Rewards and Punishments
Have you noticed that we've moved away from materials rewards and exclusionary punishments in the classroom? In their place, teachers have been trained in positive behavior support and strategies to build intrinsic motivation in students. I always thought that teachers did the best job possible because of their fundamental belief in and dedication to students. I don't know anyone who entered the profession because of the fabulous pay scales or potential earnings. So, it seems contradictory to me to use material rewards and punishments for teachers that are based primarily on students' test scores.
Until recently student assessments and teacher evaluations have included multiple measures. Now some sectors want to minimize the value of a teacher's experience and quality of instruction and discount their contribution to school improvement in favor of basing pay largely on standardized test scores. This is akin to determining the health of a child solely by his or her height.
In a recent op-ed piece in the New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/01/opinion/01eggers.html, the authors make the point that we don't blame soldiers when the war isn't easily won, rather we give them better equipment and training. Perhaps strong mentoring and relevant professional development combined with adequate resources and mandatory parent involvement can help turn around America's schools. Rewards and punishments haven't worked in the past and they won't work now.
posted by Assessment Network @ 12:25 PM
1 Comments
1 Comments:
I would say that it seems a bit hypocritical to evaluate and punish teacher under a system that teachers themselves don’t and are no longer allowed to use. Imagine what the classroom would look like if teachers did use exclusionary punishments! Students would no longer work in cooperative groups gleaning knowledge from their peers, but instead it would be a competitive battle ground. Is this really what we won’t for our teachers? How can teachers work together to support students if teachers are pinned against each other to make “ends meat.”
If teachers are given material rewards and punishments based primarily on their students' standardized tests scores, how is this fair for teachers that work in low preforming districts. There is remarkable research that suggests the achievement gap is distinctively related to low-socioeconomic status. Therefore, it is not the teacher’s fault that the school, district, and community does not have the means to compete against higher socioeconomic districts with twice as many resources. Linking teacher salaries and rewards will only deter good teachers from working in low performing districts and therefore heightening the achievement gap.
Teaching is about improving the lives of students. Wouldn’t it be better to evaluate the teacher’s effectiveness in improving students’ performance? Although, some may consider this a costly and time consuming evaluation for the outcome cannot be generated by computer, but it would have to be a qualitative assessment of student progress that then reflects the teacher’s effectiveness. Learning is a lifelong process and teachers are an important element in that process. It is starkly unfair to put undue stress on teachers when teaching is difficult enough. Teachers are faced with teaching diverse learners, in inclusive classrooms, in diverse communities with a range of didactic and technological resources. So how can one formula work for such diverse teaching experiences?
M.N.
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