Dangers of Early Test Taking
September 22, 2016
Whenever two good people argue over principles, they are both right. -Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach, Aphorisms.
"Young children are notoriously bad test takers," proclaims Lillian Katz in the DVD Child Assessment, part of the Voices: Insights from the Field series. Katz, who is Professor Emerita and Co-Director of the Clearinghouse on Early Education and Parenting, University of Illinois-Champaign-Urbana, goes on to say that tests given to young children are "terribly unreliable."
Quoting recent studies, Katz explains, "Once a child has been defined by adults, he/she tends to bring his/her behavior into line with that definition. Children who have confidence in their ability tend to ask teachers for help when they get stuck. Children who don’t have confidence in their ability don’t ask for help...Adults can break this cycle, but children can’t."