Accountability and Education
Before 2004, competency was assumed but not required.
So reads a Tribune editorial regarding Utah's high school graduation test. The pronouncement reads:
When the Class of 2006 started first grade, spending the proper amount of time in class and earning the required number of credits were the only graduation requirements. Demonstrating overall proficiency was not part of the deal, for students or teachers. Before 2004, competency was assumed but not required.
Translation: prior to imposition of accountability requirements, according to the Trib, the expectation for students and their teachers was that Utah children only needed to warm a chair for a certain amount of time, regardless whether learning occurred. Expecting competency without accountability, according to the Trib, is not fair.
If the Trib favors our graduates being competent in math, reading, and science, which I assume it does, wouldn't its underlying assumptions make the Trib's editorial board an advocate for greater accountability in education?
So reads a Tribune editorial regarding Utah's high school graduation test. The pronouncement reads:
When the Class of 2006 started first grade, spending the proper amount of time in class and earning the required number of credits were the only graduation requirements. Demonstrating overall proficiency was not part of the deal, for students or teachers. Before 2004, competency was assumed but not required.
Translation: prior to imposition of accountability requirements, according to the Trib, the expectation for students and their teachers was that Utah children only needed to warm a chair for a certain amount of time, regardless whether learning occurred. Expecting competency without accountability, according to the Trib, is not fair.
If the Trib favors our graduates being competent in math, reading, and science, which I assume it does, wouldn't its underlying assumptions make the Trib's editorial board an advocate for greater accountability in education?
posted by steve u. at 4/02/2006
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4 Comments:
Very good points. But I took the article to read that the Trib editors thought it unfair that those that enrolled in and were fostered under the warm seat system are being forced to prove learning has occurred when most of their public school years were spent under a system that lacked the focus on accountability. The editors inadvertently allude to the idea that accountability is a good thing, but see imposing it on 2006 grads as unfair. They seem to think it would be OK to impose in on 2016 grads.
I have teacher acquaintences that believe that accountability is a good thing, but they argue that the number of classroom hours spent simply administering the expanding battery of state and national tests robs them of precious teaching time and limits their ability to be sufficiently flexible to meet the needs of a their classes. One teacher recently asked if there isn't some way we can reduce redundancy and administer fewer tests covering the same material and still derive the needed results.
Some good points from reach upward. Teachers, as a whole, do support accountability.
True, the amount of testing has gone way up. I have to spend a whole week doing an invidual reading test for my class which pretty much shuts down most instruction. And no, I don't have teachers' aides or people to help much either. We had another 3 days of testing added just this year. I understand there may be more in the future. AND I am hearing that the tests may be on computers later--that will take even longer than the four days required for the end-of-year-tests.
While talking about testing, let's not just talk about those who failed the high school competency tests, let's also talk about the great majority who passed.
coughitup,
Right on! You're ending hits it on the head; we're doing well, and, in my opinion, we're headed in the right direction. (But, yes, we need to make sure we're not doing too much testing.)
What grade do you teach? And, if your school were to have an organized program of reliable and trained volunteers, do you think that would help your situation any?
I teach first grade Steve. At least in THAT grade, we don't need any more standardized testing. I need all the time I can get to teach those kids reading, writing, and math.
Note that I do a tremendous amount of reading assessment as about any first grade teacher does.
Yes, I do think some volunteers could help. I am heading towards that route among my many other ideas of helping to improve my own school.
My post reflected my frustration with the onslaught of negativity towards education I've seen recently. I know there are lots of good teachers and good things going on at my school, but often it's the negative/gossip that gets emphasized.
I really think we need to work together. It's something I strive for in my own classroom. Teachers and parents need to give each other a little slack and strive to work together for the child to achieve the best results possible.
I would support some kind of requirements for teachers to be required to write a parent involvement plan--on how they will use parents to help improve classroom instruction, climate, etc. I realize it is different in different areas, but among this I would require teachers to prepare a parent communication plan on how they will keep parents informed about things.
I also desire schools to be strong COMMUNITY schools where the community realizes it has a role in helping the local school become the best it can be. We have various untapped resources here like seniors, for example. I would like to see schools have to develop plans on how to improve community relations or a sort of community development plan.
Some of this requires a change in efforts and emphasis on a lot of sides. We need to deal with the negative for sure, but we need to promote the positive too.
Oops, I've rambled on. These are just some rambled thoughts from a humble schoolteacher who is really trying to make a difference in the lives of her students and who works many long hours in trying to do so.
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