Okay, so in Australia, all students have to do a WAMSE test in years 3, 5, 7 and 9 in the core subjects: English, Social Science, Science and Maths. I just had the Social Science one today.
It was utter fail.
Australia's idea of social science, especially lower-school social science, is utter fail. For one, showing students a picture of a pair of grumpy looking convicts all chained up and asking them how bad they must feel is not social science. That's mind reading. Mind reading is not a core subject, or a subject at all, in the Australian schooling system.
I will list some of the answers my dear gifted and talented peers wrote:
'As gifted as I am I cannot read minds'
'Let's not make assumptions here: they might like chains and leg irons'
'I think they're emotionally disturbed'
and
'There's a one in three chance that they're thinking about sex'.
This is what happens when you pose a really stupid question to a really smart kid.
Other stupid questions included showing us a picture of a broken windmill and asking us to state why feral camels are a threat to Australian agriculture and asking us how the location of cattle stations effect the nearby community. Let me tell you something: cattle stations are in the middle of freaking nowhere. There is no nearby community to effect.
This test does nothing but prove the idiocy of the people who are meant to be in charge of the education of the younger generations. I mean, none of us - to my English teacher who was supervising the test to us, the poor students subjected to this trite shite - have any respect whatsoever for WAMSE testing.
Or any testing, for that matter.
3 comments:
Are you sure you have to do the MSE in English and Maths?
It was my understand that the NAPLAN was done in those subjects, and the MSE for Science and Social Studies. (Or probably the ICAS for Maths and English: but that's from the University of New South Wales, and that is high-stakes testing).
The Australian Council for Educational Research is responsible for assessing your tests and examinations.
Do not confuse lack of understanding or interest with a lack of respect.
It's good that you were able to get some amusement out of it.
I would probably be able to answer the convict question and the agriculture question, and with a push, the one about the feral camels.
And there would be no mind-reading involved. (Grin).
Have been looking around the Civics and Citizenship test, which is given every 3 years (usually during an election year). This one asks questions about littering, the Governor-General and the citizenship pledge.
Really, the results are there to develop and strengthen the teachers as well.
It's a little confusing about all this WAMSE/NAPLAN business - when I was little it was just WALNA but now they're trying to nationalize the tests or whatever.
The problem with blogging is that I can never remember the exact wordings of things that are really funny. I re-read my post now and I realize that the questions may seem reasonable, but trust me, the way they were presented, they were not.
One of the things about humour, is that it is in the moment.
(At least I believe so).
And it can be like the game Telephone when you report what someone had said or written.
Literacy and Numeracy Assessment? And they norm(ed) it at about 400 or thereabouts? And a 100 standard deviation either way?
Yes, the tests are being nationalised, especially over the last 2 years.
Black marks on white paper ...
(Would love to see the annual report, which often has surveys and sample questions. Probably at the end of the academic year...)
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