Students who test well in the traditional realms of verbal and mathematical abilities are able to show how bright they are. But what about intelligent children who don’t test well in these traditionally tested areas; like dyslexics and strong visual learners who typically have strong spatial skills?
Even though many people with dyslexia are extremely bright, they are left with no way in the current traditional standardized testing system to demonstrate their gifts, because even when they have learnt to read and write, that is not where they excel. And that is a shame, because many of these students with strong visual ability will have a strong aptitude for science and technology fields. Their success is important to all of us, since we need technology to look after us and our ever more stretched world.
Why don’t we have assessments of children’s spatial thinking ability built into our education system? We should be looking to understand and maximize the outcome for each child.
Here is an interesting article exploring this further:
David Morgan is CEO of Oxford Learning Solutions and founder of the Easyread System. Easyread is an online phonics course which offers support for spelling and reading problems through short, fun lessons. Find out more at www.easyreadsystem.com or www.facebook.com/easyreadsystem