When I Think of Child Development.....

Challenge..... Children are indeed a challenge..they are the only people that have the capacity to make you laugh and make you cry within seconds of each other. What emotion do you feel from looking at this image? I feel several..... Happiness, sadness, curiosity, fearful, and the list goes on...Only a child has this type of power!  They are the most amazing little creatures on Earth!

Honesty....  Who does not appreciate honesty?  Children are nothing but little sponges and they are curious about their surroundings... I chose this image because it reflects honesty... many of you may think brutal honesty, but the little girl was just curious.  How many of us get asked and approached by children because they just want to know?  All one can do is love and appreciate the little views of these future leaders of our nation that we as caregivers are developing.....

Testing for Intelligence???

Many people are concerned with the school age children and their progress and achievement and feel as if the presence and use of standardized testing is a way to determine academic achievement.I feel as if this is push from society.  This topic reminds me of the movie "The Blind Side"due to the fact that Michael wasn't good at standardized testing but it didn't mean he didn't understand the material.  Many children become nervous under the pressure of taking a "test."  Testing has the same effect on many adults.   Understanding the "whole child" does range further than just being able to take a test that many children may not be able to relate to in some the scenarios that are presented in some of the problem solving questions.  Assessments take more of a contradictory approach to literacy in which students spend significantly more time engaged in reading assignments while spending less time actually reading to understand.  It seems as if curriculum is now centered around the "test" instead of  being intellectual material as a foundation for further learning.  Most standardized testing seems to pressure teachers to teach children how to answer test questions, and to strive to get a high score instead of teaching children how to fully understand the subject matter. Children also need to learn to succeed in non-academic situations and this cannot be assessed on a standardized test....it's this thing called life!  

Assessing Children in China

The earliest standardized tests were performed in China.  The children in China are still assessed through standardized testing.  China ranks number one in the 2009 Global Mathematics Performance for International Children Assessment.  After a two year study, it was found that academic achievement in Chinese children predicted children's social competence and peer acceptance.  It was also found that children's social functioning and adjustment, including social competence, aggression-disruption, leadership, and peer acceptance also contributed to academic achievement.  These results supported the "reciprocal effects" model concerning the relations between academic achievement and social adjustment (S.P. Hinshaw, 1992).  

References:

Relation between academic achievement and social adjustment: Evidence from Chinese children.  Chen, Xinyin; Rubin, Kenneth H.; Li, Dan.  Developmental Psychology, Vol 33(3), May 1997, 518-525.