THE AGE Newspaper article of Monday May 21st 2007.

Question:  Everyone is talking about reports and grading children in primary school, and linking this to teacher accountability. Why is this 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 a very important question that causes a great deal of debate right across the country. It raises questions and issues related to what successful learning is and how we measure learning and whether meaningful reporting and assessment is related to comparison with others. As with so many aspects of life, these discussions and debates may never really be resolved - politics and economics become entwined with issues related to children's learning. There are many issues related to these 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 the accountability of teachers, as if somehow a child's achievement rests solely upon the teacher's abilities. We all know that each child brings with them a range of experience or inexperience, challenges and opportunities in the learning environment. A result based upon a grade level will never provide an indication of how effectively a teacher has worked. There is also an assumption that a grade or letter, such as an ABC; car. accurately capture the diversity, richness and breadth of learning that each individual child has experienced over any given period. 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 and money and opportunity, even then, the diversity and differences that exist make reporting to a grade impossible, and rather naive. One of the things we know much better now about children and learning is that individual differences, individual experiences and ways of learning mean that achievement is not uniform, and neither should it be. This is a very old-fashioned and highly inappropriate way of assuming to map or report upon children's learning. It is important to share and report to parents about their children's learning and development at school and early childhood programs. It is also important that there are checks and balances for any professional in any work place. 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 and achievements and efforts is not to look for a grade level. This attempts to magically define a child into a label that implies that all children across the state with the same level are at the same level or knowing, learning and standard. We are all different. There is a range of effective ways in which to report and share between parents and schools, and most schools currently do this. The most meaningful reporting is the continuing dialogue between teachers and parents. The parent-teacher interviews, the samples of work that come home. The portfolios that are compiled by children and teachers each term. The information sessions held for parents, the feedback you receive. A twice yearly report that says your child is at level C or B or D is selling parents short in receiving meaningful and useful information that is realistic and based upon, not the rest of the state, but the very real local needs of your child. It is indeed 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, diverse and individual 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 a highly appropriate one. 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 a nonsense to suggest we ever could or should have to. 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 understanding that can be shared and understood by the student and the parent, that is most important. A grade level or a preset 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.