PROBLEM SOLVING ASSESSMENT- the
unsung story
Off late
CBSE had launched PSA tests which had created a havoc in the schools across the
country. Bound by boundaries of curriculum, syllabus, practice- it is difficult
for us to consume the fact that we are being tested for abilities that neither
has a fixed curriculum, syllabi, no teaching periods nor any practice papers.
Accustomed to the system of teaching first and assessment later – as teachers,
principals we have been completely baffled with the new idea floated by CBSE,
and are operating with an anxiety how well will my school students perform on a
PSA test. Harnessing this fear psychosis- the market is flooded with publishers
selling solutions for PSA in form of MCQ manuals for different subjects. The
high sale margin of these books with PSA reflects the low IQ of our teaching community that endorses
these products.
As an
educationist, I wonder that as to why the teaching community is a consumer
rather than generators of knowledge. Perhaps the answer to this question is
more rooted in the politics of oppression that manifests itself at every level
in education. Right from Principals to teachers and students are all victims of
oppression, culture of dominance that filters down and manifests itself not
only through the explicit but also through the hidden curriculum that operates
in the school. When there is no freedom of mind how will we ever be able to
develop a culture of investigation, and the internal power to negate whatever is
being fed to us. Since we are not self actualized and neither does any school
system enable a culture of actualization, caught up with mundane basic needs as
articulated by Maslow – we never make a transition in understanding our meta
needs and process of actualization.
No wonder,
since we are not actualized- we lack the cognitive capacity to differentiate
between the knowledge that is provided to us- and from generators of knowledge
we accept and submit to knowledge provided by others and become consumers. Research
in cognition proves that a child is born as a constructor of knowledge and it
is ironical that a school and external agencies makes him/her a consumer of
knowledge. The agency within is lost to the environment. In wake of this
culture- how is it possible to not look for solutions and rather be one
solution.
Coming back
to the question of PSA- have we ever pondered and tried to understand the
rationale behind examination and CCE reforms, PSA tests- what is CBSE driving
the schools to? Is it another record that CBSE wants the schools to maintain,
or in words of common human beings another CBSE fad?
Seeing from
my perspective all these reforms seamlessly emanate from a common thread of
altering the culture of dominance in schools. The reforms are more rooted to
change the social order that prevails in the schools rather than just bringing
change in pedagogy, assessments and curriculum. These three pillars –
Curriculum, Pedagogy and Assessments determine the social order/ or rather
reinforce the order. And hence there is no doubt that these CCE reforms and PSA
tests have brought a disorder in the country because it is meant to change the
social order. Social Order can only change through disorder and when it is
binding for all of us.
The day we
understand the rationale- the unsung story of these reforms that discards the
hegemony of a text/ curriculum, teacher, principal, and is only meant to bring
about a structural change in the prevailing order that is conducive to
consumerism in education – we will accept all these changes with open arms.
The only
solution is to first begin by challenging one’s role, one’s own actions that am
I perpetuating the culture of dominance or am I liberating people around me.
Jiddu Krishnamurti rightly commented that if there is no freedom within – one cannot
have a liberating effect on others. Thus it is the time for us to wake up and
commune with ourselves, understand our potential, believe in our power and
alter the order of dominance in texts, pedagogy, assessments. Precisely, this
is what CBSE has tried to evoke through these reforms.
A culture of
empowerment is resonated when a teacher is given charge of assessing students
formatively. The tradition and dominance of texts/ syllabus is broken when CBSE
lists that the modes of transaction and implementation will be more learner
centric. Thus we see a number of activities like role plays, presentations,
case study analysis, debates, role reversals, interviews, surveys,
questionnaire, field visits that pervades the instructional strategy for all
subjects- all these are geared to empower students, value their generation of
knowledge and alter the power equation and challenge the dominant social order.
Years have
passed since we gained independence from Britishers, however the seeds of
colonialism and capitalism are rooted in everything we do around us. Schools
are structures/ or rather agencies of socialization and we have a strong
yearning to be capitalist/ a colonial master and perpetuate culture of
dominance. With these means we are not only creating a social divide, an
economic divide but also are separating the social and inner self (Carl Rogers)
and denying ourselves a liberated life.
The day we
rise within and beckon ourselves to liberate ourselves and the society, we will
understand the unsung story behind Problem Solving Assessments- which is just
not confined to Higher Order of Cognitive Processing but also geared to arouse
our inner self through culture of investigation and freedom.
