tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5472338580684897991.post3553693274398647633..comments2024-03-10T23:46:28.156-07:00Comments on Digigogy: Seething over release of teacher names and test data...Fisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04498370935470524251noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5472338580684897991.post-26302279599164506412010-08-17T06:02:53.392-07:002010-08-17T06:02:53.392-07:00This is absolutely absurd. I completely agree wit...This is absolutely absurd. I completely agree with your statement that this isn't about hiding anything, it's about being held accountable for something with so many variables. It just doesn't make sense to hinge everything in our education system, including teacher accountability, on standardized testing. It is truly unfortunate that we have entered an age in which we are more interested in numbers and data (whether legitimate or not) than in whether a person is truly educated and well-rounded in the deepest sense of those words. Sure our kids are great test takers, but do most of them really know how to synthesize and apply what they've learned in life outside of the land of multiple choice tests? Besides, school systems have proved numerous times that good data and test scores don't necessarily translate into success beyond high school. All you have to do is look at the previous scandals in Texas and New York to see that standardized test scores can be twisted in any number of ways and that they don't necessarily accurately reflect student understanding and skill level or the ability to apply those skills later in life. As you stated, there are simply too many variables involved to be hinging public opinion of teachers on standardized test results.Jenniferhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08834410227997078529noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5472338580684897991.post-46730903935375224172010-08-17T04:58:41.548-07:002010-08-17T04:58:41.548-07:00You're spot on here, Mike. And if education p...You're spot on here, Mike. And if education pushes down this path it will be yet another idea that sounds great politically but isn't thought out through to the end result.<br /><br />Anyone with half a brain that follows this idea to what implementation would look like would see how it plays out: the "best" teachers having an overwhelming number of students trying to get into their class, the "worst" teachers ending up with the most disappointed students and parents. Playing this out might actually give more data to supposedly support the wisdom of the decision, but it would once again be data that is completely skewed. In short, these classrooms would become self-fulfilling prophecies. The "best" teachers would earn phantom respect from teachers, students, and peers- which in turn helps them more easily teach. The "worst" teachers would get an automatic level of disrespect and analysis from all stakeholders, leading them to a situation that is much more difficult to teach their students as well as they might have otherwise.<br /><br />And that's just the start of the actual logistics of what would happen. The teachers with the worst scores would become outcasts in their own building, their faith in themselves and their style would go down, and things would spiral downward instead of upward.<br /><br />And what kind of support would the "worst" teachers receive from parents? Those of us in schools can see the writing on the wall there....<br /><br />It's just scary because once again we've got folks that are lawyers, businessmen, and politicians above all else trying to fix schools. The ideas are so rock solid politically - leave no child behind, 100% proficiency, teacher accountability, getting rid of bad teachers, etc. - that they accomplish the rarest of rare- bipartisan support. But since they don't know what the hell would happen in schools as a result of their easy-to-get-past-the-public ideas, everything gets hosed at the school level.<br /><br />I guess this article struck a nerve with me too. I didn't expect to leave such a long comment....but it's just so broken.Steve Johnson @edtechstevehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07072809949861882048noreply@blogger.com