This article misses the entire point of school. It isn't to challenge kids. It's to teach them. If there were something to teach there, they'd have classes and tests on it. Grades aren't for bragging rights.
I'm saying this as one of those kids that wished school taught me more. I was bored constantly. And I still wish that schools would teach kids at the level they need to be engaged and want to learn.
But tests for spacial intelligence, just to have tested it? Why would we pay tax dollars for that? If the kid is gifted, they'll know it and automatically move into a field that uses it. (Or not, as they wish.) There's nothing to teach.
But the point of test (exams) is simply to separate people and decide which candidates are best suited for further development. Tests should absolutely try to cover as many of the essential skills necessary for the various careers open to pupils, regardless of how easily those skills can actually be taught by schools.
It would probably result in identifying pupils with potential that previously would have been ignored in favour of pupils who were only superficially superior. It would also encourage pupils who possess more ability in that area to put more effort into their academic careers in general. And would help pupils with other academic strengths to identify fields which will be more difficult for them (there was a former maths teacher on my IT postgraduate conversion course who was really surprised that she struggled with programming, since she thought her maths ability would have made it a shoe-in).
And, to say spatial intelligence cannot be taught seems to be jumping the gun a bit. Have we really even tried to teach it?
Most tests in our schools are not to help direct the students. They're to make sure they hit a minimum level. That's it. I agree that there are a few that are designed to help a student direct their ambition, but they are few and far between. In fact, I can't say I've ever taken one. The closest thing would be the college entrance exam that basically just tells the students what their worst subjects are, and forces them into the lowest classes for those. Not really a direction.
But let's talk about teaching spatial intelligence. How would you do that? What techniques are employed while using it? Has anyone ever written a book on it? (A quick search says 'yes', but they appear to be ridiculous self-help books.)
Honestly, I'd love to read more about it, but there doesn't see to be much. I happen to be really, really good at things like re-arranging furniture because I can always tell when something is going to fit or not. I've called it down to less than half an inch before when reshuffling an entire room. What techniques did I use? Intuition. I can't teach someone that. And I can't see them teaching me, either.
I'm saying this as one of those kids that wished school taught me more. I was bored constantly. And I still wish that schools would teach kids at the level they need to be engaged and want to learn.
But tests for spacial intelligence, just to have tested it? Why would we pay tax dollars for that? If the kid is gifted, they'll know it and automatically move into a field that uses it. (Or not, as they wish.) There's nothing to teach.