Standardized Testing

 

When I was an elementary student, I vaguely remember filling out forms for tests called the Iowas or Californias. I guess that was where the tests came from, although I’m not sure and I have no idea what they were used for, or by whom. If my Mom got a copy of my results, I’m pretty sure she didn’t share them with me.

Standardized tests have come a long way since then, whether for bad or worse. Certainly  the administration, the make up, and the uses of those tests have changed. Maybe the simplest example I can use is the old Fifth Grade Writing Test that was administered in New York State a number of  years ago. Given to all fifth graders in NY State, it consisted of two days of testing, each one dedicated to students writing a response to a story topic. Most years, one story was based on a fictional topic, such as to tell about a day when you wake up and you are three to five inches tall. The other topic would be more realistic, such as describe your favorite place to visit. When the test was completed, each school district was responsible for scoring the two passages and reporting the results. Classroom scores were in the hands of teachers quickly and those results helped teachers to modify their instruction to address student weaknesses. Then, one year, there was a change. School test results were reported in the newspaper. From that moment on, in my experience, there was now a new attitude and focus towards the make up of tests, the administration of tests, the sharing of results, and how those results were used.

Tales From My Classroom…

A teacher in a room next to mine had two or three boys who generally put forth very little effort. On a testing day, they completed an essay in less than fifteen minutes, while most students took two-three hours. Needless to say, she wasn’t happy!

Kids reacted in many different ways to testing. I always felt I needed to be a “coach”, knowing which students needed to be prodded to do their best and which ones needed me to help them relax. One second grader in our school was such a wreck that she had to leave the classroom. Her mother explained that she had been studying non-stop so she would do well.

One year the principal had me ask another teacher for a sample essay question to practice with my students. The day of the test came and there was the exact same question we had already done as a practice test.

What legitimate purposes do standardized tests address?

Who should see the results?

What should the results be used for? Evaluating teachers? Determining student needs, including whether a child moves on to the next grade? 

Who should design the tests?

What Does A Principal Really Do?

Close to Home

 

I was an elementary principal for five years. There were aspects of that job that I absolutely loved, like being able to visit all of the classrooms in the school and see the great things kids were doing. There were also things about being a principal that I didn’t like, such as the paperwork.

For most students, as well as teachers and parents, the principal is the person in charge. Other district administrators, including the superintendent, and school board members just aren’t as familiar to those individuals in a school as the principal. So, the obvious question then becomes…what does the principal do every day? How does he/she spend their time? How do they ensure that the teaching and learning are first rate?

Tales From My Classroom…

I worked with a principal once who didn’t seem to be comfortable visiting classrooms. As teachers, we always said that the fastest way to get him to leave your room was to ask him to join your class or help a student.

I once had the brilliant idea of cleaning out the faculty room over a vacation when the teachers were away. Our head custodian and I removed a couple of old copiers, threw away junk that had been stored there, hung curtains, etc. It looked great! When the teachers came back, the only person I heard from was a teacher who was angry that something she used had been thrown away.

One principal believed in managing by wandering around. She didn’t enter rooms except to open the door and say good morning. Usually the door closed before we could respond.

I worked with two principals who amazed me by how they appeared to know the name of every child in the school. It didn’t matter how the student performed academically or how they behaved.

Principals sometimes do weird things to motivate students or reward them for a job well done. I once dressed as a chicken and walked around clucking all day as a reading reward. I also dressed in a big hoop skirt with a wig and makeup when I “danced” with a local ballet company performing a preview of “The Nutcracker”. I’ve also seen principals go up in hot air balloons, go in dunking booths, etc. Anything for kids, I guess.

Dealing with angry parents is part of the job, also. There was a food fight in our cafeteria and I had all of the fifth graders involved pick up everything from the floor. I had three calls at home that night. The first was from a Dad who was told by his ex-wife to find out what had happened that day, although he sounded disinterested. The second was from a very angry Mom who began screaming and then, when I said that if she wanted to continue the conversation she should call me in school the next day, began swearing. The third was from a Mom who had no problem with students picking everything off of the floor except that they should have been wearing gloves- she was a nurse. I thanked her for her idea. By the way, the Mom who had been swearing called the next day to apologize, which I appreciated.

What are the most important personal or professional traits for a school principal to have? 

What have been your experiences with principals in the schools you have attended or worked in? How about your children?

 

Tenure

 

I remember how excited my Mom was the first time I received tenure. I was a special education teacher, lowest on the list when it came to seniority, but Mom wanted me to have tenure because I’d have a job forever.

I don’t know if there is a more divisive topic in education than tenure. For a teacher, it generally means job security. It’s the chance to become the best teacher you can be, creative and supportive with your students, firm but consistent in discipline, all while maintaining high expectations- but not having to worry about unfair evaluations, misleading test scores, unqualified administrators, or unfounded criticisms from parents or school board members.

To others, it also may mean you can relax, or coast. Once you make it past those three years and are granted tenure, you’re home free for the next twenty seven years, assuming you retire after thirty years and begin collecting your pension. Other jobs or professions don’t usually carry a guarantee of employment and shield the employee from “effective evaluation”. Why should a school district be “saddled” with an ineffective employee? Why should children spend a year with a teacher who can’t teach?

Tenure remains a sensitive issue that elicits strong opinions from different parties. With constant criticism from those not part of the education community, teachers and their unions tend to “circle the wagons”, while opponents pursue strategies to break down tenure’s protections.

Tales From My Classroom…

When I was a new principal, I was at a workshop with other administrators and teachers when the topic of tenure came up. Teachers there stated that if a principal did their job in supervising the first three years of a new teachers career, there would be no concerns about tenure. They felt those first three years were long enough to get rid of incompetent teachers.

A speech teacher I know walked away from teaching after approximately twelve to fifteen years. None of us could understand how he could give up the guarantee of tenure and his future pension.

I worked with a teacher who was one of the first to arrive in the morning and the last to leave after school, even after teaching for over twenty-five years. I also worked with a teacher that was still teaching after twenty five years because, although the school district she was employed by felt she was very ineffective, her supervisors were unwilling to pursue the very lengthy and costly process involved in removing her.

Should teachers receive the protections in job security that tenure offers? What limits should there be, if any?

How about the rights of school boards and school districts? What limits on tenure should there be so teachers deemed ineffective can be removed from employment?