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Different Accountability System Needed
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W.G. Kenney



Joined: 09 Feb 2008 08:09 am
Posts: 48
Posted: 04 Jun 2008 11:59 pm
Post Subject: Different Accountability System Needed Read Article
You are right J. Smith--it is indeed time for change in education. I agree with you that the next new program that we can throw fistfuls of money at probably won't solve our problems. And all the new and improved facilities in the world won't buy increased results on TAKS results.

What we really need is a true system to measure students' successes in their educational endeavors. We need to set a standard, then leave that goal fixed so that kids and teachers can know what they need to work towards. We need to compare how each student grows from year to year. Growing students mean that teachers are doing their jobs. And when teachers are doing their jobs, school districts can report that accountability in the newspaper and at the Rotary club.

Being a teacher, I talk to hundreds of teachers from all levels and from all over the nation each year. I've never met a teacher that didn't want to be successful. I've never met a teacher that was opposed to the concept of student accountability. But I've met quite a few that disagree with giving a kid one test, and testing them only one way, with passing/failing at stake. But that is precisely what we do to them today.

People complain about teachers teaching only to the test. Dang Skippy they do it--because if they don't, they'll be made to look like idiots in the newspaper. Some of the best teaching we see occurs in April and May after the TAKS test is administered. That is when you can walk into a classroom and see kids engineering mock bridges out of toothpicks, building skyscrapers with newspaper, designing Martian landing devices that protect the egg on simulated atmospheric entry, and competing to see which team can do it the quickest, strongest, cheapest, etc.

Until the TAKS is TOAST, the newspaper reports are going to look a lot like they have over the past 10 years. If you want to see how well your TAX dollars are being spent, drop your subscription to the newspaper and go read with 1st graders in your neighborhood school. While you are there, watch how the kids are learning, how the teachers are teaching, and then come back and report to us via a letter to the editor about what a great job teachers and kiddos are doing in schools. While you are at it, write a letter to Leo Berman to show your support for getting rid of the "one size fits all" testing instrument.

Students are a lot like apples and oranges. But apples need to be compared to apples, and oranges need to be compared to oranges. It's impossible to tell which one is good by just looking at them. You have to get below the surface to really find the great stuff inside.

 
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Bill Pelland



Joined: 25 Feb 2008 07:34 am
Posts: 425
Posted: 09 Jun 2008 08:57 am
Post Subject: Re: Different Accountability System Needed
WOW!


W.G. Kenney writes:
Being a teacher, I talk to hundreds of teachers from all levels and from all over the nation each year. I've never met a teacher that didn't want to be successful. I've never met a teacher that was opposed to the concept of student accountability. But I've met quite a few that disagree with giving a kid one test, and testing them only one way, with passing/failing at stake. But that is precisely what we do to them today.

People complain about teachers teaching only to the test. Dang Skippy they do it--because if they don't, they'll be made to look like idiots in the newspaper. Some of the best teaching we see occurs in April and May after the TAKS test is administered. That is when you can walk into a classroom and see kids engineering mock bridges out of toothpicks, building skyscrapers with newspaper, designing Martian landing devices that protect the egg on simulated atmospheric entry, and competing to see which team can do it the quickest, strongest, cheapest, etc.


Sadly I read this after I read your response on McCain and your comments about socialism and progressive. I have two siblings that are now retired teachers and a nephew that teaches High School math (as did his father). Your comments above hit the nail right on the head.

One of the reasons I support Obama is his views on education. He sees the need to improve teaching materials in disadvantaged schools, he stands for recognizing our teachers for the fine jobs they do, not only with lip service but with higher pay as well. He talks about improving the schools while telling parents to turn off the TV sets. He talks about helping those grads who take up teaching with their student loans.

One of my big concerns is education in this country and I have watched while teachers are chastised for poor scores while we tie one hand behind their back. 25% of students in this country and in Texas do not graduate from high school. The TIMM test given to 4th, 8th, and 12th grade students in areas of math and science show that compared to other nations, the US ranks near the top at 4th grade level, near the middle by 8th grade and near the bottom at 12th grade.

I suspect that drugs in the school have a lot to do with dropouts and poor performance. One of the early signs of drug abuse is a drastic drop in grades from one period to the next. Recognizing this we should develope intervention programs designed to 1. Treat the dependency problem and 2. remove the offender to alternative education until we can be sure the drug problem is gone. This may require a mandatory drug test of targeted students and I am quite sure the ACLU would throw a fit.

Back to education: My opinion is that testing to measure a student's progress should be done to help evaluate the student so as to better help in the education process. These tests do not accurately measure teacher performance as different schools have different student make up. Where one school may have a large number of non-english speaking families and students another school may not.

Statistics cannot be the measure used to measure job performance. Parent feedback along with student performance on an individual basis would seem to be a more effective method.

I am sure you would agree that a parent saying "well done" is much more important than a test score.

You should take a second look at Obama and compare his stand on education to McCain's. A strong economy depends on an educated population. Education and a strong economy has as much to do with national security as a strong military.

Keep up the good work. You have the future of our nation in your hands.


Vote Obama / Noriega
Yes we can! Yes we will!

Bill Pelland
Murchison, TX

Bill Pelland
Murchison Tx
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