow learning and a negative feeling toward school.”(Burns,2010) Not only is standardized testing during middle ages a welled discussed topic in the United States but in Japan also. Students, parents and educators are fed up with these assessments causing their students if becoming nervous, and having anxieties the weeks before being provided with the test that most children do not perform well. Most students tend to do well in the classroom when mastering skills, but if they are like me they are so worked up that they can not focus and do their best when the time comes. Berger, K. S. (2009). The developing person through childhood (5th ed.). New York, NY: Worth Burns, Kevin(2010). Japan and its standardized test-based education syteam(Japan… wwwjanpantodayk.com/…/japan-and-its-standardized-test-based-educational…