FIXING OUR SCHOOLS FOR DUMMIES - IX

Teachers + Students Test Scores =Teacher Evaluations ?

Some 200 Washington, DC teachers were fired in July as a result of being classified poor and ineffectual under the school systems evaluation process. This new and improved evaluation process evaluates teachers based on students' test scores. The students' test scores became the "value added component" or 50% of the fired teachers' evaluations. If these 200 DC teachers were deemed poor and needed to be fired, then I would hope that they were terminated because they did not possess the necessary skills, knowledge of subject matter, classroom management and organizational skills and certification. Unfortunately, these teachers were fired based on a large part (50%) on their students' test scores.

Why is it that when looking at students who do not achieve fingers always point at teachers. More than likely students who do not test well have a history of poor attendance, poor behavior, poor attitude, refusal to do work both in class and at home and many have parents who have no control over them. If teachers are to be evaluated and held professionally accountable for their students' standardized test score results under the heading of a "value added component" then the same standard should be applied to students and their parents. Let's determine and document if parents have added value to their children's lives. Let's face it, many students add value to a school's test score results and ranking while other students by their inability or outright refusal to participate in the testing process lower their schools test scores and subsequent ranking. Maybe it is time to evaluate and classify students as either students who add value or decrease the overall value of a school.

With these 200 teachers no longer in the classroom will there be a dramatic or even noticeable improvement in the test scores of DC's students? I doubt it because the actual test takers, the students, both those who add value and those who decrease value will still be participating in the testing process. Until the alleged educational leadership of our schools come to grips with problem students who take standardized tests in a "could care less" fashion, some schools will always show poor results. In any school showing very good test results you will see students who want to learn and achieve dominating that school's student population. Troublemakers and the disinterested are not present. These same schools will have parents who are actively interested in their child's education and see the school as more than convenient day care. This combination of engaged students and proactive parents allow an atmosphere to exist where all teachers can teach and add value to the students school experience. What we continue to see are solutions not based on a clear understanding or even an acknowledgement of the actual problems in our schools that teachers must deal with on a daily basis. What we do see are not really solutions, they are poorly conceived and haphazardly executed reactions.

Being a retired teacher I am no longer subject to reactionary solutions, half ass improvement programs and in vogue evaluation procedures. I sympathize with many of my colleagues, both senior teachers and those just starting their careers. Most have the knowledge to teach their respective subjects. All must teach under the residual pressure of ivory tower conceived programs like Caught in the Middle, No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top. Is it any surprise that many new teachers do not remain in the profession after their fifth year? Does it surprise anyone that private schools are so appealing to so many teachers, parents and students?

FIXING OUR SCHOOLS FOR DUMMIES - V

Focus on Subject Matter

There has been a steady shift or slide by educators from spending professional time on their particular subject matter to spending professional time on classroom management, cultural diversity, fostering self-esteem, parent and student rights, educational standards and of course the now all important and almighty standardized testing. While all these topics and concerns have varying degrees of relevance and possibly importance, the business of education remains education. As such, curriculum is all important. Professional time should be spent on what is being taught in the core subjects: English, Mathematics, History and Science. Teachers need to be able to meet as colleagues and discuss subject matter concerns. Teachers must have the time to discuss particular subject matter units and how these units are being presented to students. Over the years teachers' meetings have been usurped by administration to cover, discuss, debate and promote everything; except the business of education. This trend must be reversed.

What teachers teach and what students learn in each grade as students progress through public school has become pretty much standardized and predictable. Yes, there have been some unfortunate changes like the mandate that all eighth graders must be taught algebra regardless of their mastery of basic math skills. But in general, there is for the most part a somewhat logical progression of skills acquisition and subject matter exposure. Unfortunately, for many teachers they teach in a collegial vacuum and professional isolation. Many novice teachers have little time to be mentored by their more experienced colleagues and veteran teachers have little or no time to "talk shop" with their peers. Once that bell rings and the door closes its is show time and all teachers are on their own, even the novice first year teacher with no experience.

During the last years of my teaching career most meetings, both full faculty and departmental, were taken up with the new concerns of education. Topping this list was of course standardized testing; but many other non-education topics consumed precious time under the alleged importance of staff development, in-service training and school improvement. Countless school improvement plan requests drifted down from the non-teaching administrators in the district office that required many precious hours to process and complete. To add insult to injury in some instances these plans would be filed away having never been reviewed or read. If by chance someone had discovered a new resource to explain the plot of The Call of the Wild or a new web site that provided more detailed back ground information for The Diary of Anne Frank little formal meeting time was available for sharing this information.

As a result of universal education in that all children regardless of school readiness, mastery of skills, attitude, behavior, attendance and socialization occupy seats in this country's classrooms; the classroom teacher now faces many challenges. Teachers are expected to wear many hats. They are expected to be social workers, counselors, crisis intervention specialists, surrogate parents, nutritionists, behavior modification specialists, attendance monitors and security cops in their overcrowded classrooms with far too many students needing special services. These special needs students are in addition to the educationally handicapped students that were once taught in special education classes; but now include the growing number of delinquent, chronically truant, frequently suspended, disinterested, out of control, parentally neglected children who are a constant source of disruption in the classroom.

No doubt if school administrators would handle the problems that these feral students bring to the classroom maybe, just maybe teachers could devote more time to improving their subject matter presentation and less time on all the various facets of classroom management. Could this result in even test scores going up ? Now that is a carrot to wave in front of school administrators.

Next Post: RETURN TO STUDENT TRACKING

Obama on Education

Obama Outlines Plan for Education Reform

I just finished reading President Obama’s plan for educational reform. Much of what he said has already been said and much of what he proposes may effect change. However; his comments, proposals and promises are as flawed as those of countless past educational reformers. Due to budget shortfalls almost 20,000 American teachers have been given pink slips this year. For the 2009-2010 school year our schools will be under funded, short of teachers and students will be taught in over crowded classrooms. Some districts will be forced to eliminate all athletic programs. I wonder if the $600 billion dollars spent on the war in Iraq could have been put to better use in the USA?

See: http://www.nationalpriorities.org/costofwar_home

President Obama continued by praising Charter Schools, proposing merit pay and calling for the removal of bad teachers. These are hardly new ideas. Charter Schools are a real enigma. They are like semi-private schools in the public school system. Charter Schools allow for more freedom and innovation in the teaching and learning process. Charter Schools are a reaction to the rules, regulations and heavy handed interference of local, state and federal mandates. Why not allow all public schools the same level of freedom that Charter Schools enjoy?

Merit pay in the public school system is absurd. Arguments for merit pay are sometimes linked to the “corporate world”. Well, in the corporate world poor functioning or failing employees are terminated. We do not terminate failing students in our schools. When I taught, the students in my classes who failed failed for a variety of reasons: unruly behavior, poor attendance, bad attitude, failure to do homework and disinterested and uninvolved parents. These are all factors I had little or no control over. I was a classroom teacher, not a police officer, truant officer, or foster parent. Should teachers be labeled “bad” for this kind of student/parent behavior? Should this kind of student/parent behavior affect a teacher’s pay or cause termination?

Like so many other educational reformers President Obama placed far too little importance on the role of parents in their child’s lives. He has hinted at the role of parental responsibility in a child’s education; but not nearly as strong as the role demands. Parents must see schools as more than day care. Parents must see that their children, regardless of grade level, are prepared each day to do their best in school. Parents need to assure that their children are properly fed and clothed. Student’s time on the phone, the computer and TV must be controlled and monitored. Assigned homework must be completed at home

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Finally, President Obama wants bad teachers removed. Well, this may come as a surprise to Mr. Obama; but good teachers also want bad teachers removed. Individuals without the necessary personal and professional skills to teach put a strain on good teachers and have a negative influence on both staff and students. The solution or answer is simple - administrative involvement. In all schools there are procedures for administrative warnings, evaluations, interventions, corrective actions, and even termination of bad teachers. The problem in too many schools is the reluctance, inability, or refusal of administrators to follow these procedures.

Too often teacher unions or associations are blamed for protecting bad teachers. Nothing is further from the truth. All a union or association will do is see that proper procedures are followed. If administrators will leave the comfort of their offices and observe and evaluate poor performing teachers then a case can be made for removal.

Finally, the educational playing field must be leveled. It is absolutely unfair to speak of quality education for all students when the state of Vermont spends $15,000 per pupil and the state of Utah spends $5900. My own state of California ranks # 47 with a per pupil expenditure of $7500 per student. Maybe it is time for another Supreme Court challenge to educational disparity like the Brown vs. Board of Education lawsuit that struck down the concept of “separate but equal’. How does Vermont manage $15,000 per student?

A New School Year

A New School Year

Well, I checked my calendar this morning and I see that it is Tuesday, August 26th. In just two days my Walters JHS colleagues will return to school to begin three days of Staff Development or In-Service Training. I will not be with them because I am now retired! This is the time when the fact that I am retired will truly set in because my “vacation” will continue after Labor Day. I wonder how their year will progress.

I wonder if these three days of mandated staff development & training will be as mind numbing and the colossal waste of time that they have always been. I wonder if the new teachers will realize that they are truly alone when the bell rings and that they are a one person show? I wonder how many parents will allow their students to attend school three or four days a week and routinely excuse their weekly absences. I wonder how many students will spend more time on work avoidance, off task behaviors and disruptive behaviors than those who really want to learn. When will adults realize that ipods and cell phones are both a disruption and distraction in the classroom setting? I wonder if any of these topics will be discussed before the school year begins.

No doubt there are topics of concern; but more than likely these topics will focus on test results, identification of under achieving students, reasons for their underachievement and suggested remedies. Teachers know why some students are underachievers and administrators should know; but when the plan is launched to bring about change it will miss the mark. More than likely when the plan is launched it will identify parents as a vital part of this success plan; but they will not be held accountable or responsible for their students’ attendance, behavior, attitude, or completion of work.
Next, we have the under achieving student. As a possible new arrival to this country or as a possible refugee from one of our own urban war zones these students are thrust into a curriculum designed for the college bound and they do not possess the necessary prerequisite skills in reading, writing and computation to be successful. They are behind on day one and continue to fall behind as the year progresses.

Lastly, we have the end of the line service provider --- the classroom teacher. The experts with the power point presentations will enthusiastically demonstrate that by means of a more personalized teaching approach with heavy emphasis on cultural relevancy, increased concern for student self-esteem, and a more pronounced level of tolerance and acceptance of behaviors and attitudes not usually associated with main stream attitudes and behaviors that these teachers can turn under achievers into achievers.

This plan is the obvious result of the realization that the educational system has no power to affect change with either parents or students; but teachers can and will be manipulated. Consequently, if these under achievers do not achieve it will not be their fault or the fault of their parents; but the blame will be placed squarely on the backs of teachers.

This plan, like so many plans hatched outside the classroom with little or no teacher input truly stinks … and the stench will linger for a long time.