THE AGE Newspaper article of Monday April 23rd 2007.

Question:  Everyone is talking about reports and grading children in primary school and linking that to teacher accountability. Why is that important and how does it work? I thought schools taught to the individual needs of children, so how can they all get to the same standard by the same stage of the year?

Answer:

This is an important question that is debated across the country. It raises questions and issues related to : what is successful learning, how do we measure learning and is meaningful reporting and assessment related to comparison with others? In some ways these discussions and debates will never be resolved as - along with so many other aspects of life - politics and economics become entwined with issues related to children's learning. There are many issues related to the discussions in the community. Some people are confusing the need for clarity in sharing with parents a guide as to how their children are learning, with accountability of teachers, as if somehow a child's achievements rest solely upon a particular teacher's abilities. We are all aware that each child brings with them a range of challenges and opportunities, experiences or inexperience's, in the learning environment. A result based upon a grade level will never provide a true indication of how effectively a teacher has worked. There is also an assumption that a grade or letter, such as an A, B or C, can accurately capture the diversity, richness and breadth of learning that each individual child has experienced over any given period of time. If only life were as simple as being able to assume that all children are ready to learn the same thing, in the same way, at the same time and all get the same result. If we were all born exactly the same, with the same environments same backgrounds, experiences, wealth and opportunity, even then, the differences that exist between individuals make it inappropriate, and rather naive, to suggest reporting to a grade is an accurate indicator of a child's achievements. One of the things we know much better about children and learning is that individual differences, individual experiences and individual ways or learning mean that achievement is not uniform and nor should it be. What is important is that teachers report to parents about their children's learning and development at school or in early childhood programs. It is also important that there are checks and balances for any professional in any workplace. The debate and confusion is not that we shouldn't be reporting to parents or that teachers should not be accountable, but the nature of how we report and how we as a community choose to reflect the learning and effectiveness of learning given the complexities of different communities, needs and experiences. For parents, one of the most important elements of understanding and sharing with the school about your child's learning, achievements and efforts, is not to look for a grade level. This attempts to marginally define a child into a label that implies that all children across the state with the same grade level are at the same level of knowledge and learning, and have received the same standard of teaching. We are all different. There is a range of effective ways in which to report and share between parents and schools and most schools do this. The most meaningful is the dialogue between teachers and parents : parent teacher interviews and the samples of work that come home : the portfolios that are compiled by children and teachers each term : and the information sessions held for parents and the feedback you receive. A twice yearly report that says your child is a level C or B or D is basically a comparison to children in the rest of the state and is selling parents short when talking of them receiving meaningful and useful information that is realistic and based upon the real local needs of their own children. It is unfortunate that the return to reporting with grade levels is reflective of attempts by government to measure data as if we are numbers on a page rather than human beings with complex and diverse individual and community needs. You are wise as parents to look much more deeply than the half yearly graded report form and to consider that there isn't one set standard for all children. The question is appropriate. The reality is we can't and don't need to get all children to the same standard by the end of each year. It is nonsense to suggest we ever could or should have to. Again, we are all different. One of the most powerful ways to measure learning is to consider : where was the child, where are they now and where are they headed? If they are heading in a positive direction, gaining skills and knowledge that can be shared and understood by the student and the parent, that is most important. A grade level or a pre set standard can never do justice to the richness and diversity of effective learning and effective teaching.

Copyright © Kathy Walker 2007

Kathy Walker is an education consultant specialising in early childhood and primary years and a former lecturer at RMIT University.