Scrapping Testing for Children Under Eight

According to the website abc.net.au, Australian school teachers “are pushing for formalised assessments and testing to be scrapped for children aged under eight in favour of a play-based model of learning favoured in Scandinavian countries. State School Teacher's Union WA (SSTUWA) president Pat Byrne said research had shown play-based learning was better for children in terms of wellbeing, academic outcomes, problem-solving and social skills.

Yet she said children from kindergarten onwards were expected to participate in a range of formal assessments….

Speaking at the launch of the union's Play is Learning campaign, Ms. Byrne called on the State Government to develop a strategy to ensure all WA children could access quality play-based learning.”

And in the popular book, From Teaching to Thinking, authors Ann Pelo and Margie Carter advocate for a similar idea – a culture of inquiry for young students: “A culture of inquiry prizes questions and the process of investigating them, more than arriving at the right answers.”

Source: “Teachers call to scrap school tests for children under eight in push for play-based learning,” by Andrea Mayes, abc.net.au, August 12, 2019

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