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Do you remember your elementary school report cards? They were more than just a column of letters with all of your hard work reduced down to a number 鈥� a number to be judged against that perfect 4.0. In those early years, you and your parents received feedback through grades and written commentary. Your parents also attended conferences with your teachers to help them truly understand how you were doing.

As you got older, though, chances are that feedback diminished. The really good teachers gave you open-ended assignments that were returned with constructive criticism along with your grade. However, there were a lot of teachers who just gave you a test; things were right or wrong, black or white, and the only thing you got back was a grade.

When I was looking at colleges, I found a handful didn鈥檛 give grades; they provided detailed feedback instead. I remember thinking, 鈥淗ow can a graduate school or employer judge an applicant on that?鈥� But I also knew that there was value in that detailed, constructive feedback, and I wanted it.

I ended up at a college where I received both grades on my transcript at the end of the semester and constructive feedback throughout the year on analytical, hands-on, thought-provoking, and practical coursework. That, I believed, was the best of both worlds. On my resume, I could include my GPA, that number that my entire college career was supposed to be reduced to, so my academic performance could be judged against that of others. Importantly, though, I could also note my volunteer work and practical assignments such as communications work for local nonprofits. Additionally, in other parts of the job-seeking process, I could communicate with confidence that I had been adequately (or better) prepared for a career in the field of my choice 鈥� not because of the little number that was very close to a 4.0 鈥� but because I had learned from extraordinary professors and received their feedback, support, and guidance the entire way.

Today, the field of education is so focused on raising standardized test scores that we are missing the point. There is so much more to education than a number telling us if we are right or wrong. How are we supposed to learn from a low score if we don鈥檛 know or understand what we got wrong? How does a multiple choice test allow me to develop critical thinking and problem solving skills? How is a test preparing us for life?

I see two major problems (among many others) with standardized test-driven education:

1. Helpful feedback beyond the test score is often not provided.
2. Tests don鈥檛 measure some of the most important things 鈥� a student鈥檚 ability to reason, depth of knowledge, thought processes, innovation, or passion, for example.

Tests are important evaluative tools, and they do serve a purpose. But education should not be reduced to simply filling in the bubbles on a multiple choice test. There is so much more to every student than a GPA or a percentile. We must find better ways to evaluate without stifling creativity, to give constructive feedback, and to make learning an engaging, productive process. We are asking a lot of teachers today, and hard as they try, they can鈥檛 do it all; they need help.

Even in the field of gifted education 鈥� where we appreciate and understand the gifted student鈥檚 ability and need to delve deeper, think more creatively, and express their knowledge differently 鈥� many programs identify gifted students based on a single test score. But a test score does not give us the full picture of a student, which is why 优蜜视频 uses for identification and program qualification.

All kids are more than a test score, and all students deserve to learn. Let鈥檚 make that happen.

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Lisa is the mother of 3 gifted children and lives outside of San Francisco.

My oldest son didn鈥檛 get his first letter grade until he was a senior in high school. His elementary and middle schools did not give grades. In high school, the students only received a single GPA. His assessments were in the form of red lined papers or handwritten comments. By the time he received his first letter grade in the fall of his senior year of high school, it was too late to make any difference; the letters had no meaning and they did not motivate him.

Despite the lack of external grade motivation, my son worked hard and did very well in middle school and high school. He didn鈥檛 start that way. In elementary school, he daydreamed. He did only what was required of him in the classroom and no more. I had to ask myself, how did my oldest son go from a daydreaming 5th grader to the top of his high school class without the hammer or carrot of a letter grade? Where did he find the motivation to do well in school?

While looking for an answer, I ran across an . According to this article, motivation is derived from three critical elements: Autonomy, Value and Competence. Research suggests that you will have more motivation if you feel in charge, feel capable and find meaning in the activity. With this new framework, I thought about my son鈥檚 last 8 school years.

In elementary school, I felt as though I had to do a lot of prodding because he showed so little initiative. I didn鈥檛 allow him to have autonomy. So, that particular element had to be satisfied elsewhere. The second element, value, had to come from the rewarding feeling of a job well done鈥攔ight? He didn鈥檛 agree. He found no satisfaction in an error-free worksheet. That element also had to come from somewhere else. All I had to work with were his feelings of competence. Unfortunately, he felt most competent when doing work he could master quickly, and he shrank from more difficult challenges. Somehow, I needed him to get out of his comfort zone.

So, I know it wasn鈥檛 the grades or my parenting that provided the catalyst for my son鈥檚 change in behavior. What made the difference? I talked to my son and asked him how he developed the motivation to excel at school. His comments all focused on how his learning experience changed.

Project Based Learning

Project based learning gave my son a sense of autonomy and imbued his work with value. Allowing my son to have a choice in designing a project and the ability to display his unique vision was the key to helping him find meaning in his work. For example, my son designed and built a scale model of a solar house in 6th grade. The project spanned math and science. He used angle geometry to compute ideal overhangs and created a budget for the construction. He studied how the location of the sun in the sky varies in different places and times. He even tested the effectiveness of his design at the Pacific Energy Center鈥榮 heliodon in San Francisco. 7 years later, my son still has the project in his bedroom.

Inspiring Teachers

How do you get a child to value information that he perceives has nothing to do with his day to day life? You either help him find meaning or introduce him to someone who finds it incredibly meaningful. My son鈥檚 history teacher was so passionate about the colonists that he would pound on desks and turn over chairs during a lesson. Who knew the puritans could elicit so much passion? His middle school writing teacher, an aspiring novelist himself, provided intriguing, open-ended character prompts as jumping off points for student work. While the teacher provided the inspiration, my son created work that was all his own. His self-evaluation said it all:

鈥淲hen I鈥檓 writing on my own, my work is my own. My writing belongs to my world, slowly weaving meaning in the threads of my life鈥� My god, I鈥檓 building a world, not a string of imitations.鈥�

Meaningful Feedback

The third element, competence, was enhanced by the feedback provided by the teachers. In the detailed written evaluations by his teachers, my son discovered that he was admired for the generosity he showed his classmates as he shared insights and techniques. He was celebrated for his curiosity and ingenuity. When he received constructive criticism, he knew what to do to improve, increasing his sense of accomplishment and at the same time giving him a sense of control over his progress. These words of encouragement and criticism did more for him than an A. His confidence grew with each evaluation.

We all know that the process of learning can be inherently motivating, but as parents, we feel that we have little influence over the process. So, we focus on outcomes. But we do have some influence over what classes they take and why. We can choose to talk about what they got on a test or how they felt about what they were learning. I was put to the test when my son wanted to learn how to perform on the trapeze instead of taking the AP prep class and exam. He鈥檚 still performing on the trapeze in college and decided to stop taking math classes. Despite my misgivings, I hope that by allowing him to choose classes and activities that he values and that make him feel competent, he will end up motivated, productive and happy.

What motivates your kids? Please share in the comment section below.

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