Standardized Testing Alternatives and What We Can Learn From Finland

Through my course of study, it has become abundantly clear that one thing that is commonly accepted and acknowledged in current educational theory is that children development in the context of relationships (National Council on the Developing Child, 2004). Relationships protect children (and their development) from the various potentially toxic forms of stress, and children thrive cognitively, socially, physically, and emotionally when they are connected to positive, loving people (Berger, 2012: Hartzell et al, 2011). It also seems quite clear that the educational system, which focuses largely on competition and standardized test scores, is in a state of crisis (Berger, 2012: Smidt, 2013). Perhaps this is because with the United States' cultural emphasis on independence, achievement of personal excellence, and competition, mistakes were made with implementation of programs like merit-based No Child Left Behind that move away from addressing the whole child, including the piece about emphasizing relationships as an essential building block of education (Neil, 2012; Strauss, 2011). Standardized tests seem to measure only how well one certain child is capable of taking a standardized test at one moment in time. Children learn in different ways and these tests do not take this into account. Does that mean we should abandon standardized tests? If so, should we adopt a different form of assessment or is assessment not helpful? What alternatives to standardized testing should we use?

In my exploration and research to answer these questions, I found that Finland's education system was brought up as a place to look for answers to these and many other questions (Neil, 2012; Strauss, 2011, 2012). In Finland, teacher's are very well educated, respected, and trusted. It is difficult to get into teaching programs and all teachers in Finland study rigorously for five years and graduate with nothing less than a Master's degree. The emphasis in education is on equity and making sure that every child and every school is on equal footing. Teachers are not help to a rigorous, specific standard and children are not given standardized tests until they are exiting high school and are tested for college entrance. Teachers are able to adapt the curriculum to each student's interests and needs. Parents are consistently connected to the learning process as well. Finland, as a result, has an extremely well educated population and fifteen year old Finnish students have consistently tested above most all nations in reading, mathematics, and science. It is tempting to say, then, that the U.S. should simply imitate Finland? Well, that may not be entirely true as Finland also has a completely different social welfare system with under 4% of their children living in poverty (compared to the U.S's 22%), a very effective and accessible health care system, and education is viewed as an obvious priority that serves a public purpose (Strauss, 2012). The idea of competition between teachers for merit-based money, for example, seems ludicrous to the Finnish as teachers are supposed to be working together to solve the problems that arise in the classroom. Still, Finland does indicate that, perhaps, if our priorities can change in the United States, standardized tests are unnecessary (Neil, 2011, Strauss, 2012). 

In the meantime, since the United States isn't likely to have the change of heart or the resources reprioritize completely, are there any alternatives to standardized testing that could serve the purpose of assessing children to make sure that they are getting the education that they deserve and that children aren't being left behind? One alternative is that of portfolio based assessment (Peterson et al, 2014). Though there are many different ideas about the exact application of this concept, the basic idea of portfolio assessment is that teachers keep their students work in a portfolio. Students and teachers reflect on the quality and the progression of the work over the term. Some then use a system to measure the quality and progress. Random samplings are also used in some schools to measure the school or class as a whole. The benefit of this system is that it allows children and teachers to reflect on each individual students way of learning and to assess the areas of study that could use some attention and reevaluation of teaching style. It also takes into account students' abilities at different times and in different contexts rather than students' abilities to take a certain test at a certain time (Peterson et al, 2014).

Neill (as quoted by Strauss, 2012), discusses this same idea under a different name, calling it "performance-based assessments". In New York City, the New York Performance Standards Consortium, a grouping of 28 high school, tested this approach of assessing high school students. The student body of the schools reflected the same demographics as the city, itself, though the student bodies, on average, had lower socio-economic status that most NYC public high schools. The schools also used project-based learning. The results were that this type of assessment succeeded in areas where standardized tests tend to fail, and the Consortium students were more likely to graduate and get into college (Strauss, 2014). This suggests to me that both this type of testing, which takes into account more of each individual students abilities over time, was very success. This shifting of testing and teaching style takes into greater account each students interests and needs, as well. I would be willing to bet that part of this success is due to the fact that this type of learning takes into account different students' learning styles and interests, thus helping students to feel heard and connected to their teachers. In other words, by having quality relationships with their teachers through a more adaptable curriculum, students are better able to learn. Again, children learn and thrive in the context of their relationships (NSCDC, 2004).
It seems clear to me that there is reform needed in the US. Finland offers wonderful ideas about some great ways that restructuring our priorities as a culture can affect the learning of our children. I would like to see changes in our educational system that take the emphasis off of standardized testing and merit-based compensation and onto building the quality of teacher's education and compensation, as well as on valuing relationships, equity, and building trust within the school system. Project-based learning and performance based assessment or portfolio based assessments would be a great place to start.

References

Berger, K.S. (2012). The developing person through childhood (Sixth edition). New York, NY: Worth Publishers.

 Hartzell, M. & Siegel, D. (2014). Parenting from the inside out: how a deeper self-understanding can help you raise children who thrive. New York, NY: Penguin.

National Scientific Council on the Developing Child. (2004). Young children develop in an environment of relationships. Working Paper No. 1. Retrieved from http//www.developingchild.net

Neil, M. (2012, November 2). An alternative to standardized testing for student assessment The Washington Post. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2012/11/02/an-alternative-to-standardized-testing-for-student-assessment/

Peterson, B. & Neill, M. (2014). Alternatives to standardized testing. Retrieved from http://www.rethinkingschools.org/restrict.asp?path=archive/13_03/assess.shtml.

Smidt, S. (2013). The developing child in the 21st  century: A global perspective on child development (2nd edition). New York: Routledge.

Strauss, V. (2011, October 13). Ravitch: why finland's school are great (by doing what we don't). The Washington Post. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/ravitch-why-finlands-schools-are-great-by-doing-what-we-dont/2011/10/12/gIQAmTyLgL_blog.html

Strauss, V. (2012, April 17). What the u.s. can't learn from finland about education reform. The Washington Post. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/what-the-us-cant-learn-from-finland-about-ed-reform/2012/04/16/gIQAGIvVMT_blog.html.