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Having taught in Japan and Singapore over the last decade, I have found that while students from these two countries tend to score well in standardised tests, their critical and creative thinking skills tend to be lacking.
Generally speaking, these students expect teachers to “spoon feed” them answers so that they can memorise them and regurgitate them at a later date. I can’t say that I blame them. It seems that this is what the majority of their education system is based upon.
Both cultures put a high value on scoring well on standardised tests. However I believe that standardised tests are really only an indicator of how good the student is at taking standardised tests.
When I first learned of the Primary School Leaving Examination in Singapore, I was quite shocked. It seemed as though a child’s future relied too heavily on a test score taken when he or she was 11 or 12 years old. Needless to say, I am not a big fan of standardised tests. I believe that they have created a generation of test-takers rather than a generation of problem solvers and creative thinkers. The big questions in life are ones that you must answer for yourself. The answers cannot be memorised.
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