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a teacher speaks out...
I happened to see this blog entry on Susan Ohanian's website ( www.susanohanian.org ) and I am so impressed by the clarity of this teacher's (following) thoughts...
Historically, teachers speaking out in our county are awarded a nightmare. From the highest level of our administration, a Social Studies teacher who wrote to the local paper about harrassment she received after expressing her opinion on school policy and questioning her freedom of speech rights, had to walk the plank out of her job. The superintendent at that time, just 2 years ago, didn't see the value of free speech, even in a Social Sudies classroom.
Other teachers who questioned school policy have quietly endured more local harrassment from their school administrators. A teacher in an over-sized classroom full of middle school students accelerated by county demands into Algebra a year earlier regardless of their individual aptitudes or abilities, which "functioned" in free-form chaos and disruption, preventing the teacher from reaching even the most ambitious and capable students in her class, was shackled to similar protocol, courtesy of the principal. Rather than assisting her in any way to manage the nightmare, she was told to cope...silently! Any questions about whether or not she surrendered her teaching position at the end of the school year? Oh, and by the way, her area of expertise was Science, but, she was "recruited" to teach Math.
The message is clearly sobering: that there is absolutely no room for the teacher's perspective or opinion. For example, our county-supplied Science curriculum, comes packaged with Pacing Guides (to ensure a specific order is followed and a standard schedule of testing and course work is dispensed)and a Script. Actually, this is the standard for almost all of the classes now-- the pacing guides and scripts are delivered in neatly packaged boxes at the beginning of the year.
In Science, the guides and scripts are so universally flawed that the teachers have repeatedly complained to the Curriculum Office who has responded that they are revising them. But, and in the meantime the teachers are told to continue to use them in the flawed form, even if the guides ignore a rational order for teaching and learning, and even though the tests are flawed.
The same goes for Math. Teachers are unable to make sense of tests that they are asked to dispense. What is their choice but to provide the students with "correct" answers, even if they are nonsense, when the student outcome on the flawed tests will provide results that will become part of a teacher's performance evaluation and represent the overall "progress" of the school.
In Foriegn Language, as in Science, if the teacher is unable to make supersonic progress through the pacing guide, and material is left uncovered by the time a "benchmark" test is demanded, the teacher is, likewise, "forced" to cover those weeks of material in the few days prior to the test. This is handled, not surprisingly, by supplying the students with the questions and answers from that portion of the test yet un-covered. There is no clearer example, is there, of "teaching to the test."
What does this do to the teachers? It embarrases them, certainly. They are living a nightmare of personal and professional dishonesty and unethical behavior, which is not invisable to their students, and they are being asked to sacrifice their own ethics in front of students whose respect they also sacrifice.
What does it do to the students? They, at best, learn the answers to questions and supply statistical measurments of "progress" or "proficiency" BUT, don't believe for a moment that the process doesn't effect them. First, they lose the educational benefit of learning the material. And, second, they learn the moral and ethical lesson of the charade; the lesson of dishonesty.
The AP classes endure the very same indignities of this teacher's special ed. classes. NCLB policy dictates that even students who have no foundation, nor aptitude, nor interest or ability to take a given AP class, should enroll because of (poorly supported causal) "statistical" evidence of their future performance in college. The AP classes, taught by teachers of varied interest and preparation, to students of diverse potential and ability, promotes the same corrupted results.
AP Courses once developed to challange the advanced student are staged to provide a diversity of students with a successful test-outcome. And if the outcome does not deliver results that meet the demands of the federal marketing campaign of "progress," reporters who make their living selling books and writing papers that support this ridiculous theory of "opportunity" or "quality" education for all students, inherit another royalty check for re-writing the premise. The NCLB marketing directors, in turn, make a minor change and low and behold, it is NOT the TEST that counts, in this case, it is simply the EXPERIENCE of having taken this testoutcome-based class.
The students who take these classes see right through to the fact that they are being used. And the teachers are, once again, mortified.
As I read the words of this teacher, I am struck by the obvious, ridiculous, destructive policies of a school who demands this:
And I am rattled by the destructive forces of our federal "educational" policy which produces this:
I am encouraged by this teacher's voice and her honesty.
I am afraid that if we wait for the parents to find the time to understand what is happening in our schools, if we wait for something, somehow, a miracle, a voice, a light, a new administration to step in, we will have waited in vain. We could wait a long, long time and still the momentum of this law will grow. We might wait and wait for Godot while our students and teachers are systematically sacrificed by a growing policy of destruction.
I applaud your energy and your integrity, Ms. Denney.
Lets raise some hell!
By Hanne Denney
Hanne Denney, a 47-year-old “career-changer,” is in her second year as a special education and social studies teacher at Arundel High School in Gambrills, Maryland. Hanne entered teaching through an alternative-certification program. In her previous life, she operated her own child-care center. In this blog, she’ll reflect on the challenges and rewards of starting over in teaching.
January 29, 2006
Teaching and Testing
I have tested and been tested. Last week was final exam week for the first semester, and I tested over 100 students in four different subjects. Some of the exams were specific to my students, meaning I wrote the exams. Other exams were taken by all students taking that class, with some modifications for level of ability. One test, the English 9 Assessment, was given to all ninth graders in our county. It’s that last one that troubles me. You could say I’m “testy” about it.
This assessment is a “benchmark” exam, designed to monitor the progress of our students as they move towards taking the state-mandated high school assessment in English 10. They must take and pass that exam in order to graduate from high school, along with Biology, Government, and Algebra. It’s a policy of one size test to fit all size students. I think it’s the way it is in most school districts now.
I gave the test to my English 9 special education students, the same test the honors classes took. I prepared the test on the computer system for the students who can’t read. Of course, the day of the exam, the system didn’t work and I read the exam aloud to two students. I read it to them, but I couldn’t explain it or help with answers, of course. Reading the exams to the two students meant I could closely watch their effort. I could see what confused them, which words they asked me to repeat, and which answers they put down first and then erased. I could see the pressure in their eyes and the tension in their hands. I could see how hard they worked. None of my students did well on the test, but most tried very hard. They have to keep trying, because they must pass it next year in order to earn a diploma. I’m afraid for them. It’s not just that they can’t read, but that they struggle with in-depth comprehension and analysis. I don’t know if I can teach them what they need to be successful. I’m afraid I can’t “teach to the test” well enough for them to earn a high school diploma. But I am going to try hard again this semester.
I myself have taken a lot of standardized tests. I have earned my “highly qualified” status in English, Social Studies, and Special Education through success on the Praxis exams. I passed the Social Studies content Praxis test before I entered the classroom. But I still didn’t know much specific information about World Civilization or US History – I learned the content along with the students as I began to teach it. I know teachers who have been in the classroom for several years, who are considered among the best in our school, who know the material, but have not yet passed their Praxis exams so are in danger of losing their jobs. Am I a better teacher because I am a better test taker?
Are my students poorer students because they are poor test takers?
Do we judge student success only by their scores on eight hours’ worth of exams? If you can’t pass these four exams, you can’t have a diploma. I was judged worthy of teacher status because I passed ten hours’ worth of tests. The best part is this – if I pass any other Praxis exams, I’ll be certified to teach that subject. I’ve taken five and passed, so I’m thinking about Biology, and Art. Those are subjects I like, too. Perhaps Early Childhood – that’s my previous career. I think I could even pass Algebra, definitely not Geometry. These passing scores don’t mean I could teach these subjects. Do they? How can we really measure the potential ability of a teacher?
This is the critical test for education today. Do we keep using standardized tests that measure knowledge in relation to 60 questions to judge our teachers? Do we keep testing students with unit tests and semester exams and benchmark assessments and exam-dependent diplomas? Is that how we will determine success?
Or can we consider other ways of measuring progress, and ability, and worth? For students and teachers? A lot of questions.
Sorry to test you like that.
— Hanne Denney
Teacher Magazine blog
2006-01-29
http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/hdenney/
Historically, teachers speaking out in our county are awarded a nightmare. From the highest level of our administration, a Social Studies teacher who wrote to the local paper about harrassment she received after expressing her opinion on school policy and questioning her freedom of speech rights, had to walk the plank out of her job. The superintendent at that time, just 2 years ago, didn't see the value of free speech, even in a Social Sudies classroom.
Other teachers who questioned school policy have quietly endured more local harrassment from their school administrators. A teacher in an over-sized classroom full of middle school students accelerated by county demands into Algebra a year earlier regardless of their individual aptitudes or abilities, which "functioned" in free-form chaos and disruption, preventing the teacher from reaching even the most ambitious and capable students in her class, was shackled to similar protocol, courtesy of the principal. Rather than assisting her in any way to manage the nightmare, she was told to cope...silently! Any questions about whether or not she surrendered her teaching position at the end of the school year? Oh, and by the way, her area of expertise was Science, but, she was "recruited" to teach Math.
The message is clearly sobering: that there is absolutely no room for the teacher's perspective or opinion. For example, our county-supplied Science curriculum, comes packaged with Pacing Guides (to ensure a specific order is followed and a standard schedule of testing and course work is dispensed)and a Script. Actually, this is the standard for almost all of the classes now-- the pacing guides and scripts are delivered in neatly packaged boxes at the beginning of the year.
In Science, the guides and scripts are so universally flawed that the teachers have repeatedly complained to the Curriculum Office who has responded that they are revising them. But, and in the meantime the teachers are told to continue to use them in the flawed form, even if the guides ignore a rational order for teaching and learning, and even though the tests are flawed.
The same goes for Math. Teachers are unable to make sense of tests that they are asked to dispense. What is their choice but to provide the students with "correct" answers, even if they are nonsense, when the student outcome on the flawed tests will provide results that will become part of a teacher's performance evaluation and represent the overall "progress" of the school.
In Foriegn Language, as in Science, if the teacher is unable to make supersonic progress through the pacing guide, and material is left uncovered by the time a "benchmark" test is demanded, the teacher is, likewise, "forced" to cover those weeks of material in the few days prior to the test. This is handled, not surprisingly, by supplying the students with the questions and answers from that portion of the test yet un-covered. There is no clearer example, is there, of "teaching to the test."
What does this do to the teachers? It embarrases them, certainly. They are living a nightmare of personal and professional dishonesty and unethical behavior, which is not invisable to their students, and they are being asked to sacrifice their own ethics in front of students whose respect they also sacrifice.
What does it do to the students? They, at best, learn the answers to questions and supply statistical measurments of "progress" or "proficiency" BUT, don't believe for a moment that the process doesn't effect them. First, they lose the educational benefit of learning the material. And, second, they learn the moral and ethical lesson of the charade; the lesson of dishonesty.
The AP classes endure the very same indignities of this teacher's special ed. classes. NCLB policy dictates that even students who have no foundation, nor aptitude, nor interest or ability to take a given AP class, should enroll because of (poorly supported causal) "statistical" evidence of their future performance in college. The AP classes, taught by teachers of varied interest and preparation, to students of diverse potential and ability, promotes the same corrupted results.
AP Courses once developed to challange the advanced student are staged to provide a diversity of students with a successful test-outcome. And if the outcome does not deliver results that meet the demands of the federal marketing campaign of "progress," reporters who make their living selling books and writing papers that support this ridiculous theory of "opportunity" or "quality" education for all students, inherit another royalty check for re-writing the premise. The NCLB marketing directors, in turn, make a minor change and low and behold, it is NOT the TEST that counts, in this case, it is simply the EXPERIENCE of having taken this testoutcome-based class.
The students who take these classes see right through to the fact that they are being used. And the teachers are, once again, mortified.
As I read the words of this teacher, I am struck by the obvious, ridiculous, destructive policies of a school who demands this:
"I gave the test to my English 9 special education students, the same test the honors classes took."and this:
"I’m afraid I can’t “teach to the test” well enough for them to earn a high school diploma."
And I am rattled by the destructive forces of our federal "educational" policy which produces this:
"I passed the Social Studies content Praxis test before I entered the classroom. But I still didn’t know much specific information about World Civilization or US History – I learned the content along with the students as I began to teach it. I know teachers who have been in the classroom for several years, who are considered among the best in our school, who know the material, but have not yet passed their Praxis exams so are in danger of losing their jobs. Am I a better teacher because I am a better test taker?"
I am encouraged by this teacher's voice and her honesty.
I am afraid that if we wait for the parents to find the time to understand what is happening in our schools, if we wait for something, somehow, a miracle, a voice, a light, a new administration to step in, we will have waited in vain. We could wait a long, long time and still the momentum of this law will grow. We might wait and wait for Godot while our students and teachers are systematically sacrificed by a growing policy of destruction.
I applaud your energy and your integrity, Ms. Denney.
Lets raise some hell!
By Hanne Denney
Hanne Denney, a 47-year-old “career-changer,” is in her second year as a special education and social studies teacher at Arundel High School in Gambrills, Maryland. Hanne entered teaching through an alternative-certification program. In her previous life, she operated her own child-care center. In this blog, she’ll reflect on the challenges and rewards of starting over in teaching.
January 29, 2006
Teaching and Testing
I have tested and been tested. Last week was final exam week for the first semester, and I tested over 100 students in four different subjects. Some of the exams were specific to my students, meaning I wrote the exams. Other exams were taken by all students taking that class, with some modifications for level of ability. One test, the English 9 Assessment, was given to all ninth graders in our county. It’s that last one that troubles me. You could say I’m “testy” about it.
This assessment is a “benchmark” exam, designed to monitor the progress of our students as they move towards taking the state-mandated high school assessment in English 10. They must take and pass that exam in order to graduate from high school, along with Biology, Government, and Algebra. It’s a policy of one size test to fit all size students. I think it’s the way it is in most school districts now.
I gave the test to my English 9 special education students, the same test the honors classes took. I prepared the test on the computer system for the students who can’t read. Of course, the day of the exam, the system didn’t work and I read the exam aloud to two students. I read it to them, but I couldn’t explain it or help with answers, of course. Reading the exams to the two students meant I could closely watch their effort. I could see what confused them, which words they asked me to repeat, and which answers they put down first and then erased. I could see the pressure in their eyes and the tension in their hands. I could see how hard they worked. None of my students did well on the test, but most tried very hard. They have to keep trying, because they must pass it next year in order to earn a diploma. I’m afraid for them. It’s not just that they can’t read, but that they struggle with in-depth comprehension and analysis. I don’t know if I can teach them what they need to be successful. I’m afraid I can’t “teach to the test” well enough for them to earn a high school diploma. But I am going to try hard again this semester.
I myself have taken a lot of standardized tests. I have earned my “highly qualified” status in English, Social Studies, and Special Education through success on the Praxis exams. I passed the Social Studies content Praxis test before I entered the classroom. But I still didn’t know much specific information about World Civilization or US History – I learned the content along with the students as I began to teach it. I know teachers who have been in the classroom for several years, who are considered among the best in our school, who know the material, but have not yet passed their Praxis exams so are in danger of losing their jobs. Am I a better teacher because I am a better test taker?
Are my students poorer students because they are poor test takers?
Do we judge student success only by their scores on eight hours’ worth of exams? If you can’t pass these four exams, you can’t have a diploma. I was judged worthy of teacher status because I passed ten hours’ worth of tests. The best part is this – if I pass any other Praxis exams, I’ll be certified to teach that subject. I’ve taken five and passed, so I’m thinking about Biology, and Art. Those are subjects I like, too. Perhaps Early Childhood – that’s my previous career. I think I could even pass Algebra, definitely not Geometry. These passing scores don’t mean I could teach these subjects. Do they? How can we really measure the potential ability of a teacher?
This is the critical test for education today. Do we keep using standardized tests that measure knowledge in relation to 60 questions to judge our teachers? Do we keep testing students with unit tests and semester exams and benchmark assessments and exam-dependent diplomas? Is that how we will determine success?
Or can we consider other ways of measuring progress, and ability, and worth? For students and teachers? A lot of questions.
Sorry to test you like that.
— Hanne Denney
Teacher Magazine blog
2006-01-29
http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/hdenney/
posted by annie | 11:43 AM
1 Comments:
thanks for your great blog annie. very useful.
eric - San Francisco
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