Testing For Intelligence

I believe a child's ability to adapt to a certain situation or environment should be measured or assessed.  The way a child can involve his/herself into an environment can cause either a negative or positive affect on the development of the child.  Children do not like change (neither do I) and this can affect how a child views the world.  I think that if we are able to assess the children when they are adapting to an environment, we would be able to make the change happening around them a lot more comforting.

In the United States, school-age children are assessed based on standardized testing policies in the Public School system.  I do not agree with this at all.  I do not believe that children should be assessed based on their ability to take a test.  If these children do poorly on the standardized test, they have the chance of being left back in the current grade they are in.  I know I am not the greatest test taker there is, and I have personally always done poorly on tests.  I have always had really bad anxiety, so before a test when I was younger, I wouldn't be able to eat breakfast or really focus on anything other than this standardized test.  This type of pressure should never be on any young child or teacher.

In Iceland, assessment and evaluation of pupils is conducted internally, and is not standardized between different institutions. Pupils are given regular reports to grade their progress; however the way in which this is done varies between schools. For example, a numerical grade could be given, or an oral and written assessment may be given.  Their principal purpose is to help ease the transition into upper secondary education and help the pupil to choose a course of study. Pupils are awarded a certificate with their marks at the end of the compulsory schooling period.

In Italy, most primary schools use a system of assessment based on teacher observation throughout the school year. Assessments are recorded on each child’s report card, which is designed to provide a detailed profile of the pupil’s academic ability and personality. The record card is passed to a pupil’s next school when he leaves. 


Both of these countries are just examples of a more relaxed setting for school-age children.  Both of these countries are also ahead of the United States in reading and math.