Re:A-Levels: The Model is not the Student
by TheOtherHobbes on Monday August 17, 2020 @10:02AM
(#24187288)
It's essentially the same as the hiring problem.
You're trying to work out who is a good fit from very limited data. You can run some practical tests - whiteboard, paper exam - but that doesn't take into account daily variations in performance, and it disadvantages outliers who may have very useful skills or character traits that don't tick the usual boxes.
The problem may be more that education is seen an industrial production line with authoritarian control of outcomes than as a personal development tool. Early apprenticeships and interning opportunities with real tasks to solve and real challenges to face might be better at developing a broader range of talents in context.
Which sounds like continuous, standardised, externally applied examination. Leaves rather little room for individuality in teaching techniques or pace...
> How it currently works is that these types of assessments are treated as second class citizens which i guess was really my frustration.
In as much as these things exist at all, they are part of the teaching method and aren't in any way standardised.
I'm not saying your proposal is wrong, but it would lead to a much more rigid system.