PISA test scores? Wait a minute!

I read the following on Diane Ravitch's blog: "Let others have the higher test scores. I prefer to bet on the creative, can-do spirit of the American people, on its character, persistence, ambition, hard work, and big dreams, none of which are ever measured or can be measured by standardized tests like PISA."  I respect Ms. Ravitch for her credentials.  For a long time she supported standardized testing, teacher accountability and school choice.  After serving as an assistant secretary at the U.S. Department of Education during the Bush administration and as a member of the National Assessment Governing Board that supervised national testing she had an epiphany about teaching, learning, and assessment.  She realized she had been wrong.

PISA is the Programme for International Student Assessment.  This year's test results are in, and American hair is on fire.  "Stagnant!" declared NPR and other news outlets.  

But is our position in the middle of the pack truly something to be alarmed about?  I don't think so, and here's why.

A test is a snapshot on any given moment on any given day.  A test like the PISA (try it for yourself here) only measures things that can be measured - questions that have a right and wrong answer.  A test like this cannot measure creativity, critical and innovative thinking, problem-solving abilities or people skills. 

It's little wonder that US scores rank behind those of Asian countries.  First of all, many of those countries simply do not include scores of all students. Special education students are not tested (and may not even be in the schools), neither are those who are not proficient in the testing language.  In the US, we test them all (special education students and students who do not have proficiency in English) and include all their scores, even if (in my opinion) is is not appropriate to do so.  To compare our scores as if they were apples-to-apples is a flawed comparison at best, and should push readers toward a careful analysis of the testing sample.  Secondly, the type of educational environment in Asian countries that produces the high test scores is one that is not likely to be embraced in the US.  Regimented learning, long school days, pressure from parents and stressed out students may be a stereotype, but it comes from recognizable and identifiable characteristics of the educational systems in those countries.

Think for a moment about the 21st Century skills that students need and that we hear so much about.  Employers are looking to hire people who have them, and teachers are being evaluated on how they teach them, but are they - CAN they - be assessed or measured on a test like the PISA?  Leadership, ethics, accountability, adaptability, personal productivity, personal responsibility, people skills, self-direction, and social responsibility all appear on the rubric I use when I observe teachers in their classrooms as their instructional coach.  You will notice that these skills are NOT content in and of themselves, yet they are critical components of success in life and success in employment.  These are "soft skills" and as far as I know, there is no standardized test for them.

Let's return to Diane Ravitch's thoughts about standardized tests in general, and the PISA test specifically: "We measure whether students can pick the right answer to a test question. But what we cannot measure matters more. The scores tell us nothing about students’ imagination, their drive, their ability to ask good questions, their insight, their inventiveness, their creativity. If we continue the policies of the Bush and Obama administrations in education, we will not only NOT get higher scores (the Asian nations are so much better at this than we are), but we will crush the very qualities that have given our nation its edge as a cultivator of new talent and new ideas for many years."

Click here to read Ms. Ravitch's entire post. 

Why Teachers Teach

Okay, let's get it out of the way right now, it's not for the money!  And it's not for those long summers off (most teachers use time in summer to take classes and work a second job).  The more I work with teachers in my new job as an instructional coach, the more I see teachers who themselves are passionate about learning.

One thing I have always loved about teaching is that I am always learning new things!  I learn from kids and their parents - I learn from colleagues - I learn from classes I take - I learn from research and books - I learn from conferences I attend - I learn and learn and learn.  To be able to apply what I learn in my practice is deeply rewarding.  Sure, I wish I was paid more, and frankly, teachers deserve to be paid more.  We deserve more respect from the media too, and that's another blog post at some point.  But if someone asked me why I teach I would have to say it is because I love to learn, and I want to get my students to love to learn too.  I want them to see a wide world, to ask questions about the world, to understand the world (as much as possible), to make their way in the world and leave their mark on the world.  

Too many students don't have access to that wide world due to circumstances beyond their control.  They are in our classrooms and we often don't see them.  My colleague and friend Bob Downs was so good at seeing them.  They may be the "invisible" students with special needs like I wrote about in my last post, or they might be students with lives full of heartbreak and heartache.  These students need teachers like by Anthony Mullen, National Teacher of the Year for 2009.  He is a remarkable man who, like Bob, has a heart for the hard-to-reach kids.  Read his story about empathy, self-reliance, unpredictability, perseverance, and redemption by clicking here.  Find out why he became a teacher and why he is STILL a teacher.

Are you teaching today? 
 Let's Go Change Some Lives!

Does anybody see me? Do they like what they see?

The title of this post was originally supposed to be "relationships", but when I thought about writing, I could not get these two questions out of my mind.

In October I attended the Education Minnesota Conference in St. Paul.  This is a wonderful (free!) event that I wish more teachers would take advantage of.  Having said that, in full disclosure, I went on Thursday morning and then headed out of town... BUT - I was SO glad I attended Jonathan Friesen's session.  Admittedly, I chose it because by attending I earned the mental health CEU required for my teaching license renewal in Minnesota.  But in doing so I was moved beyond my mercenary pursuit of a credit hour.

 
Jonathan Friesen is a special education teacher and author with a particular heart for the tough kids.  As a child he was diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome.  The stories of his his experiences being ostracized, bullied, and outright ignored broke my heart.  When he began his presentation he told us that he didn't have a fancy power point presentation or video to show us, but that he would leave us with a message we would remember.

"Does anybody see me?"  

"Do they like what they see?" 

How many of our students are invisible?  How often do we walk through the halls of our schools and miss an opportunity to make them visible?

The need to be noticed (even if we work hard not to stand out) is basic and primal.  Being significant and important to someone is affirming and moves us forward.  

When my girls were little we had a family doctor that told them all that children needed hugs in order to grow properly.  Sometimes one of them would come to me and say she needed her hug right now or she was going to stop growing.  

As teachers we may stop hugging our students physically as they get older, but do we remember to hug them emotionally by using their names, giving them our time, affirming their accomplishments, and never giving up on them?  I hope we do!

Last week I went to the musical at Chanhassen High School - "Urinetown" - and it was terrific.  The singing, dancing, and musicianship was top notch!  One of my former students was in the chorus, and he stood out because of the effort and enthusiasm he brought to his part.  He was a kid with a big heart, but not a lot of social skills, and not many friends.  I sought him out in school to tell him how much I enjoyed the show and how much I enjoyed his part in particular.  "But I was just part of the chorus", he said.  "Doesn't matter", I said.  "You stood out to me."

I saw you.  I liked what I saw.

 

Instructional Coach

"Here we go TEACHERS - Here we Go!"

This year I stepped out of the classroom and into a new role as an instructional coach for my district.  I have been assigned to one of the high schools where I feel a little out of my comfort zone, but I'm embracing the discomfort. 

At first, I was worried that teachers would be wary of us coaches.  After all, they didn't really ask for this.  It is a requirement of the Q-Comp plan that the district adopted.  But the more I learn and practice coaching, the more I see the value that I can bring to dialogues with the teachers I observe, and the more I see teachers welcoming the support and encouragement they can get from a coach.

 "But what if all the teachers are found to be proficient?"  Awesome!  Shouldn't they be? Wouldn't that be a wonderful reflection on the district and the caliber of teacher that they hire?  I detest the bell curve model.  Teacher Evaluation & Development is not based on a bell curve which would force coaches and administrators to find a set number of teachers below proficiency.  No - we use a growth model.  We assume the positive.  I've observed ten teachers so far, and I am impressed with the passion, dedication, and expertise I've seen.  They all want the best for their students.  I see the job of coach as a sort of conveyance for the teacher - I help them get from where they are to where they want to be with their practice.  I just hope the ride's not too bumpy this first year.

 

How Do You Evaulate Teachers Who Change Lives?

What a question!  But I can answer it.  You don't.  You can't.  You shouldn't.  The kind of impact that a life-changing teacher has simply cannot be measured by a standardized test score achieved by students who are not themselves accountable for the score.

This article - How Do You Evaluate Teachers Who Change Lives? - is a must read for anyone who has thoughtfully considered this question.  If you do read it, I'd love to hear what you think!

For the past twelve years I have had the great privilege to teach on a team with Bob Downs, a man that I greatly respect, a man who makes every student feel special and cared for, who brings out the best in young adolescents.  He doesn't care much for the latest swings of the educational pendulum and doesn't have time for things that don't pass the "what's best for kids" test.  He has changed lives for more than forty years and he is retiring at the end of this school year.  I am very sorry to see him step back, and I'm sad that more kids won't have a chance to feel the magic in his classroom.  I am a better teacher for having worked with him.

Armed and Dangerous

Sorry NRA.  I don't want to have a gun in my classroom.  And furthermore, I think it is lunacy to suggest that the solution to the problem of gun violence is more guns, and that the way to keep children in schools safe is to arm teachers.  The article I am writing about is satire, but is nonetheless disturbing.

Many of my middle school students come from families that have strong  the classconnections to hunting or target shooting.  Great.  But I don't see any need to own "assault" style weaponry for these kinds of activities.  And the idea that citizens need these weapons to arm themselves against their own government is further lunacy.

I'd like my students to be safe in my classroom, but I don't think that armed guards in the schools or guns in the hands of teachers is the answer.  I believe that the key to safety is the sense of belonging and inclusion, a feeling of community, that "we're all in it together" and that "everyone does well when everyone does well" ideas that transcend the classroom. 

I'm Not Scared

I came across this short video on Facebook today (What Lots of Teachers Think but are Scared to Say) and was intrigued by it.  I wish that all parents understood the incredible time, effort, and passion that I and other teachers put toward educating their children.  Teaching energizes me and feeds my soul, but it is demoralizing to be demonized by politicians and individuals who see us as "lazy" and/or "overpaid".  Spend a day in my shoes.  I am worth far more than I am paid.