Inequities From the Start
The rhetoric and fervor of Race To The Top is in full swing. The procedures to sign-on for the money are clear but the rationale is faulty. Money that is intended to increase equity for all students is being dispensed in an inequitable way resulting in a competitive bidding process rather than a fair distribution.
If a teacher ever said to students, “When you use the right computer, study for more hours, or write longer essays you’ll be generously rewarded” the teacher would be robustly chastised. If they sent home a report card with one number based on one test, parents would be outraged. For decades, if not centuries, schools have been obligated to meet the needs of all students, not punish them for deficiencies. Yet, the process for receiving federal dollars is akin to this rewards and punishment arrangement. States are told that when they comply with the Department of Education’s rules such as removing the cap on charter schools and attaching teachers’ salaries to one test, they will be rewarded. Many schools and students will suffer at the hands of those who make these decisions.
There is evidence (Marzano, Hattie) that teacher quality and instructional practice is vital to student achievement. Teachers do far more than drill students for standardized tests. They motivate, inspire, and challenge students. They teach them to be collaborative problem solvers, global citizens, and users and creators of knowledge. All students in all schools, communities and states need teachers who are trained, supported, and demonstrate best practice as they prepare students to be productive members of the 21st century.
I’m all for rigorous, relevant, and fair evaluation of students and teachers, when it is based on a wide range of skills, performances and capabilities. I can’t vote the party line when it is based on one score. The Coleman Report (1966) found that teachers influence 20% of achievement. There’s no logic in building a teacher evaluation system around 20% of what they influence. And rewarding teachers based on the socioeconomic group they teach is specious.
Here are my recommendations for distributing the money.
• Use it to mentor and train teachers, don’t blame them
• Put it towards retaining talented teachers rather than reducing their numbers
• Develop a valid, fair, and constructive teacher evaluation system
• Develop 21st century instruction and assessments that can be brought to scale
The 21st century demands new skills and competencies. In our knowledge-based and high-tech society, students need to build and extend content knowledge. Authentic assignments, organizing knowledge, and solving problems are essential competencies: not rote drill. Rewarding schools, communities, and states that adhere to a closed system is unconscionable. Distributing the money equitably is fundamental to achieving these goals.
posted by Assessment Network @ 3:19 PM
1 Comments
1 Comments:
I completely agree with you. Schools do not exist in a vacuum, they are part of a community. Policies such as these ignore students’ lives outside of the classroom. How can we expect students to perform above proficient on standardized tests if they go hungry to bed hungry every night or struggle with poverty? It is unconscionable to hold these students to the same standard as students who were enrolled in three years of pre-K and have live-in nannies. Race to the Top and policies like it reinforce the achievement gap between the haves and the have-nots. Schools which need the resources to provide interventions, new textbooks, and improved facilities to struggling students are denied funding while schools which have the means to provide for their students are rewarded with more money.
Policymakers need to realize that schools are not the only thing that affect student learning. A whole host of influences such as socioeconomic status, health concerns, and family troubles can have even greater effects on learning than a teacher. A true commitment to change would be to make learning more equitable for all students. All schools in the US should have the same resources available to them, such as enough books for all students, functional computers, and high-quality teachers. This does not sound like much to most people, but for many students in urban districts, these three resources would make a world of difference. Preschool should be available to all students, not just those who can afford it. Let’s give everyone a fair chance before we start giving incentives for achievement.
A 2010 article in USA Today (http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2010-04-08-teachers-pay_N.htm) indicates that the government is urging states to use student test
scores as a factor in teacher pay. But, as teacher like Debra Gunter, a middle school math teacher in Georgia is quoted, “teachers can't control which kids walk into their classrooms.” Merit pay has crept its way into CT’s new education bill. Legislators, in pursuit of accountability, are wrongfully putting a financial influence on educators’ teaching. What will happen if merit pay is enacted? Good teachers will leave poor performing districts for those whose test scores are historically higher. School districts with less resources and consequently lower test scores will be left with low quality and/or inexperienced teachers who will “do their time” and quickly leave for a better performing district. Test scores for low-performing districts will continue to drop, and the achievement gap will widen.
Our students are children, not products. They are alive and breathing. Viewing them as products of school districts and teachers is a fundamental flaw that does no one justice. Rewards for high test scores and teacher merit pay will only serve to increase social injustice.
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home