The Maori

Maori Approaches to Assessment

The Moari approach to assessment is everything that NCLB lacks. The most significant lines (and there were many) in this article was “It is not about creating a one-size-fits-all approach to assessment, but more about authentic assessments”. This idea seems to be something that George W. has overlooked in the last 8 years. When I have parents in and go over their child’s tests we always focus on their weaknesses. I have to point to those sections where the bar falls under the vertical black line that deems proficiency and tell the parent that the child was low in this area and we will be working on it during the school year. Even as I’m saying it I can’t help but think of those 4 questions on the test that dealt with that concept and that if the student got two of those wrong it would drastically alter their grade. That little black line and the bars that measure “proficiency” can be quire misleading at times.

I think what the Maori people are doing is wonderful. I fully believe that if we want students to succeed we need to focus on their strengths and not so much on weaknesses. As teachers we need to be able to feel comfortable with students not excelling in everything. If a student is better at one area we should celebrate that with them.

Perhaps the most important idea that came from this article is that education does not just take place at the school. It should be a school and community partnership and in order for the Maori to instill traditional values and ways of life they have to work closely with the school. To be sure that the school is assessing the Maori students accurately they have to work closely with the community.

One idea I loved from this article that I am going to try to implement in my classroom is the idea of Learning Stories. As a teacher, I keep notes on students when they are having a bad day or are displaying unusual behavior. I keep thinking of a student of mine who has much difficulty composing and writing answers to reading questions and hates writing essays and just writing in general with a passion. However, he is a wonderful oral speaker. If I ask him to summarize what we just read he can spew off the main characters and plot points of a text. His answers in class are usually quite exemplary and he will often physically react to text. If we are reading a scary part he will look up and kind of shiver as if chilled. If it’s a sad part he might be shaking his head. I have all these great, specific stories that show his is learning and show he is internalizing and yet I talk about that black line at conferences. I really want to start keeping track and using learning stories in my classroom.

In all, the article was a little hard to get through but I eventually got through it. I think that what is happening in New Zealand is an inspiration to all.