Blame the Teachers, Part (3)
by pwceducationreform
Blame the teachers. That’s the advice from PWCS for anyone with concerns about the Math program.
I think PWCS is wrong. I don’t think our teachers are at fault for the problems that continue in our elementary level math program. I don’t think our elementary level teachers have the autonomy the school division says they do because they have to teach to the test. Not the SOLs, the CFAs.
Teaching to the CFA
Staff asserted that retired PWCS teachers developed the end-of-unit assessments, called Common Formative Assessments or CFAs, that PWC students are given throughout the year. These assessments include multiple choice and free response or open ended questions and are aligned with the level and type of questioning found in the new VA SOLs. The assessments were developed to test knowledge and skills attained at the end of each unit and to provide data to teachers so that they can tailor instruction to address any deficiencies in their students’ knowledge base. {note: Free response or open ended means if they’re asked to solve 6 x 8 , rather than being given four options to choose from, students must actually type in the correct answer. Sometimes free response answers are written explanations of operations or drawings.}
I don’t have any major concerns with the CFAs. While I think PWCS may have taken the whole data driven instruction thing
