Assessments of Students in the United States and Italy

In America standardized testing is the standard assessment of students.  The problem with this type of testing is that it is directly related to funding that schools receive.  Should schools fall below a certain level their funding is reduced, therefore schools place a great deal of importance on these tests.  In my own area schools actually "teach to the test" as they call it, in my personal opinion, they are basically teaching the test. Therefore, I don't feel the results are truly an accurate "assessment" of my child's abilities. If this weren't bad enough the teachers stress repeatedly to children how important this test is to the point that I have seen some children in tears because they were so afraid to take the test and possibly not live up to their teacher's standards.  There is no denying that we need to assess what and how well our children are learning but our assessments should be broader in scope and should not be related to school funding.

We should be assessing our children on not only academic areas but also social-emotional, critical thinking/problem solving, physical education, and creative thinking.  We should be assessing the "whole child" from the way they learn to their social-emotional skills.  Teachers should also review these assessments periodically with parents and share standardized testing results (academic areas), physical development, social-emotional development, and how their child learns.  Not only do parents need to know their child's strengths and what areas they need to work on but they also need strategies on how to help their child learn.

Italy

In Italy there is a five year primary (ages 6-10) cycle that is divided into two parts.  The first two years focus on basic skills and the final three years introduce students to broader concepts.  Subjects are grouped into areas and are taught by the same teacher / teachers for the entire five years.  They will normally also have a specialist who teaches religion.  The school week is normally 27 hours per week, increasing to 30 hours per week in the second year.  There are some schools who go the entire day, however they take a 2 hour break in the afternoon for lunch and relaxation.  This afternoon "break" is standard not only for schools but for all businesses, restaurants and shops. 

In Italy there is currently no national system of student assessment.  Their "assessment system" is based on teacher observation throughout the school year and are recorded on the child's report card or scheda (Living and working in Italy, 2009).  This assessments gives a complete picture of the child's academic skills and personality every three to four months and at the end of the school year.  This is the only type of assessment done in Italian schools and does not include standardized testing of academics.  So the downside to their assessment of students is that there are no other types of assessments done and they rely soley on teacher observation.  However, at the end of the five year primary cycle students are required to take an examination, both written and oral, and must pass this examination in order to move on, this is how they determine if students have learned the required courses (EURYDICE, 2004).

The subjects they teach in Italian schools include Italian art and a foreign language; religion; mathematics, sciences, and physical education; and history, geography, social studies and music.  They also make provisions for students with special educational needs.  There are typically three teachers for every two classes and four teachers for every three classes with a maximum of 25 students per class. 

References:

EURYDICE. 2004. Retrieved 12/10 from: http://www.ibe.unesco.org/International/ICE47/English/Natreps/reports/italy.pdf

Living and working in Italy. 2009.  Primary school in Italy:  What you should know. Retrieved 12/09 from: http://www.justlanded.com/english/Italy/Italy-Guide/Education/Primary-school-in-Italy