Wang, Zhihe. "Beyond Modern Test-Oriented Education-A Constructive Postmodern Perspective." (International Conference On "Process Thinking and Higher Education Reform," 2005): 40-60.

Abstract

Although Modern Test-oriented Education is still dominant in both the East and the West, it has caused a great deal of tragedies.  This paper tends to examine the limitations of modern test-oriented education and present a Constructive Postmodern Education as an alternative in light of Whitehead's education philosophy.

One of the unfortunate representation or limitations of the test-oriented education is that the student is treated as "Exam machine" rather than living human being with feeling.  Another unfortunate representation or initiation of the test-oriented education is that its overemphasis on book-learning as the second-hand information.  The third unfortunate representation or consequence of the test-oriented education is that its disregard of the pressing issues.  The most important issues of our times like ecological crisis, are hardly put in the list of tests.  Modern test-oriented education greatly narrows the student's horizon.  It leads to a lack of whole view.  To sum, modern test-oriented education is not only the murderer of children's soul, but also the murderer of children's bodies.  It seriously divorces school from life, book from practice.  It is time to reflect and modern test-oriented education and reoriented the modern education due to these drawbacks.  The call for postmodern education has become pressing both in the East and the West.  

Constructive postmodern education may offer an effective antidote to modern test-oriented education, especially its fragmentadness and the narrowness and try to move beyond it.  First of all, from a point view of organic philosophy, constructive postmodern thinkers view the students as living human being instead of machine.  Secondly, constructive postmodern thinkers challenge people to pay much attention to life and life wisdom instead of just to textbook.  Thirdly, postmodern education values alterity and puts emphasis on "The welcome of the new" by encouraging creative knowledge and imaginative knowledge.  Fourthly, postmodern deconstructs the boundary between school and society modern test-oriented education draws.  Treating schooling as a distinct isolated activity is contrary to Whitehead's conception of interrelatedness.  From a point of view of process, constructive postmodern thinkers stress that the society is complex and ever-changing.  The school should open to change. 

Constructive postmodern thinkers challenge people to realize that school cannot offer the whole of education.  Fifthly, constructive postmodern thinkers put beauty first rather than intellect.  They insist that concrete aesthetic appreciation should be given equal importance as facility with abstractions.  That means that postmodern educators should pay much attention to the appreciation of concrete things.  More importantly, it encourages students to appreciate another person as invaluable individual.  It stresses that other human beings are aesthetically interesting in their own right no matter how low their scores are.

From what have discussed above, we can see clearly that constructive postmodern thinkers play a vital role in liberating children from the modern test-oriented education.  It frees the students from the tyranny of science and intelligence.  It frees the student from overloaded homework.  In this sense, it is emancipative.