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Category: Education Corner
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Published: Saturday, 06 August 2016 13:09
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Written by Richard Womack, Ed.D
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Hits: 5131
“Before there were school buildings and certified teachers-education was the job of the family and particularly the elders. It worked for several thousand years-it must be made to work once again.” Education Corner 7/6/16
In our last EC we discussed the newly adopted Pohnpei Studies Standards and a rededication to teaching and learning correct and proper Pohnpeian language. We said to the Community: This is set up for you by the Pohnpei Department of Education (PDOE) at the request of the Community but the Community must assume the responsibility for the success of lack of success. We said too that Community likely expected more than young Pohnpeians just learning about Pohnpeian customs, values and attitudes. We thought the Community would like to see young Pohnpeians practicing Pohnpeian customs, values, and attitudes in everyday life. As much as possible the Community wants them to be Pohnpeian and therefore act as Pohnpeians should. For part of this the PDOE can provide books and lesson plans and some classroom guidance. But all the lessons call for students to participate and practice in the Community. This is where all knowledgeable elders are the teachers.
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Category: Education Corner
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Published: Thursday, 09 June 2016 08:49
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Written by Richard Womack, Ed.D
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Hits: 2915
High-stakes in poker or any other card game means the player is in the game and willing to bet a lot of money to win even bigger money. With a high stakes gambling game, a player can also lose a lot of money. Therefore, a high-stakes test is a test that means you can win big or lose big. High-stakes tests are not really set up for improvement. The EC has said in many columns that results from testing, assessing and evaluating should be used whenever possible for improvement. Readers are familiar with tests mentioned below and will recognize them as types of tests on which we all place such great emphasis. On many tests as these there is often no second chance.
Moreover, such tests are set up to screen or filter the test-takers. They are sometimes pass or fail and sometimes a score will rank the test-taker against the others taking the same test. For example, an employment test as for government jobs given to 100 applicants may only consider the top 10 in rank order of scores. Certainly, the National Standard Teacher Test (NSTT) is high-stakes as passing means an FSM teacher license or certification. A ‘no pass’ means no certification and therefore no teaching position. If our FSM teachers wish to teach in Guam or the U. S., they may run into teacher tests called the Praxis. The NSTT is similar in nature to the Praxis. The College of Micronesia Entrance Test (COMET) is high-stakes. Pass and you are in college. A ‘no pass’ means you will not be a college student until you can pass the COMET. Passing a General Equivalency Development Test (GED) means you are judged to be the same as a high school graduate and can enter COM-FSM (if you pass the COMET). Another high-stakes test for many Micronesians is the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB). To be accepted into the U. S. military requires the high school diploma or a GED and passing the ASVAB in order to enter the U. S. armed forces. And, to be sure, these high stakes tests are in the English language. So English proficiency is the real basis for success in these win-lose situations.
