Education expert Tamar Jakeli: There are many ambiguities in general skills tests
The Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport is announcing fundamental changes in the education system. More specifically, the changes concern the educational process in pre-school institutions, schools, and higher education institutions alike.
One of the most resonant reforms turned out to be the abolition of school-leaving examinations—the so-called "CAT exams"—which was announced by the Ministry of Education a week ago.
According to the changes, in 2019 school-leaving exams will be removed for both 11th and 12th-grade students, and in order to transition to the higher education level, they will directly have to take the Unified National Examinations.
While some education experts evaluate the removal of the examinations positively, others have critical remarks and perceive the change as carrying the threat of corruption and the prospect of a decline in the quality of education.
"InterpressNews" spoke with education expert Tamar Jakeli about whether such a threat exists and what effect the planned reforms in the education system might have:
- Both the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport and a portion of education experts note that there are currently many flaws in the education system that hinder the improvement of quality. Which problematic issues would you highlight, and what are the ways to solve them?
- Numerous problems stand out, and in my opinion, their basis lies in the mechanistic vision and perception that is embedded in the deep layers of our consciousness and governs our educational activities. All those mechanisms, strategies, and approaches that were introduced in our system to raise quality stem from this conceptual vision. More specifically: currently, a perspective is established in the education system that is only interested in external behaviors and believes that a human being, like a machine, like an object, can be managed from the outside and that the desired behavior can be provoked through external pressure. Accordingly, we have "director-objects," "teacher-objects," and "student-objects" in the system, whom we wish to manage through external pressures. However, growth, development, and internal transformation can be achieved not by an "object," but solely by a "subject"—an individual. Therefore, it is essential to activate person-centered levers that will arouse in every subject the desire for growth, development, and transformation. Thus, in my opinion, the improvement of quality is hindered by the "human-object"-oriented levers operating within the system. The processes of deconstructing them have precisely begun, without which the renewal of educational processes is impossible.
- The removal of general skills from the list of mandatory examinations has caused a mixed reaction. A part of the public says that it is precisely what tests a person's logical thinking and complex knowledge. To what extent do you agree with this view?
- I believe that there are many misconceptions in the general skills tests: this instrument—which aims to test logical thinking—is itself devoid of any logic. First of all, the mathematical part depends entirely on mathematical knowledge. Anyone who knows mathematics well will achieve a significantly better result than someone who does not know mathematics. Talking about a "general skill" independent of any specific knowledge in this part is an illusion. Secondly, tasks aimed at reading comprehension in the verbal part are already present in the Georgian language and literature examination test, meaning there is complete overlap.
The test tasks given in the verbal part, which supposedly test general skills "purely," are also illusory because they merge with concrete knowledge. For example, in order to recognize the relationships existing between the meanings of words, one must first know the meanings of those words. If the applicant does not know the meaning of the word—that is, they do not possess this specific knowledge—naturally, they will not be able to demonstrate a "general skill" by any means. Trust me, these tasks abound with words whose meanings many might not know (e.g., pandemic, immune, incognito, archipelago, etc.). That is, if a student does not know the meaning of the word, what have we evaluated—a general skill or specific knowledge?
The fact is that "general skills" tests are based on the incorrect postulate that an individual skill is fixed and manifests identically in any context. Yet, research conducted in cognitive science has shown the fallacy of this postulate. Specific knowledge plays a decisive role in demonstrating general skills. Unfortunately, for years we remain held hostage by naive notions, do not question our perceptions, and follow a path beaten once before; moreover, in many cases, we do not even realize that there is a need to revise our views. This is why it happens that despite the progress in educational science—which has long since confirmed the groundlessness of approaches based on a mechanistic view in education—we cling to what was once created.
- Regarding the issue of abolishing school-leaving exams, what do you think the results might be, and do you see the threats that the opposition and some experts were talking about? For example, the threat of corruption or a drop in the quality of education?!
- I view the abolition of the so-called CAT exams as a positive event, but I am sorry that this single change is discussed out of context; it is essential to discuss the planned changes as a whole. Leaving exams, i.e., the so-called CAT exams, are the product of a mechanistic vision and are based on two incorrect postulates. We touched upon one of them above. The second postulate, which also applies to the general skills test, is as follows: knowledge breaks down into simple multiples, simple components, and by checking individual components in isolation, we will check the overall knowledge. However, research conducted in cognitive sciences has long since confirmed that knowledge is created not by the mechanical sum of individual components, but by the qualitative unity of these components. The more interconnected, hierarchized, and organized knowledge sets are in the mind, the stronger our thinking skills are. A good specialist is a person who possesses an interconnected system of knowledge and not a collection of isolated components of knowledge.
The existence of this exam harmed the educational process in many ways; I will dwell on only one here.
Harvard University professor Howard Gardner noted in connection with the "testomania" established in American schools that it is no longer the dog that wags the tail, but the tail that wags the dog. In the language of education, this means the following: the exam does not evaluate the knowledge that the school gives to the student; on the contrary, the school gives students the knowledge that is evaluated on the exam. Exactly this happened with us, and this is natural—after all, tests decide the fate of students, parents, teachers, and school directors. Therefore, the national curriculum—which determines what students should know, what they should be able to do, and what values they should develop—has been entirely replaced by testing requirements. Is the formation of a generation that passes such tests the educational goal of our country? Will we raise patriotic and thinking citizens through this? Until these tests decide the fate of "human-objects," we will not be able to change the educational process in the classroom. This is why the abolition of the "CAT" was necessary. Not to mention the social injustice and unhealthy school situations caused by this exam.
As for corruption, I would like to draw attention here to a very important innovation envisaged by the "New School Model" project. This is the implementation of annual national assessments at both primary and basic educational stages. In this way, the educational processes taking place in the school will be completely transparent. However, this assessment will be carried out not for the purpose of judgment, but to promote development. We will analyze how progress is proceeding in each school, where the bottlenecks are, and where what type of support is needed to improve the situation. Naturally, we will also implement appropriate interventions.
Regarding the new teacher evaluation system. On the initiative of the Ministry of Education, a new teacher certification model and salary policy will be developed and approved. News related to teachers also implies classroom observation and examinations. Will these changes improve the qualifications of teachers?
Unfortunately, we have created such levers that have caused the complete degradation of school culture. Today, as a result of external pressures in our schools, the vast majority are seized by the instinct of self-preservation because, as a result of reward-and-punishment mechanisms, vital human needs have been threatened: professional belonging, appreciation, recognition, and respect. The fear of judgment, failure, punishment, insult, and humiliation has amplified anxiety, worry, and tension in schools, multiplying obligations and pretense activities. In this unhealthy environment, no one has the time to care about a child's development anymore! What have we turned the educational environment into, which, by all rights, should be engaged in raising and developing adolescents with tender, youthful souls and hearts?!
The priority task is to restore the health of the school culture in each school, offering adolescents a healthy and caring educational environment in which the student will be given living examples of dedication, selflessness, civic consciousness, care for the school community and environment, loyalty to the cause, mutual respect, and support. This is of principled importance for raising a balanced and full-fledged citizen in this already extremely complex era.
Therefore, we must create conditions and activate levers that will convince every teacher that they are doing work of great value to the country and that they are doing this work well.
As for the new teacher evaluation model, personally, classroom observation for the purpose of evaluation makes me somewhat thoughtful. This is only good when you cooperate with the teacher and try to improve the educational process together with them—this is a mutually enriching constructive process. This is precisely what is being done now within the framework of our project.
I think that measuring student progress is the most effective tool for evaluating an educator.
Mariam Menabdishvili
"InterpressNews"
