Africa is full of frustrations. Take for example: the widespread and obvious corruption; numerous failed international aid projects whose remnants now litter the town and countryside (I should start photographing and mapping all the broken wells…actually, that’s not a bad idea…); the neo-colonialism being practiced by countries who are looking to exploit natural resources here because they’ve already tapped all theirs at home; or maybe the binge drinking that goes one by men and woman who could have used that money to buy their kid a meal; the unfortunately ingrained expectation by some Mozambicans that things will be given to them rather than the knowledge that in a free-market society, you work so that you can provide these things yourself; or, what about the frustration caused by my 16 year-old punk of a neighbor who just picked my tiny cilantro plant clean even though I explicitly told him not to. I was gonna make pico dude. But this post isn’t about that stuff, or how much I miss Mexican food. It’s about testing.
Anyways, we just concluded the second trimester (which means I only have four more to go!) and now the students have a week of trimester exams. These tests suck. Here’s why: Rather than allowing each teacher to write his or her own exam for their classes specifically, the tests are put together by officials in the Provincial Government. Early in the trimester, the officials ask four schools from around the province to write two versions of a trimester exam for each subject being taught to each grade level. The Government then gathers these tests for each grade level and discipline, and picks out the questions they like and refines them to form their own super test which they call a Provincial Exam. In doing so, they try to include only the questions that match up with their expectation of where each teacher should be in the curriculum at that point in time. Therefore, each class is being tested on material they may or may not have learned up to this point. Once the Ministry has written their ideal test, they photocopy it about a bajillion times and send it to every school in the province. Every student enrolled in a physics course from 8th to 12th grade, for example would then take the specific exam that was compiled by the Ministry for their grade level. And the best part is, it’s supposed to factor heavily into each student’s grade for the trimester.
So you’re thinking, “Oh cool, Will didn’t even have to write his own exam. Shiiiiiit, life is easy out there. Probably gave him a chance to relax and read a book.” Not really. I actually recently started an attempt at a secondary project which has been keeping me nice and busy. More on that some other time though, when things start to pan out. But yeah, I wasn’t even allowed to edit or see the test prior to it being given. I’m not even allowed to proctor the exam! Not only did I have no idea what to design a review around, but I was also stressing out because there was a good chance that because we are behind on the curriculum, these kids would get tested on material we hadn’t even gone over yet!
What’s funny about all this though, is how someone actually thought this was a good idea at some point in time; comparable to when they used to say smoking cigarettes was good for you, or that lead-based paint would make your walls (and your organs) pop! The reality is that this is a horrible idea, and I’m actually fairly confident that they’ll soon recognize this and make a change. According to some of my colleagues who I’ve asked about it, the current testing system has been in place less than 5 years, so they are still working out the kinks. There are a lot of smart Mozambicans, my school’s Director being one of them, who will eventually be responsible for this change. He is now slowly creeping his way up the ranks, and into a position with the Government where he, as well as all the other hard working school teachers who seek change, will soon become the new members of the ministry and thus be able to influence policy.
The fact of the matter is that every single person in this country, anyone doing anything at all, is a student. I need to start reminding myself of that. Could be the kids in school, the Chefe’s working in the Ministry, and even the President himself. Everyone here is learning, because a peaceful and malleable version of this country has only been in existence for 20 years, and there is a lot of learning to do.
But, unfortunately, these changes take time, and that means that the students now are the ones who will pay the price for the steep learning curve.
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