Testing...testing...1, 2, 3!

When you hear the word “test”, “exam” or “assessment” how do you feel? Does it trigger some emotions or feelings? Tests are a big part of the schooling journey and they begin as soon as a child enters a building that isn’t home.

If you’re a teacher, I bet it makes you feel a tad stressed, because with an assessment task, comes finishing off a section of work, drawing up a paper and memo and then once the assessment has been written, there’s the marking of it, the moderation that happens and of course, entering the marks into your system that I’m sure includes books, spreadsheets and reports.

If you’re a parent, I bet it makes you feel a bit uneasy, because with an up and coming test, there’s usually a period of studying that needs to take place. Sometimes, the parent might be very involved in this process, trying to get access to past papers, additional notes and study guides and you might need to produce study snacks and other forms of external motivation, to keep the child engaged with their books and notes. Or you might be lucky enough to have a child that just gets on with it by him or herself and you hardly even know that there is a test looming, the only clue is that your child might spend a lot of time with their heads down in their books and only comes out of their room to grab a quick bite to eat or a shower, before heading back into their room to carry on. I often wished that I was that parent. But alas, I was the parent who drew up study schedules, timetables, printed out the papers and kept an endless supply of microwave popcorn available on demand to keep hunger pangs at bay between meals.

And finally, if you’re a student, I bet it makes you feel stressed, anxious, and uneasy, all of the above, as everything rests on you doing as well as you possibly can, to avoid being labelled lazy, stupid, dumb, a loser, and other equally harmful names.

Children as young as 3 and 4 years of age are attending a creche, daycare or early learning centre, where adults are assigned to look after and keep little ones busy while mom and dad are out doing other things…whether work, or studying or doing what adults do when they aren’t looking after kids. Even at this stage, children are being compared to one another and milestone charts are scrutinized and normal development stages are observed and discussed. These are informal assessments that occur throughout the year.

The biggest assessment takes place at around 5 years of age. Is this particular child ready for the demands of Grade 1? This is the school-readiness assessment and there are 4 main areas that are observed:

1. Social/Emotional development,
2. Language development,
3. Motor development and
4. Cognitive development?

If a child is struggling in any of these areas, they can be referred for further evaluations with a speech therapist, occupational development, or educational psychologist or developmental paediatrician. Usually, following an assessment, intervention therapy is recommended to address the problem areas that are holding the child back.

When the child is in the Foundation Phase, Grades R - 3, there are assessments that also take place during the course of the year, and these will be continuous assessments and formal assessment tasks that are usually at the end of every term. These assessments are based on the learning areas literacy, numeracy and life orientation which deals with the social, emotional and physical development of the child. The results of these assessments will be indicated on the school reports and given out to parents at the end of every term.

As the child moves through school, the assessments involve bigger sections of work and they become longer and more comprehensive. The aim is to prepare students for their most important series of tests that they will probably ever write at school, their matric finals. And as I am writing this article now at the end of October, matrics all over the country have, or are busy with final school assemblies, prize givings and valedictory ceremonies and tears of sadness and joy are shed, both by the students themselves, their teachers and parents, especially if a child has really struggled and needed hard work, grit and determination, to get through each school day.

Ask any teacher, and they will admit that assessments take up far too much of their teaching time. They would prefer to spend more time on preparing and giving lessons than on writing up and marking tests. More often than not, students write the test and soon after forget the work that they just studied. They don’t retain information very well. There’s no time for revision of work, as the pace is too fast and there’s just too much content to get through. Gaps occur and these become wider and wider as more content is delivered but not processed and retained.?

Covid19 has not helped the situation. Students have had to manage two very disruptive years of inconsistent education and often-times no education at all. Educators are noticing the impact that this pandemic has had on our children, regardless of age. Pre-schoolers have missed out on vital opportunities to engage, socialize with and learn from peers. Primary school children have not had all the teaching time that they need to learn to read, spell, write correctly and work effectively with numbers and calculations. Our teenagers have had to contend with time away from their friends, less time on the sportsfield and of course, seeing and watching their parents deal with work stress, losing friends and family, losing jobs, income, and dealing with their own anxieties following the impact of Covid19.

It’s like everyone is playing catchup and trying to make up for the tumultuous 2 years that have just gone by. Its only October and the shops are already playing Christmas tunes and stocking their shelves with decorations and gifts. No sooner is it Christmas, and then before we know it, the new school year starts all over again and its “Back to School” madness in the shops. So before your palms start to sweat and your heart starts to race, reflect on this year that’s quickly drawing to a close.

I'd like to challenge you to answer these 10 questions honestly:

1. What has been a challenge for you?
2. What have you enjoyed about this year?
3. Have you learnt anything new? If yes, what is it?
4. What would you like to change or do differently next year?
5. Did you suffer from burnout this year, and if so, how will you prevent it from happening again next year?
6. Do you have a habit that you’d like to try and break for next year?
7. Would you like to try something new? If yes, what is it?
8. Has your health improved or declined this year? What do you intend to do about it?
9. Have you made any new and positive relationships this year?
10. Have you started each day feeling grateful? If not, how can you flip this?

Finally, here are my10 Tips to staying sane during the final lap of this year:

1. You, are the only you that you’ve got so look after yourself.
2. Make very day count.?
3. Don’t stay where you aren’t appreciated.?
4. Avoid toxic people.?
5. Talk positively to yourself.
6. Acknowledge your feelings, even the not so nice ones.?
7. Spend time with children and let them teach you how to play and have fun.
8. Laugh as often as you can.
9. Get enough sleep.
10. Eat a balanced diet and get out into the fresh air for at least 5 mins a day.

Enjoy the final lap of 2022…don’t wish the time away, it’s going by fast enough.