This past week I was only able to
have a very brief yet informative conversation with Mar on Facebook messenger. I informed her I had sent her an email
earlier in the week and she apologized that she had been unable to respond. Mar
stated they she has been busy since last Sunday because they have conducting
examinations called Long Test at her school.
They give the Long Test at the end of the month every month. I was very surprised when I asked even in her
class for 4-5 year olds? Now I realized
that the standards that the US is attempting to move to other countries have
been doing to their children as well to advance their academic skills. Early
learning standards are really taking a vast amount of time and energy. “This is
because most public systems are pairing their early learning standards with an accountability
system that includes sanctions when children do not get to their destination by
the end of a particular leg of the journey.
The pressure to get there is palpable” (Graue, 2008). There are 4 subjects the children are tested
on. They have 3 long examinations for
them as well each month. I explained
that early childhood professionals tend to be against standardized testing for
our children at such a young age. We feel
it causes stress and takes away from a holistic child-centered curriculum. Play is being taken out of the curriculum
because of the stress of introducing academics.
Mar stated “in our curriculum, actually we don’t have play time every
day. Only during physical education class
they can play. Our kids are used to this
type of curriculum” (Mar Live, Personal Communication, 2014). “The curriculum is modeled on the AERO
standards and a variety of US national and state standards in all subjects” (US
Department of State, 2012, para. 2). When viewing the website for the school I
learned that the school that Mar teaches at uses US standards yet there is a
focus on the “Saudi Arabian culture, Arab culture and Arabic language” (US
Department of State, 2012, para. 2).
I found this statement
interesting based on the differences that Mar has stated about what her
classroom focuses on. She teaches what I
believe in kindergarten. This is for the
3 year old classroom. “The program is play-based with lots of opportunities for
children to interact with other children their age. The rooms are chock full of
developmentally and educationally appropriate toys such as puzzles, puppets and
building toys. Pre-K is a half day program. Our program is based on current
research and best practices established by NAEYC (National Association for the
Education of Young Children). Our program is designed to foster the individual
and developmental needs of each child, paying attention to social, emotional,
physical and cognitive needs and appreciating the unique experiences that each
child brings from his or her home culture. Because children develop and
different rates and learn in different ways, we provide a child-centered
program that is developmentally appropriate” (The American School International
School-Riyadh, nd, para. 1-2). Although
NAEYC accredited it is my assumption based on my conversation with Mar it is
much more rigorous and academic focus.
It would have to be to prepare children for their transition to
kindergarten and the academic testing that is conducted each month. She stated the children are used to the
curriculum.
Graue, E. (2008). Teaching and
learning in a post-DAP world. Early Education & Development, 19(3),
441–447. Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
US Department of State.
(2012). Saudi Arabia, Riyadh: American
International School – Riyadh, Retrieved October 4, 2014, from http://www.state.gov/m/a/os/1517.htm
The American International School
Riyadh. (nd.). Pre-Kindergarten. Retrieved October 4, 2014, from http://www.aisr.org/es1/pre-k
Thanks for sharing this with us as it's quite interesting. I'm just amazed that the 4-5 year old in Saudi Arabia are so mature to sit long enough to take a test. This just proves that the standards that other countries are using are much higher than ours here in America. I would love to know if these student's she has are gifted and talented? Most kids, even in kindergarten, can rarely recognized their name in written form, let alone, take a test. Quite interesting and keep sharing!
ReplyDeleteI don't know that I would say the standards are higher in other countries, merely more demanding. I think that expecting children that young to sit still for testing for a lengthy period is NOT developmentally appropriate. I also feel that sanctions when children do not meet particular goals are counter-productive. This conversation shows me that we are not the only country experiencing these issues in ECE.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your posted. I am amazed that the children are able to sit for along period of time at that age. I don't feel they are more advanced maybe more disciplined. I can imagine the pressure of the children achieve a passing grade a such an early age.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, I still think testing majority of the school year is too much. Since school started at the end of August, I have given a math BOY benchmark, DIBELs test, weekly assessments, and now working on the KRA-Kindergarten Readiness Assessment. Each child is tested individually while your other students are participating in learning centers throughout the room. Each test can take between 15 minutes to one hour per child. Children can be disciplined to work independently, my kindergarten students are able to do it but I would prefer to teach and facilitate more and rely on authentic projects to monitor the achievement of skills being presented. It seems the nation is more worried about the data then the children. Data will not improve until quality teaching and appropriate assessments are evaluated.
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