Test or Assessment Socialization

Test of Assessment Socialization 

By Ph.D. Gilberto Hernández Quirós

Socialization is a process through which we acquire knowledge, language, and social skills to conform to norms and roles required for integration into a group or a given community.  It is a combination of both self-imposed or externally-imposed rules, and the expectations of others.

Socialization is vital in mutual learning of all aspects of intellectual, psychological, emotional, physical, cultural, and/or political aspects among others.  We are the result of the positive and negative interactions that we have along the course of life.  Socialization leads towards the development of a better understanding of the weaknesses and strengths of knowledge and performance of those with whom we share our beings, knowledge, and pleasures.  As we socialize our knowledge, skills, and pleasures, with no intention of taking ownership of the truth, we enrich mutually and even stimulate a good sense competition to move on to another level of performance and comprehension.

Why should an educator allow test or assessment socialization?

In the learning and teaching process, we should foster and allow at least one socialized test or assessment in such a way that learners may share their very own self-beings and knowledge without feeling intimidated by a grade or by a summative and repetitive process administered by an educator who will grade and score correct and incorrect answers in a traditional test where a score is given.  Nevertheless, the latter does not really imply that learning has taken place in a meaningful or useful way for life. 

Socialization in tests or assessment consists of the discussion and resolution of a test in whereby it may be done in pairs or small groups.  The resolution to the test must be done following the following phases that I describe below.

1.  Decide with whom to work and identify a specific place in or outside the classroom to work on the test.  The educator may likewise conform pairs or groups as per his/her criteria.

2.  Discuss and respond the different parts of the test where each member is to participate contributing ideas, writing, or presenting before the whole group.

3.  Submit the test with the names of all members or individually.

4.  Socialize the test with the teacher and the whole group by analyzing and discussing question after question.  This experience avoids distraction and assures internalization of the contents of information in a collective and stress-free and fearless way.  It is important to know that this is not “cheating” but contributing ideas and information with the objective of responding questions formulated by the educator and resemble real life where we are all exposed, second by bysecond, to a reaction or individual response before a large collective group.

Test of assessment socialization prevents learners from feeling intimidated or overwhelmed by fears regarding a final grade which does not really show whether the learned can apply his/her knowledge of the topic to be evaluated.  Whenever a socialized test is proctored, an air of cordiality is breathed with freedom and companionship to achieve a mutual goal.  I ask myself if people reading this article have ever had the opportunity to take a socialized other than assignments or projects.

Traditional evaluation with stardardized tests are based on silence, individuality, and even fear of feeling evaluated throughout the time that test or quiz lasts as well as the time for scored test hand-back.

If it is our will to foster criticality and the right to dissent as well as the creation of new ways of thinking and reinforce access to information and knowledge, then we must modify the way we evaluate our students.  However, we need to know that it is likely that many parents as well as colleagues and principals will oppose this sort of practice.  This reaction or behavior is so because the above mentioned have been educated in the traditional way and do not fully understand the benefits of socialization as part of a new learning process.

Among the benefits of socialization of tests and assessment are the following:

1.    Fostering of production of information and thereby knowledge.

2.    Elimination of nervousness or intimidation as a result of the evaluation process.

3.    Reinforcement of group information and/or contents studied.

4.    Joy for the experience of learning together.

5.    Development of skills of mutual cooperation where each member feels important and on equal conditions for participation.

6.    Sharing of intellectual production.

Knowledge is the result of the information and contents that we get to acquire along life.  Oftentimes, we are exposed to bits of information and contents which are not meaningful, or even worse, evaluated in the traditional and boring mode.

The reaction of learners to a “socialized test” or “socialized assessment” generally initiates with confusion upon not believing but later shift to an experience of satisfaction and joy for being able to interact, ask, have a say, or make contributions without the fear of being corrected or penalized.

Traditional assessment always has big limitations and prohibitions in terms of time, noise, handwriting, seating arrangement, sounds, pen colors to be utilized besides the constant supervision of the educator.  I am convinced that the traditional way to evaluate knowledge and skills must change to adjust to demands of present and modern times.  The educator, respectful of evaluation systems, is likewise the owner of his/her way of evaluating and promoting best practices of learning inside the traditional classroom.