by Ms. Anisa Foy
Montessori philosophy maintains that testing children for lessons given is not the only way of knowing how much or how well the child has assimilated ideas. In Montessori schools, we strive to instill a love of learning, and the ability to utilize lessons learned in one area to another area of learning. Learning for the sake of getting good grades is superficial and has no depth. Dr. Montessori believed that adults should sow the seeds of knowledge, and not pull out the seeds sown to see how well it is doing! If this is our belief, why does Arborland choose to administer the standardized test every year?
The testing is not mandated for private schools. I would like to offer a brief explanation and some help for parents while the child is getting ready for the test.
The testing is a good way for the teacher to judge herself rather than the child. The result shows the teacher whether she has imparted the knowledge, and gives her an opportunity to make amendments if necessary. There is no pressure on the child to get good grades. The result is a happy child who performs well spontaneously.
Testing is not only for the teachers, but also for the parents. As teachers, we work with the children daily and assess them on a regular basis. With our years of experiences, we have a clear grasp of your child’s academic achievement. However, parents want to know how their child is doing in comparison to other students of the same grade. This is the reason why our students take the standardized test early in the year so the parents have an opportunity to discuss the results with their child’s teacher during the spring parent teacher conference.
Studying for the test is not education, so we do not give too much time in the school year for this type of preparation. To get the child ready for this reality we present the test in a relaxed way with no pressure. I request parents to have the same approach to learning in the weeks leading up to the test. Please do not pressure your child. Let us treat the test as just one learning experience, among all the other learning experiences the child has during the school year at Arborland.