Making our examination systems fit for the future
i entered
the all too familiar examination hall
gripping my examination card in my hand
my footsteps echoed as i walked towards
the rows of little
single desks marked out in lines
200 other hearts pounded 200 other pens
poised
200 other dreams hung in the balance
my head was bursting with 20 topics
of which only four would be assessed
i had prepared for what seemed like an
eternity for this day
surely there had to be a better way than
this
surely there was a better way to assess
our students i put these thoughts to the
back of my mind
as i tentatively opened the examination
paper
a sigh of relief my surely
psychic teacher had predicted the
questions that had come up
i opened the paper my pen raced across
the page
and i began to feel elated
surely my dream of going to university
might just become a reality
i’m sure we all have this experience in
common
the exam nerves the butterflies the fear
of failure
the fear of not remembering everything
that we have
worked so hard to remember of all
our hopes and dreams being dashed
in an all or nothing test
we have all learned things that we will
never
ever need to know or remember again
and i bet we’ve all thought how
will these exams prepare us for
our dream jobs my name
is rasheen rice and i am a teacher and
school leader for over 20 years
and during my 20 years experience i have
experienced the great joy
and great sadness that that little slip
of white paper brings to my students
the months of hard work can be dashed
with that little white slip
don’t get me wrong i am not against
examination and testing it’s a necessary
rite of passage
one with our students didn’t get to
achieve this year
there is nothing better than that
feeling of pride and achievement
when your hard work pays off the elation
the achievement it is so good
but what i am advocating for
is a radical makeover of our examination
and assessment system and there is no
better time
to do this than now our current system
of academic testing suits a particular
type of student
the academic student with a good memory
and the ability to write succinctly
within a given amount of time
it suits the student who knows how to
study for the test
the student who has the funds to have
extra tuition
and this system unfortunately widens the
socio-economic gap
it favors those who can afford a tutor
it favors those who don’t have to go to
part-time jobs
it favors those who don’t have to look
after little brothers and sisters
and it favors those who have a room of
their own
a desk and a private place to study
we need a much more equitable
examination and assessment
system one that focuses on problem
solving
and real life scenarios and harnesses
the power of the new and emerging
technologies
that are now at our fingertips our world
has changed jobs have changed
teaching has changed but our examination
and assessment system
remains the same it is long overdue
an overhaul and this revamp
needs to occur not just at secondary
level but across
all sectors of education
why when was the last time
that you were put on the spot to
remember something
that you studied at school
most jobs allow for the opportunity to
reflect
analyze and research before completing a
task
when was the last time that you had to
write continuously for two hours
using only a pen and paper
so why does our examination system ask
our young people to do this
anthony salcedo vice president of
education at microsoft
remarked that he values the
accountability that we need in education
and we need it but what
we need to do is change the way we test
and what we teach
why don’t we test not only knowledge but
skills
such as leadership collaboration
creativity and computational thinking
this would be much more relevant to
society today
especially when you consider that the
northern ireland skills barometer
commissioned by the department of the
economy and the survey carried out by
the university of ulster
says that three-quarters of all
employees
lack the confidence that they can get
skilled employees
the global pandemic has created an
opportunity for us to make this change
it has started a global educational
revolution
and for me two very significant events
occurred
the shift to remote learning and the
fact that teachers were trusted
to create center assessment grades
prior to march the use of technology and
education was there
and being used but no one could predict
what was going to happen i look back in
those days and with a surreal
being i remember vividly standing at the
front
of our beautiful assembly hall
informing a group of socially distant
teachers
on every single aspect of remote
learning that i thought that i would
have two years
to show them how to do this i will never
forget
the eerie silence as the teachers got up
and raced towards their classrooms to
prepare their online lessons
the skill set of the profession has
changed
collaboration on a global and national
scale began
groups like blend ni and ni teacher
collaborate
began springing up this was most welcome
the sense of community collegiality and
collaboration
it was real and we were all working
together
teachers had joined the world of online
collaboration
i knew the winds of change had blown
when a dear colleague of mine an
outstanding teacher
but self-confessed technophobe came
racing towards me in the corridor and
said
i’ve just delivered my first online
lesson you will be so proud of me
for me this was a watershed moment
i felt we had to look deeper into
changing the system for our young people
how we assess work was and as evolving
but now
the technology has caught up lockdown
forced us all to adapt and the
possibilities are endless
of course there are many issues that
need to be addressed
especially with regard to the very deep
digital divide in our society
and i know all about that i’m at the
front line
but we need to work with government in
order to provide the best
opportunities for our young people and
secondly
teachers were trusted to create center
assessment grades
and forget the algorithm disaster
ultimately the grades that the students
received
were the ones that the teachers awarded
now is the time to shake things up with
the advent of new technology
we can create a new fit for purpose
examination and assessment system
one that assesses the skills of
individuals
one that explores problem solving
reasoning
creativity and doesn’t just favor
those blessed with a good memory
john hattie has said that the
coronavirus pandemic
for all its negatives presented
education
with its first real opportunity to put
educator changes in place
now is the time to change
the examination hall that i went into in
1992
and in 2019 are still the same
a teacher from any point in time would
recognize it
let 2022 be different
let’s change our examination and
assessment system for the better
so that is fit for the future
and equitable for all