Come summer holidays and I get busy with requests from parents of those children who have either failed the class examination or have been asked by the school management to appear for re-evaluation. The parents, under the pressure exerted by the school principal, want assessment done for their children. My heart goes out to these young people who are denied fun time. Almost all their time is spent indoors learning the subjects they failed in. The question that arises in a lay person’s mind is what is assessment and how does it help a child who struggles with classroom learning.
Assessment or evaluation of a child who is lagging behind in studies is to understand what is holding back his progress in school. It helps to uncover the factors causing learning problems. It is common practice for schools to send struggling children for assessment to help both parents and teachers understand the puzzling nature of their child’s performance and behaviour. Without knowing why children struggle, deciding what strategies might help them can be a guessing game.
Though I personally conduct detailed evaluations to understand the reasons for struggling children, I cannot agree less with Dr Craig Pohlman, school psychologist, who has conducted hundreds of assessments, and author of Revealing Minds , that assessment brings with it some serious risks.
First of all our tests are far from perfect and so are we as professionals. So, what if we are wrong in our conclusion? And what if an incorrect evaluation leads to improper management at home and school? What if our assessment has a negative effect upon an individual’s self image or what if an assessment leads a parent to lose respect for a son or daughter? And what if the assessment generates a label which causes a child to grow up feeling abnormal, hopelessly inferior to his peers and siblings?
What if testing leads directly to medication that may be the wrong solution?
One must be aware that no assessment is airtight. Therefore, if a treatment is not working seek another opinion.
Conducting an assessment is a very big responsibility. It is not merely giving a battery of tests that is important but interpreting the outcome of the tests. So that the teachers understand the child’s performance/ behaviour and how it links to academics. The test results should also be conveyed to the parents in a way they comprehend and are able to make sense of their child’s behaviour. Finally, the child needs to have meaningful understanding of how his brain responds to studies and to common life tasks.
I believe an assessment should be a form of therapy. An assessed child should sense he understands himself more clearly than ever before. The focus of any assessment ought to emphasise not only the weaknesses but also ‘diagnose’ the positive features. Knowing about their strengths and talents help children feel special and appreciated. Positive features can take the form of academic topics, skills, art, music, and athletics. Research has shown that one of the features of long term success for individuals with learning problems is awareness of their strengths and talents along with their weaknesses – both academic and non-academic. Having a talent, hobby or an interest brings comfort when rest of their lives is in a state of confusion.
We all have our own particular combinations of assets and weaknesses. Unfortunately, our school system is such that they require students to be generalists, to be adept at a wide range of activities and tasks which is a tall order for many students. In contrast, adulthood accommodates specialists. Many students who struggle in school will flourish as adults when they can focus on their interests and strengths. I know of many individuals who cut a sorry figure in school academically but are successful adults in their chosen area of interest now.
(The writer is a Remedial Educator)
