Module 6: Discussion: Assessment
This discussion is based on the following statement:
"Assessment is a political act." Garcia & Pearson (1994)
"Assessment is a political act." Garcia & Pearson (1994)
Is assessment a political act? This is a big question. And, if I’m to think “critically” about it, I might ask, “What’s the angle of the question.”
There are certain words that always get my attention, and any form of the word “politic” is one of them. Mainly because so many people and products (various forms of media) consistently portray politics as negative. So, for the foundation of my response, I want to assure myself and the reader that I’m starting from a neutral point.
My answer is, in most cases, assessment is a political act, not because of what it aims to accomplish, but by the very nature that most assessment takes place in government institutions (public schools). It’s a trickle-down byproduct of the decisions of voters. Keep in mind I have a degree in public policy and affairs so that’s probably my angle.
I think another thought-provoking question is whether or not benchmarking is political. Is it political to have a world record for a 100-yard dash? Is it political to make it into the Fortune 500? Is it political to say your child walked by the time they were a year old? I don’t think so, but maybe. So, with that lens, I don’t think it’s political to see that my child is reading at a 3.2 grade level while being a fourth grader. That part of assessment is informative, motivating, driving my involvement as a parent and helping me help my child close his literacy gap. But the roll-up of aggregated scores that creates school rankings, school funding, promotions, school-board votes, property assessment increases, etc., that part is definitely political.
Reply Eric Wolford
I like how you tie this into matters of public policy. Here in Alaska, state norms-based testing is definitely political, As many of our state's school districts do poorly on testing (just ignore the fact that most of these districts reside in remote parts of the state where there are already high rates of poverty and illiteracy - not to mention how inaccessible these communities are because they are only accessible by air travel), our frankly bone-headed governor has decided to not raise the state's base student allotments since he came into office in 2017, While this has had the inevitable effect of harming our state's schools and placing districts near bankruptcy - one district that I used to work for has it so bad that students in a small remote community have to attend a school in a building that is condemned! - he doesn't seem to be that affected by it. Instead, he's focusing his attention on Charter Schools as students in these schools do well in testing - a solution that only benefits the major communities like Anchorage, Fairbanks, and so on. Now I'm not saying that standardized testing is the reason why public schools here are underfunded, but when you have an opportunistic governor who'd rather use test scores to justify not investing in our school system rather than improve upon it, they sure can be a problem.
Reply Asma Alzaharani
Hi Melinda,
I also wanted to share a personal experience regarding assessments. When my daughter was in first grade, we noticed she was having some difficulties with her reading at her previous school. It was a concern for us as parents because we wanted to ensure she received the support she needed to success academically. After careful consideration, we made the decision to transfer her to another school. This new school had a different approach to assessments, one that seemed more tailored to individual student needs. They provided regular feedback and assessments that helped us understand her progress more clearly.
Over time, we began to see improvements in her reading skills, which was a relief for us as parents. It showed us the importance of assessments in identifying areas for growth and guiding educational decisions. While it was a positive outcome for us, it also made me reflect on how assessments can vary from one educational institution to another and the impact they can have on a child's learning journey.
Reply Julia Isbell
Hi Melinda,
I think you bring up an interesting point! I think that any benchmark or achievement level (whether academic, career, athletic, anything in life) will be pursued competitively. In sport specifically, there is an increasing body of research connecting high achieving athletes, particularly in the AAU/Little League/NCAA/TeamUSA systems, with higher wealth backgrounds relative to their competitors. While money does not inherently make someone run faster such as your example, it can provide opportunities - private coaching, nutrition services, optimized equipment, a stay at home parent to commute kids to tournaments, etc. - to one athlete that helps them supersede another despite equal training intensity and desire. This is actually part of what I am looking at within the youth sport context for my Ph.D. research. To put it succinctly, I think whenever there is a financial, social, or life outcome benefit to achieving something, there will be a parent willing to devote as many resources as they possibly can to their child progressing past everyone. I’m also not sure if this might be considered political in and of itself, but I could see that there may be political influences on the distribution of public funding or infrastructure that assists in these pursuits while disadvantaging others - thinking about the location of nice youth sporting facilities in suburbs instead of lower-income urban regions for instance. I think it is really interesting to think about the different types of assessments we encounter in life that might be influenced in some way!
There are certain words that always get my attention, and any form of the word “politic” is one of them. Mainly because so many people and products (various forms of media) consistently portray politics as negative. So, for the foundation of my response, I want to assure myself and the reader that I’m starting from a neutral point.
My answer is, in most cases, assessment is a political act, not because of what it aims to accomplish, but by the very nature that most assessment takes place in government institutions (public schools). It’s a trickle-down byproduct of the decisions of voters. Keep in mind I have a degree in public policy and affairs so that’s probably my angle.
I think another thought-provoking question is whether or not benchmarking is political. Is it political to have a world record for a 100-yard dash? Is it political to make it into the Fortune 500? Is it political to say your child walked by the time they were a year old? I don’t think so, but maybe. So, with that lens, I don’t think it’s political to see that my child is reading at a 3.2 grade level while being a fourth grader. That part of assessment is informative, motivating, driving my involvement as a parent and helping me help my child close his literacy gap. But the roll-up of aggregated scores that creates school rankings, school funding, promotions, school-board votes, property assessment increases, etc., that part is definitely political.
Reply Eric Wolford
I like how you tie this into matters of public policy. Here in Alaska, state norms-based testing is definitely political, As many of our state's school districts do poorly on testing (just ignore the fact that most of these districts reside in remote parts of the state where there are already high rates of poverty and illiteracy - not to mention how inaccessible these communities are because they are only accessible by air travel), our frankly bone-headed governor has decided to not raise the state's base student allotments since he came into office in 2017, While this has had the inevitable effect of harming our state's schools and placing districts near bankruptcy - one district that I used to work for has it so bad that students in a small remote community have to attend a school in a building that is condemned! - he doesn't seem to be that affected by it. Instead, he's focusing his attention on Charter Schools as students in these schools do well in testing - a solution that only benefits the major communities like Anchorage, Fairbanks, and so on. Now I'm not saying that standardized testing is the reason why public schools here are underfunded, but when you have an opportunistic governor who'd rather use test scores to justify not investing in our school system rather than improve upon it, they sure can be a problem.
Reply Asma Alzaharani
Hi Melinda,
I also wanted to share a personal experience regarding assessments. When my daughter was in first grade, we noticed she was having some difficulties with her reading at her previous school. It was a concern for us as parents because we wanted to ensure she received the support she needed to success academically. After careful consideration, we made the decision to transfer her to another school. This new school had a different approach to assessments, one that seemed more tailored to individual student needs. They provided regular feedback and assessments that helped us understand her progress more clearly.
Over time, we began to see improvements in her reading skills, which was a relief for us as parents. It showed us the importance of assessments in identifying areas for growth and guiding educational decisions. While it was a positive outcome for us, it also made me reflect on how assessments can vary from one educational institution to another and the impact they can have on a child's learning journey.
Reply Julia Isbell
Hi Melinda,
I think you bring up an interesting point! I think that any benchmark or achievement level (whether academic, career, athletic, anything in life) will be pursued competitively. In sport specifically, there is an increasing body of research connecting high achieving athletes, particularly in the AAU/Little League/NCAA/TeamUSA systems, with higher wealth backgrounds relative to their competitors. While money does not inherently make someone run faster such as your example, it can provide opportunities - private coaching, nutrition services, optimized equipment, a stay at home parent to commute kids to tournaments, etc. - to one athlete that helps them supersede another despite equal training intensity and desire. This is actually part of what I am looking at within the youth sport context for my Ph.D. research. To put it succinctly, I think whenever there is a financial, social, or life outcome benefit to achieving something, there will be a parent willing to devote as many resources as they possibly can to their child progressing past everyone. I’m also not sure if this might be considered political in and of itself, but I could see that there may be political influences on the distribution of public funding or infrastructure that assists in these pursuits while disadvantaging others - thinking about the location of nice youth sporting facilities in suburbs instead of lower-income urban regions for instance. I think it is really interesting to think about the different types of assessments we encounter in life that might be influenced in some way!