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Assessment and Learning
Louis Wildman
To the Editor:
Lowell Barrington's article, "Less Assessment, More Learning," in the November-December issue warns us about emphasizing assessment at the expense of learning. Indeed, this is what the No Child Left Behind Act is perpetrating in K-12 education. The history of liberal education teaches us that we should pass on to the next generation what we believe important (which can often be defined in terms of a few assessable specific objectives) as well as facilitate individual students' creative development and engage students in the search for new knowledge. However, in K-12 education, there is now such an emphasis on teaching and assessing long lists of specific objectives, that the larger part of education is being set aside. Many schools have become test preparation factories, when this country needs thoughtful citizens and creative workers. Surely, we don't want this factory model in higher education in the name of accountability, accreditation, or George Orwell.
Louis Wildman
(Educational Administration)
California State University-Bakersfield
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