Tinkerings

Today we begin TCAP testing at our school and around our district.  We will have kids sequestered in home rooms across our campus for the entire morning over the next four days as we ask them to tell us what they know by making dark, little, colored-in ovals on scan sheets.

Don’t get me wrong. I think testing kids to see what they know is a good thing.  I believe there is a lot of data schools can use to improve teaching and learning as a result of state testing.  I wish there was a better way to see what kids can do, but that is for another post on another day.

We have used DE Assessment in our school this year to create benchmark data points along the way.  Looking at that data tends to make me sleep better at night knowing that, on practice tests at least, our kids have demonstrated that the number of students below proficiency falls within the acceptable range to keep us off “the list.”  It is close, mind you, but acceptable.

State testing has its problems of course.  For me, the biggest lies with math.  We really have no idea if kids can do math or not.  The majority of the math test is based on their reading skills.  If they can’t read or comprehend well, they aren’t going to do well on the math test.  And, lest we forget, students are able to use calculators on these tests, too.  As a result, our math tests seem to be more of a Reading/Calculator Skills test.

Overall, however, we can get a small glimpse of how well these kids can use information presented and manipulate it into something that helps them arrive at the correct answer.

What I don’t understand is why it is so hard to get the data into a manipulative form for analysis at the school level.  For a few years I was fortunate enough to receive an Excel file with student scores from the previous year’s TCAP.  We used these scores to help place students in remedial and advanced classes, exempt them from certain required activities, and more.

Now, it appears that our state has changed the software used to calculate and report scores.  No one seems to know how to get that data to us in a fashion that we can sort, filter, and manipulate for our own needs.

So, if I had one wish from the Assessment Fairy, it would be this: Model your assessment results after DE Assessment.  If we had this capability, schools would be better able to make curricular changes. Teachers would be better able to make instructional changes.  Even students would benefit by seeing which questions they missed and have someone explain to them why.  Parents would better understand the usefulness of these tests and perhaps even help prepare their kids to take them.

That’s my take.  What is yours?

A recent article in Education Update asks whether “struggling teachers should get the boot or be retained.”  Since tomorrow is the deadline in our county for notifying teachers whether their contract will be renewed or not, I thought this might be a fitting time to ask the question myself.

Obviously, as the article states, teachers do not get the option of removing students from their classrooms if they are under-performing, showing signs of bad behavior, or just don’t want to do the work assigned to them.  Rather, teachers are tasked with trying to motivate the unmotivatable, encourage the unencouragable, and promote the unpromotable.  And we do it all with a great big smile.  (OK, that last sentence might be a bit of a sarcastic exaggeration).

I know of at least 13 teachers in 3 schools who are not being renewed this year.  I’m sure there are a lot more in the rest of our district.  Some are first year teachers.  Some came to our system after teaching for several years other places.  Since princiipals are not obliged to give a reason for non-renewal, some are absolutely stymied as to why they are not coming back.

It causes me to think back to my own first year teaching.  It was a horrible experience both for me and the kids in my care.  I was a career-changer, so I had not had any formal training on classroom management.  My principal was kind enough, and patient enough, to bring me back the second year.  But the challenge was clear: Get your classroom under control or there won’t be a third.  I couldn’t agree more.  If I hadn’t done something different that second year, I didn’t want a third!

This brings me back to the question posed by ASCD in Education Update. Should we renew contracts on under-performing teachers?  My quick answer is yes.  The longer answer is maybe.

I say yes because we are in the education business.  Sometimes teachers need more educating about “real life” in a “real classroom”.  Student teaching does some of that, but some teachers are not naturally gifted at making a classroom full of 20, 25, or 30 kids behave with the snap of some fingers.  They need coaching.  They need mentoring.  They need encouragement.  If all kids can learn, but not learn at the same pace, then why aren’t we spending the time and energy to differentiate instruction for teachers as well?

Like I said, that is the quick answer.

The longer answer (which I will not detail greatly here) is maybe.  Sometimes people go into the teaching profession and find almost immediately they are not teachers.  They had some idea of what the classroom was like, but found out their ideas were founded in a fairy tale.  Sometimes personality clashes are so great that all the mentoring and coaching in the world isn’t going to change the fact that an administrator doesn’t like the teacher, or the teacher doesn’t like the administrator.  Sometimes teachers are in the wrong grade level and need a shove to get them to the right place for their gifts.  The list could go on and on.

Me? I’m very thankful my contract was renewed.  I have friends who are not as fortunate.  I am saddened to see them go.

And next year we start it all again.

Your comments are welcome.