Let’s say you went to your nephew’s baseball game and they actually kept score, and your nephew’s team lost 10-1. All ten runs were scored in the first inning by the other team. Well, what happened from the second inning and on? Did your nephew’s team play better defense? Did the other team improve. But let’s say that you didn’t get to watch the game, and you asked your nephew what happened at the game. He would most likely hang his head and say, “We lost.”
Really? Did they really lose? Well, according to the scoreboard, they did. But what about the process? Although in many school districts, much more effort has been placed on the process but we operate according to the product: test scores, report cards.
I am not saying those are not useful tools; they are. They should be a useful tool in which to study. However, education is a process. If a student understood something on the test, but failed the test, did the student earn anything?
