I drove to meet friends in New Orleans last weekend. From Houston, this is a six-hour trip, one way. The traffic congestion in Houston took a while to clear but eventually I was on the open road. Mmmm… I really like the open road. You have a broad view of where you are and where you are going (unless you are behind a big SUV). The horizon stretches out before you, you are the master of your destiny and you are going somewhere…
Driving on a longer trip instills a different mindset for me than my usual commuter and errand runs. If something goes wrong, I’m not near anyone I know. So, I make sure that I have enough gas. I check my tires for air. If there is a major item that needs repair, I address it before I leave home. I have a general game plan for my route.  And, I set the pace, the starts, the stops and I enjoy the destination.
As I make my way, I get to know other drivers. Sometimes I find a small group of cars who are running the same speed and we form a loose camaraderie.   Other times, I drive along independently. As I drove, I was struck with the idea of how this matches education. Do we have a commuter mindset or a long-haul mindset when we think about the education system? Are we even conscious of the difference?
Many educators lament the tests and accountability as the downfall of public education. One friend recently forwarded the blog apology from a teacher in New York State to her students. As I was partially educated in NY (grades 7-12), I read it.  Ruth Ann Dandrea wrote:
“I spent last night perusing the 150-plus pages of grading materials provided by the state in anticipation of reading and evaluating your English Language Arts Exams this morning. I knew the test was pointless—that it has never fulfilled its stated purpose as a predictor of who would succeed and who would fail the English Regents in 11th grade. Any thinking person would’ve ditched it years ago. Instead, rather than simply give a test in 8th grade that doesn’t get kids ready for the test in 11th grade, the state opted to also give a test in 7th grade to get you ready for your 8th-grade test.”   The Regents is more or less like the TAKS or STAAR tests in Texas. It is the more rigorous path, presumably for college-bound students.
This view of testing strikes me as a commuter mindset. Short haul. Get from A to B. Don’t put too much thought into it. You have fall-backs if it doesn’t work out. Expect a cheap, easy to score test to set the benchmark, blame the scoring rubric and lament the outcomes. A worse idea is to teach to the lower level. Use Test A to prepare for Test B. Tie your hands as a teacher and blame the state, the administrators or the kids. Prepare for the test as the end.  In my own child’s school, grammar was not tested in middle school per the state testing schedule. It was, therefore, dropped from the curriculum. Really? Is that because it isn’t important or because my child’s teachers and administrators were only preparing for the short haul, this year’s test?
The kids don’t get smarter from taking a test. And yet, the test has value. This is how the child or young adult did on this day, with these questions, with that preparation, etc.  We cannot replace the focus on learning with a series of measurement taking and expect to meet our destination. In my car, the fuel lights, speedometer and the tachometer all provide valuable information. My goal, however, is to get to New Orleans. Activity doesn’t always lead to progress. I could drive for six hours, making loops between Houston and Beaumont, and I would never make it to New Orleans.
The reality is that some kids are not prepared to take even the most basic of tests. Some kids sit in algebra, perhaps with a long term substitute, and cannot add and subtract. The test isn’t the problem. The focus on the short term and a lack of real progress is. Having a warm-bodied student in a seat and calling it algebra does not mean that it is algebra. Employers struggle with a generation of young adults who don’t have the basic skills and knowledge to meet the needs of the workforce.
We need a long haul mentality in education. Where are we going? What is the purpose of this trip? How are we going to get there? What supports, benchmarks and relationships need to be provided along the way? Who should be the driver?  What systems are in place in our schools that prepare the kids for long-term success?
For the child, the school is the system. Going through the motions fools no one for long.   To Ms. Dandrea, I say: keep your focus on the goal! Explain the test and the standards. Kids can understand the different rules.  If we want to make public education different, we need to hit the gates all the way through and not lose sight of where we are going.
I agree wholeheartedly that we need a long haul mentality in education.
Included in this change in mentality is the need for a change in the teacher appraisal system, with an emphasis on how to get incompetent teachers out of the classroom. Part of the reason for the accountablity system is that there are teachers who would be a lot worse than some of them are now, if there were no accountability.
An outstanding teacher will not only cover the curriculum (accountability system or not) but challenge students to be their best and the students not only meet but usually exceed the expectations. On the other hand, in many classrooms, we have mediocre and marginally effective teachers and the children suffer.
In order to make changes, the administration gets involved and spends time attempting to develop and improve that person’s skills and documenting everything that is being done. Since the process is slow and time consuming,the children are the true victims and the slow learners and students with learning difficulties may never recover from having a year with a marginally effective or ineffective teacher.
When we think long haul, we also need to think about the impact of poor teaching on our students and what we can do differently.
Do we move to an at will employment situation like other professions – physcians, lawyers, accountants? Do we need to make our teacher employement contracts more specific? Do we need to overhaul the professional development and appraisal system?
You’re right – the test isn’t the problem and our focus has been on short term goals and the lack or progress by the students.
We change the accountability system for students periodically, but the teacher appraisal system has basically stayed the same for the past ??? years. Leaders can make great decisions and design and plan for change. However, the public education system will stay the same as long as the teachers are the same.
Not sure I agree with you, Pam. There are a wealth of issues that cause teachers to fail that have little to nothing to do with how they are evaluated: the preparation they received before entering the classroom, the continued development they do receive, the lack of support from leaders, the mixed messages from central office, lack of clear curricular materials, the lack of time to plan, the lack of time to collaborate with peers, the inefficiencies of bell schedules, the societal problems of families, the tug of war between corporations on items like textbooks, just to name a few.
If we stick with the car metaphor, when I take it to the shop and the mechanic hooks it up to a computer to diagnose the problems. All I really know is what is wrong with my car and what is right. The evaluation does little to fix the issue and I generally won’t blame Honda for the break wear.
Truth is, we need well rounded systems of approach to the entire process. The evaluation will fail if the entire system is not aligned and driven by common goals. That is the real long haul mentality needed.
Mike,
Perhaps I was not clear, but I did not mean to imply that the way teachers are evaluated is the reason they fail. Actually my point is that any change to the educational system should also include changes to the teacher appraisal system. And by appraisal system, I am including the current practice of having to “document” a teacher out of the profession – which could take years.
So while I do believe the system for evaluating our teachers is part of the problem – I do concede that it is not the entire problem. I also agree that there are many, many reasons why a teacher is not successful in the classroom, but none of those reasons override the damage that is done when an ineffective teacher is allowed to remain in the classroom for several years at the expense of our children. As we continue to discuss and implement changes to the process, the appraisal system is a part of the process/system that we must not overlook.
I like your car metaphor, but am not in total agreement with it. While the evaluation does little to fix the issue, a flawed evaluation does impact whether the problem with the car is resolved correctly. Also, to put a different twist on it, I expect the person(s) responsible for repairing my car to get it done correctly. I’m not interested in the reasons why the repair person was not able to carry out his/her resonsibilities, nor am I interested in the politics in the repair shop. Bottom line for me is that I want the car to be repaired correctly.
So, as we search for a well rounded system of approach, what do you think our common goals should be?
As an avid reader in the blog world, as well as intrinsically seeking good research on such topics, it is clear that our views are like minded and intertwined.
Clearly, having the best teachers in the classrooms IS the first step to putting ‘first best instruction’ on the daily map, and it’s painfully clear that there’s no ‘remedial program’ available for underperforming teachers, teachers with a lack of depth and knowledge, teachers who’ve lost their heart for a career that needs more heart and passion every waking second of the day.. So what would the Medical Board do for such a doctor in practice? Likewise there’d be probationary programs instituted, reviews, expectations for improvement, and final resolutions-except outside of public education an employee can actually be terminated from employment in an organization for lack of performance.
I use the medical parallel as education is like a daily walk to your ‘annual visit’ where tests are run, outcomes are made, and if your still feeling crummy, you can go to a specialist who will charge themself to finding out what’s ‘wrong’, or not.
Having walked the halls of MD Anderson and begged for ‘the right doctor’, I want the same for all of our children -that ‘one’ who will make sure they’re the best trained, most knowledgable, and most excited about what they do everyday.
Now that ‘heart of a teacher’ can’t be fed by some ‘extra time’ here and there, it’s intrinsic, and if it’s not natural, then the system in place to address the lack of performance also needs to be overhauled to meet the needs of the ’21st century teacher’.
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