tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13263155.post1156065103728579869..comments2023-10-15T10:55:42.537-05:00Comments on This That and the Other Thing: Standardized Testing and School AccountabilityRAnnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04102249990885174107noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13263155.post-70870485474250728692013-05-11T20:46:15.246-05:002013-05-11T20:46:15.246-05:00I suppose standardized tests are like democracy: e...I suppose standardized tests are like democracy: except for the alternatives, they stink.<br /><br />Regardless, the Federal Gov't should pry its nose out of local business, which includes education. kkollwitzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17691145638703824456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13263155.post-54603519261119696762013-05-08T18:32:38.894-05:002013-05-08T18:32:38.894-05:00In some ways it doesn't seem fair to blame the...In some ways it doesn't seem fair to blame the teachers when so many factors are out of their control. However, I work for an insurance defense law firm. We litigate against people who sue for car accidents, slip and falls and other personal injuries. We usually "lose", we usually pay money to our opponents. Does that mean we are bad at what we do? No, it means that after we worked up the case either the claims adjuster or a jury decided that the best way to resolve it was to pay the plaintiff some money. Now, if we were paying out more money on similar claims that what other law firms were, or charging more for it, we'd find our business drying up. In the same way, oncologists lose a lot more patients than dermatologists do, but it doesn't mean dermatologists are better doctors. You have to evaluate professionals within the parameters within which they work. However, there are schools that teach kids in the lower socio-economic groups that do far better than would be expected just looking at their socio-economic data. Some people have figured out what to do with those kids; as a society we need to figure out what that is and repeat it.RAnnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04102249990885174107noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13263155.post-53400279165495044862013-05-08T18:25:10.959-05:002013-05-08T18:25:10.959-05:00Janette, I've been reading different things ab...Janette, I've been reading different things about the Common Core. On the one hand there are the folks who just plain don't like Washington dictating what they should do. I'm in that group to some degree, but like something I read online said, the fact that Michelle Obamah is pushing veggies and I can't stand her husband and his politics doesn't mean that eating veggies is a bad idea. I've heard the CC is too test-centric. I've heard it encourages kids to think and figure things out rather than relying on rote memory. I've heard it encourages reading for information and using the information found; I've heard it will be the death of teaching literature. RAnnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04102249990885174107noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13263155.post-47129385068769535072013-05-08T18:18:50.343-05:002013-05-08T18:18:50.343-05:00I understand what you are saying. I certainly don...I understand what you are saying. I certainly don't think that 100% of any teacher's evaluation should be test scores however, I think that test scores, particularly patterns of test scores should be used. If on average the kids who take your math class are scoring several percentage points lower (ie the average score for the kids who are in your class this year was in the 55th percentile last year and this year it is down to the 50%, and that drop is something that has happened to your kids consistently over the last few years, then I'd say you aren't doing your job. On the other hand if you are the teacher who takes those kids who scored in the 30th percentile last year and you move them to the 45th, even though they are still below average, I'd say you've done your job. RAnnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04102249990885174107noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13263155.post-21750996980611982402013-05-08T08:29:08.324-05:002013-05-08T08:29:08.324-05:00It is a tough call.
Standardized testing has its p...It is a tough call.<br />Standardized testing has its place. It keeps the community aware of what is going on. It pushes public school teachers to do their best and pushes bad ones out of the classroom. Schools are forced to shift and bad teachers were pushed to move along. <br /><br />Teachers should be judged on growth of the students as a whole. The "teacher" evaluation should be a mode of growth of the group not the medium.<br /><br /> Schools would like you to believe that passing "the test" means the children are above average. In reality it takes a 68% to pass a state test. Should a 90 IQ mainstreamed student be able to accomplish 68% of the curriculum with adequate teaching? I think they should. There are extenuating circumstances. Renee's student would be an example. Those are rare.<br /><br />What did I learn when traveling across the country a decade ago?<br />What I found was about 10% of the 700 schools I visited had some very bad teachers (read newspapers in class, did not know how to run a classroom, punished kids for crazy things). Two percent of the schools had segregated children (blacks in one SPED school& whites in the gifted school, those who couldn't read by the end of kinder forced to be in SPED for the rest of their school career, one minority keeping a different minority at a lower level). NCLB sounded the alarms for those situations.<br /><br />The real change in education will happen in the next ten years. As our generation retires, the schools will change. Standardized testing will help move that change forward. The only places that will suffer are the ones who insist that color of skin is more important then the competency of the teacher.<br /><br />The new problem is that the new national curriculum is so dumb down. What good is it in the long run? Kids will pass the test but will know significantly less then they ever did before.<br />Ah we are, once again, forced to follow our British friends to find out that "private schools" (which they call public) are going to continue with traditional curriculum and send their kids to university and everyone else will go to JC to find out what they missed!<br />That is an entirely different post!Janettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10054888725603183006noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13263155.post-60399411587567497492013-05-08T08:28:54.961-05:002013-05-08T08:28:54.961-05:00I never had kids, to be fair, I have never been as...I never had kids, to be fair, I have never been associated with the education system aside from being a student. Fortunately, I fell into the group of kids that barely studied and easily aced any test. This was from elementery school on up. I found it hard at that time to understand why everyone did not think as "fast" as I did or mentally solve math problems. I do read about the schools and the issues of standardized test even with no kids. There should be a three fold effort involving student, parent and teacher. Sometimes I find it hard to imagine the use of socio-economic arguments to validate poor teaching, studying and parenting. I could go into the breakdown of the "family" unit as a good reason for underachievement but that would take pages. Personally I think alot of testing issues boil down to responsibility. Parents place the responsibility of education primarily on teachers, teachers blame the parents for not teaching basics before school age and students point their fingers at everyone else for their lack of skill when booted out into the real world. Then, I am a real cynic and believe responsibility, consequences and experience should be the motivations of all teachers, parents and students.Sheila Niellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04276688121795368164noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13263155.post-46599000631070949642013-05-08T07:42:50.268-05:002013-05-08T07:42:50.268-05:00I've been out of the classroom for over 20 yrs...I've been out of the classroom for over 20 yrs. I look at it from the viewpoint of the teacher. Some systems are (or want to) tie teacher retention and/or raises to test scores. I had a 6th grade student who was not an average student. She'd had cancer as a child along with chemo (I would love to see a study on chemo's effect on kids' learning)and just had the hardest time learning. I had her in my Math class along with exceptionally bright kids. I was at a loss of how to help her during the school year. She didn't test into special ed because she was achieving at her expected level. If I had been rated on my student's test scores, I might not get a raise... but what more could I do for this child?Reneehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08739029410584701609noreply@blogger.com