Testing

After searching for hours on the testing practices in Russia, I found very little to demonstrate the practices of testing young children. I did find the following article which I find sums up a startling trend..

The Price of Standardized Testing in Russia

By International Perspectives on Education Reform Group on October 23, 2013 6:30 AM | 1 Comment

This post is by Elena Lenskaya.

Teaching to the test seems to be a universal phenomenon in countries that have a standardized testing system. No matter how hard some test developers try to design a test that will be testing skills rather than factual knowledge, be multidisciplinary and cross-curricular, teachers keep figuring out what curriculum content will be covered by the test and what will not and refrain from paying much attention to the latter. Many people say that teaching to the test is healthy--by doing so we ensure that a significant part of our students learn at least what is considered to be the most important part of the curriculum. Others argue that teaching to the test is a bad practice because most tests remain focused on factual knowledge rather than on understanding, which would have made teaching to the test more legitimate.

My country, Russia, does not have a long record of using standardized testing in schools (students today take two tests, in the 9th grade, at the end of compulsory education, and, at the end of 11th grade, in preparation for college entrance). Therefore, it is possible that some test developers are just not skilled enough to design tests for understanding or particular skill orientation. There are complaints by the public that all high school teachers do in class is train their students to successfully pass the tests. Not only do they emphasize relevant parts of the curriculum, they spend a lot of time helping students to master the format of the test.

Our final exams are 60% multiple choice items. One can hardly think of a real life situation in which a person might be confronted with a need to choose one correct answer out of four options carefully presented to him or her. Therefore, when students spend hours training to use such a test format, instead of learning skills that they would be able to use outside the school walls, they are probably wasting a lot of time.

But what is even more alarming in [my view] is the growing tendency "to learn to the test." In Russia, in order to pass the final exams a student needs to take exams in Russian language and in math (in 2020, English language exam will also become mandatory) and then to select three additional school disciplines in which he or she would want to be examined. What is already happening in junior high schools is that students stop learning disciplines they think they would not choose and narrowly focus on subjects they perceive to be good at.

In one of the best Russian universities all students studying social sciences failed a simplest geography test. They were asked to name the capital of the United States, to show St. Petersburg on the map, and to name any three of the world oceans. Only 5% could answer all the three questions, and when others were asked why it was that they did not know answers to such simple questions they mostly responded that they had realized a long time ago that they would never choose geography to be one of their final exams.


Elena Lenskaya is the dean of education at the Moscow School of Social and Economic Sciences and a World Bank consultant on education programs involving assessment and quality assurance.

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Testing in the US is at an all time explosion. We are using the DRIP theory to gather more and more data in hopes that teachers can use it to plan for instruction. (Drip theory = Data Rich, Information Poor).

Sadly, teachers are creating assessments that are simply meeting the requirement, and not used for instruction. Time is essential for assessments. When we test and test and test again, we learn nothing. What children, teachers, and schools need are meaningful test designed to show what children have mastered.

D R I P....

Data Rich, Information Poor:
As we move to discuss the methods and reasoning behind the ways in which we approach assessment, we should all remember:

MANY COUNTIES USE DATA TO DRIVE INSTRUCTION

but it's combersome, inauthentic, inneffective and at the worst..Hurtful.

MORE on this later!

Pregnancy and Alcohol Use in Russia

While mothers across the world have come to know the effects of alcohol, many women of childbearing age in Russia have  accepted the risks and not curbed the practice of consuming alcohol during pregnancy. As researchers began to study the cultural attitudes about pregnancy and alcohol use, it became clear that there is very little historical or current research about the topic.

As the figures of FASD and PAE continue to rise, it is worth noting how little research is being conducted. 

"The search revealed a small pool of existing research studies related to PAE and/or FASD in Russia (126: 22 in English and 104 in Russian). Existing epidemiological data indicate a high prevalence of PAE and FASD, which underlines the strong negative impact that alcohol has on mortality, morbidity and disability in Russia. High levels of alcohol consumption by women of childbearing age, low levels of contraception use, and low levels of knowledge by health and other professionals regarding the harmful effects of PAE put this country at great risk of further alcohol-affected pregnancies."

Reference:

Popova S, Yaltonskaya A, Yaltonsky V, Kolpakov Y, Abrosimov I, Pervakov K, Tanner V, Rehm J.  doi: 10.1093/alcalc/agt156

Dr Jane Aronson completed a thorough investigation on the effects of alcohol on children adopted from Russia. Although the statistics are concerning, it  seems that Russia is still not making the effort to thwart the issue. Russia no longer allows Americans to adopt so the information moving forward will not be available. 

Russia

MOSCOW, December 9 (RIA Novosti) – Russia, facing a demographic crisis for about two decades, is spending $1.5 billion to build 32 maternity care centers across dozens of regions “in dire need of support,” Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said Monday. The centers, to feature advanced facilities for caring for high-risk newborns, will be constructed in 30 regions by 2016, Medvedev said at a meeting in his residence in Gorki, outside Moscow. The country has been dealing with ebbing demographics, including through brain drain and lower birth rates, since the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. Russia’s population in 2009 grew for the first time in 15 years. The government has been providing $330 a month to mothers with three or more kids since last year, more than double the previous payout, in an effort to boost birth rates. Medvedev expressed hope that the payouts would continue beyond 2016, when the program is slated to expire. The government is also determined to reduce the infant mortality rate from last year’s 8.7 per thousand births to 7.8 per thousand births by 2016. ************************************************* What I know about Russia and its prenatal care, its maternity hospitals, and it's views on infant care are all from personal experience through 2 Russian adoptions. *Abortion is a popular form of birth control. *Abandoning a child at the hospital is quite common. *Prenatal care is for the wealthy. *Maternity Hospitals range from dangerously ill-equipped for the average Russian, to similar to a Western facility. At a high price. *There is a concern in Russia about the falling population. *Life expectancy is lower than that of most other European countries. *The social services are still making the shift from Soviet orphanage style care to foster care systems.. *I will revisit the subject of Russia Often!!

Child Birth

I was in kindergarten. My sister third grade. We were too young to visit the maternity ward, so my grandparents and my father took turns sitting downstairs with us. It was a long day. It might have even been two days. My mom never came down, she stayed by my aunt's side. She was deathly ill. She was trying to give birth to my cousin, but there were many complications. Only now do I realize that they were both almost lost.

There were drugs in her system. What drugs I don't know. Back then, in 1973, I have to believe that most of the drugs that are here now weren't around. But I had always known that my dear Aunti had problems with living like my parents.

And then Darren was born. We couldn't visit. Both he and my aunt were simply exhausted. That was a long time ago, but it was the first and only time I thought of childbirth as being a scary time.

My cousin Darren died at the end of the summer. He was 40. My only cousin on my mother's side. He came into the world surrounded by teams of medical professionals trying their best to give him life. He died the same way.

Critical Reflection, Professional Growth, and Collegial Support.

So, what's next?      For me, I am most interested in continuing, Scholary Research !

TOPIC 1
Vygotsky
A Vygotskian Perspective on Critical Thinking (Smolucha, Larry; Smolucha, Francine)

http://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED314770

 

TOPIC 2

Private Speech

Understanding the Role of Private Speech in Children's Emotion Regulation (Day, Kimberly L.; Smith, Cynthia L.)

 

http://eric.ed.gov/?q=private+speech&id=EJ1008292

 

TOPIC 3

Self Regulation

Developing Self-Regulation in Kindergarten: Can We Keep All the Crickets in the Basket? (Bodrova, Elena; Leong, Deborah)

 

http://eric.ed.gov/?q=elena+bodrova&id=EJ819238

 

 

Goals and Reflection

 

Retirement is no longer my goal. Knowledge has moved to the foreground. Exactly what I will do with this new treasure, I haven't nailed down just yet..But I am still considering:

 

1) Establishing a workshop/training session/program that uses Topics #1, #2, and #3.

2) Writing a book for beginning teachers to assist with motivation, morale, and avoiding burnout.

3) Continuing to teach, but moving into the advocacy and public policy, focusing on developmentally appropriate "best practices" for kindergarten assessment and goal establishment.

NAEYC's Code

In these days of educational meetings through the PLC/CLT process the following Ideals and Principals  from the National Association for the Education of Young Children, stand out as MAKE OR BREAK features.

For a variety of reasons, I cannot share specifics, but Trust within collaboration is critical. Discussions, and working harmony between colleagues can be destroyed if trust is broken.

 

A—Responsibilities to co-workers

Ideals

I-3A.1—To establish and maintain relationships of

respect, trust, confidentiality, collaboration, and

cooperation with co-workers.

All voices should be heard. All voices should be valued. All voices should be treated equally. If not, then collaboration and cooperation breaks down.

Principles

P-3A.1—We shall recognize the contributions of colleagues

to our program and not participate in practices

that diminish their reputations or impair their

effectiveness in working with children and families.

If we are to work under the theory that all contributions matter, then at the end of the day, we all feel connected and accepted as professionals..When we are diminished, we feel undervalued.

P-3A.2—When we have concerns about the professional

behavior of a co-worker, we shall first let that person

know of our concern in a way that shows respect for

personal dignity and for the diversity to be found

among staff members, and then attempt to resolve the

matter collegially and in a confidential manner.

As with any profession, there will be professional discord. There are ways to handle it that do not personally hurt or diminish the feelings of the colleague. Unfortunately, there are times when we must function in an environment where some have the “ear” of the leaders. Those end up having the advantage. And then personal dignity is attacked without the benefit of being able to defend whatever position is being questioned..

Reference

NAEYC (2005, April). Code of ethical conduct and statement of commitment. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/PSETH05.pdf

 

 

 

 

To Further Consider

 

What direction will I go after completing my program?

Will I leave the classroom?

I would like to write or plan a Bedrova type study on PLAY in the KINDERGARTEN setting...

 

I would like to establish a curriculum for PLAY workshops...

TO DO NOW

contact early childhood department in my county to discuss concerns

contact state department of education and write a letter..HEY, it has to start somewhere..