Foundations Spotlight: Exams
By the Alveary Team
Exams. Just the word can bring up complicated feelings! But in a Charlotte Mason education, exam week looks quite different from what most of us experienced growing up. If you haven't explored the Exams section of our Foundations course yet, this month's spotlight is for you.
Exams are an integral part of Mason's model. They serve as a second narration after some time has passed, giving students the opportunity to think about ideas again, make new connections, and gain fresh insights as they look back on the body of work they studied that term. Exams allow teachers to see what content has made it into each student's long-term memory, and they provide an opportunity for students to celebrate how much they have learned. Many students are genuinely surprised by how much they can recall after 11 weeks!
Be sure to watch: Exams: Looking for Growth (51 min.) - In this video Kerri Forney talks about the goal of exams and how assessment in a Mason paradigm is not about grades but about relationship and growth.
This section also includes:
- An overview video with Dr. Jen Spencer on the importance of exams and tips for making exam week as smooth as possible.
- Separate videos walking through exams for Form 1 and Forms 2-3.
- Reflection questions to help you think through your own approach to assessment.
- Mason's own words on the purpose and importance of terminal examinations.
- A further reading link to the original PNEU pamphlet on exam regulations.
"The terminal examinations are of great importance. They are not merely and chiefly tests of knowledge but records which are likely to be permanent." (Philosophy of Education, p. 272)
We hope this section on Exams changes the way you think about exam week. Remember exam questions are included with an Alveary membership and can be found on the exam page of your Dashboard.
SPOTLIGHT: Need help finding something in Alveary? Want to talk through a Reflective Practice prompt or think through something that isn’t quite working? Join us for Office Hours on September 28. Bring your questions, and we’ll talk through them together.
NOTES:
- Latin: Did you know Alveary members have exclusive access to Latin video courses with Magistra Angela Reed of Living Latin Lessons? See how her teaching can support your Alveary Latin lessons with a free trial of Latin 1.
- From the Hive: Picture books, biographies, history series, books for older students...how do you keep a growing book collection organized? One Alveary member is reorganizing her shelves and would love to see what’s working in your home. Share your system (and shelf pictures!) in the Hive.
- Here’s an easy citizen science opportunity to try with your students: NASA wants your pictures of the sky! Through October 15, you can photograph clouds with the GLOBE Observer app and contribute real observations to NASA’s research.
Have a wonderful weekend!
