Marcus Mrowka, a school board member in Camden, makes the argument that education should involve engagement, not test taking (“Maine’s schools should focus on engagement, not testing,” Aug. 25). As he puts it, students do not remember standardized tests, but they do remember experiences that engaged them, such as a hands-on science experiment or a creative writing exercise.
He describes the Camden-Rockport Elementary School nature-based pre-K program “where students learn from and about the natural wonders in their community while being outside in the woods behind the school in structured and unstructured learning environments.”
Everything he writes seems to make perfect sense, except for the fact that there is little discussion about measuring how much students have learned. For example, he states: “And we should be listening to them (educators and school leaders) about effective ways to measure student learning and success.” But what would those ways of measuring student learning and success be? Would they be standardized tests? Or something else?
I certainly have nothing against activities that engage students. On the other hand, I do have something against evaluations of student achievement that are not objective. And Mr. Mrowka appears to be moving specifically in that direction.
William Vaughan Jr.
Chebeague Island
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