Do You Understand My Job?
So here we are: teachers around the country accused of evading accountability, while lawmakers try to impose accountability and accept none, bemoaning the state of educational systems they’ve neglected for decades.
The people of Florida are witnessing the tragic emergence an education “reform” bill that threatens to compromise the integrity of the state’s assessment and accountability for years to come. But it’s not just Florida. Every time I hear a politician, pundit, or public citizen claim that they can tell from one test if a teacher is doing their job effectively, I know that they do not understand students, tests, or even the nature of my job. I hope InterACT can become a blog that tackles those misconceptions, one or two at a time, in an effort to redirect public attention to measures that would actually improve teaching and learning.
Today’s question is “Do you understand my job?” It is directed to the test-loving lawmakers in Tallahassee, their brethren in Sacramento, and other legislatures around the nation. It is directed to Barack Obama, Arne Duncan, and the cheerleaders raising their pom-poms for the Race to the Top.
If they offer the answer that my job is to teach my students according to the state standards for my subject and grade level, I agree. How many of those people have seen those standards, or if they did see them, remember them? Let me tell you about my job. (And though I speak from the perspective of a California English teacher, I believe the arguments that follow can be generalized in some degree for other teachers as well).
I am charged with teaching English Language Arts to 9th and 10th graders. The California English Language Arts Standards are divided into four categories, four modes of language use: reading, writing, listening, and speaking. Out of those four, the California Standards Tests claim to assess a portion of the reading standards and a portion of the writing standards. How about that? The test provides a partial assessment of two of the four areas I’m supposed to teach. Wouldn’t that be like assessing the work of a homebuilder based on floors, walls, and plumbing, while ignoring the ceiling, roof, and electricity? You might assume that excellent or shoddy work
Today’s question is “Do you understand my job?” It is directed to the test-loving lawmakers in Tallahassee, their brethren in Sacramento, and other legislatures around the nation. It is directed to Barack Obama, Arne Duncan, and the cheerleaders raising their pom-poms for the Race to the Top.
If they offer the answer that my job is to teach my students according to the state standards for my subject and grade level, I agree. How many of those people have seen those standards, or if they did see them, remember them? Let me tell you about my job. (And though I speak from the perspective of a California English teacher, I believe the arguments that follow can be generalized in some degree for other teachers as well).
I am charged with teaching English Language Arts to 9th and 10th graders. The California English Language Arts Standards are divided into four categories, four modes of language use: reading, writing, listening, and speaking. Out of those four, the California Standards Tests claim to assess a portion of the reading standards and a portion of the writing standards. How about that? The test provides a partial assessment of two of the four areas I’m supposed to teach. Wouldn’t that be like assessing the work of a homebuilder based on floors, walls, and plumbing, while ignoring the ceiling, roof, and electricity? You might assume that excellent or shoddy work
