The local NAACP fired a shot across the bow of the school board today when they said they would sue if they allowed an out side agency to take over the four predominantly black schools that are in danger of being taken over by the state and I say good for them. It’s about time we had somebody stand up to the state. I however don’t think we should stop there.
We need a leader to stand up and say, we remember how for decades the state didn’t think Jacksonville kids were as important as those in South Florida, we believed your promise abut the lottery only to see funds originally intended for education diverted, we are tired of the f-cat which has turned our schools from a place where kids got a well rounded education to a place where all they know how to do is pass a test, we want an end to unfunded mandates and your data driven education policies have turned our teachers into stat taking drones and we’re not going to put up with it any more. Try and take our schools and we’ll expose you for the uniformed hacks that you are. Not that it is much of a secret.
We need our superintendent and our school board to follow the NAACP’s lead and after years of just going along start fighting for what is best for our children.
Isn’t that what they should have been doing all along?
Chris Guerrieri
School Teacher
Showing posts with label f-cat. Show all posts
Showing posts with label f-cat. Show all posts
Monday, January 31, 2011
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
How bad do you think our schools are?
From the St. Petersburg Times
By Ron Matus and Donna Winchester, Times Staff Writers
Floridians give glowing marks to the schools their kids attend yet are profoundly pessimistic when comparing Florida's education system with those in other states, according to a St. Petersburg Times survey.
Only 12 percent of respondents said the education Florida children get is better than in other states, while 45 percent said it was worse.
Parents with children in school weren't quite as downbeat: 25 percent said Florida schools compared well;39 percent said they did not.
The standards are too low, and the emphasis on standardized testing -- in this case, the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test -- is too high, said Michael Squillace of Spring Hill.
"The problem with the FCAT is that teachers try to teach only what's on the test," said Squillace, 33, who has three children in elementary school. "If kids don't do well on the test, the teachers worry that it will reflect on them. It waters down the curriculum."
The Times education survey was administered to 702 registered voters Feb. 6-10 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
It also found Floridians are:
Strongly divided about the FCAT, with 44 percent saying it has hurt education and 44 percent saying it has helped.
Strongly opposed to grading schools based on FCAT scores alone, with 55 percent opposed and 37 percent in favor.
Largely satisfied with Gov. Charlie Crist's handling of education issues.
The results come less than three weeks before the state Legislature meets for its annual session to tackle a long list of vexing education issues. Among them: potential changes to Florida's school-grading system; potential tweaks to the class-size amendment; and potential cuts to education spending for the second time in a year.
On the upside: Florida parents like their schools.
Seventy-five percent rated their kids' schools good or excellent, while 20 percent said only fair and 1 percent said poor, the survey found. Meanwhile, 80 percent gave their kids' teachers a good or excellent rating.
On the downside: They don't like how Florida stacks up to other states, or at least how they think Florida stacks up.
On some academic indicators, Florida has made strides in recent years, but it continues to rank near the bottom in per-student spending. With more education cuts on the horizon, it's hard to see how the public's take on school quality will change for the better, said Darryl Paulson, a professor of government at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg.
Education spending is "almost a cornerstone of how education success is viewed," said Paulson, who teaches courses on education policy.
Also on the downside: The public still doesn't like the FCAT.
Former Gov. Jeb Bush, who left office last year, made the test the keystone of his accountability system. Now FCAT scores determine school grades, factor into teacher bonuses and help decide whether third-graders can be promoted.
Supporters say that system has forced schools to better tailor teaching to a student's individual needs, and put a spotlight on poor and minority students. But critics say it has elevated test preparation over real learning and has led schools to cut back on noncore classes.
The Times survey found FCAT frustration crossed party lines, with almost as many Republicans 42 percent as Democrats (51 percent) saying the FCAT has hurt education in Florida.
"You have to have some measure, I understand that," said Ashley Andrews of Clearwater, the father of a third-grader. "But I feel that too much emphasis is put on the FCAT. I don't feel it's a good indication of whether a child has gotten a good education."
Carol Sampey of Indian Rocks Beach said the FCAT has helped and hurt.
On the one hand, "You're not just passing kids who don't know how to read," said Sampey, a mother of three small children. But on the other, "You hear schools are failing because of one student who has a disability. It seems like they're saying, 'Here's the formula and you have to stick with it, even if it doesn't make sense.'"
To date, Republican lawmakers who supported Bush's agenda have not backed away from high-stakes use of the FCAT. They say evidence is on their side.
National test scores show Florida is making some of the biggest gains in the country in elementary reading and math. The state is a leader in the percentage of high school students taking and passing rigorous Advanced Placement tests. And a recent report by Education Week magazine credited Florida for boosting the academic performance of poor kids.
Kim Black, president of the Pinellas Classroom Teachers Association, said some of the negativity reflected in the Times poll could be based on the public's perception of the state's status rather than the reality.
"The Legislature continues to underfund public schools, and the public knows that money equates to a quality product," Black said. "But I think that when you look at the data, we are improving."
Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, chairman of the Senate Education Committee, said he doesn't see "the decline and fall of the FCAT" during his time in the Senate. On the other hand, Gaetz and other education leaders are considering changes to the system, including some that could diminish the FCAT's role.
They're openly exploring use of other standardized exams to supplement or replace the FCAT in some grades. And there is talk of rolling other factors into the school grading formula, especially for high schools.
Among the factors mentioned: graduation rates, scores and participation rates on AP exams, and the percentage of students earning industry certification -- a nod to the growing importance state officials are putting on career and technical education.
"If I was a mom or a dad, I'd want to know ... how a school is performing that I want to send my child to," Education Commissioner Eric J. Smith told the Times in a recent interview. "That is not to say that we can't continue to really work on what are the best components of that mark."
"Nobody I know ever said, 'This is it, we're done,'" said Rep. Joe Pickens, R-Palatka, chairman of the House education council. "The underlying reasons for an accountability system are going to stay pretty much about the same, but how we go about measuring that accountability and rewarding it" could change.
The Times survey suggests the public's sour view on schools hasn't affected people's opinion of Crist, who on substance has stayed true to Bush's vision. He has made no major policy announcements on education. And his latest proposed budget continues to offer financial rewards to teachers and schools whose students do well on the FCAT.
And yet, 46 percent of respondents said they approved of how he was handling education issues, compared with 23 percent who did not. Nearly a third said they didn't know if they approved or disapproved.
By comparison, 40 percent of respondents in a 2006 Times poll approved of Bush, while almost as many, 37 percent, did not.
The public isn't blaming Crist for the firestorm Bush created, said Paulson at USF. But style may be at play, too. Crist rarely misses an opportunity to praise teachers, and he says he is open to making changes to the system. People across the political spectrum have praised his more inclusive, less combative tone.
Bush "didn't hesitate to twist arms," Paulson said. But Crist "is a nice guy. It always helps to be a nice guy."
Ron Matus can be reached at matus@sptimes.com or (727) 893-8873. Donna Winchester can be reached at winchester@sptimes.com or (727) 893-8413.
http://www.sptimes.com/2008/02/16/State/School__good_system__.shtml
By Ron Matus and Donna Winchester, Times Staff Writers
Floridians give glowing marks to the schools their kids attend yet are profoundly pessimistic when comparing Florida's education system with those in other states, according to a St. Petersburg Times survey.
Only 12 percent of respondents said the education Florida children get is better than in other states, while 45 percent said it was worse.
Parents with children in school weren't quite as downbeat: 25 percent said Florida schools compared well;39 percent said they did not.
The standards are too low, and the emphasis on standardized testing -- in this case, the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test -- is too high, said Michael Squillace of Spring Hill.
"The problem with the FCAT is that teachers try to teach only what's on the test," said Squillace, 33, who has three children in elementary school. "If kids don't do well on the test, the teachers worry that it will reflect on them. It waters down the curriculum."
The Times education survey was administered to 702 registered voters Feb. 6-10 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
It also found Floridians are:
Strongly divided about the FCAT, with 44 percent saying it has hurt education and 44 percent saying it has helped.
Strongly opposed to grading schools based on FCAT scores alone, with 55 percent opposed and 37 percent in favor.
Largely satisfied with Gov. Charlie Crist's handling of education issues.
The results come less than three weeks before the state Legislature meets for its annual session to tackle a long list of vexing education issues. Among them: potential changes to Florida's school-grading system; potential tweaks to the class-size amendment; and potential cuts to education spending for the second time in a year.
On the upside: Florida parents like their schools.
Seventy-five percent rated their kids' schools good or excellent, while 20 percent said only fair and 1 percent said poor, the survey found. Meanwhile, 80 percent gave their kids' teachers a good or excellent rating.
On the downside: They don't like how Florida stacks up to other states, or at least how they think Florida stacks up.
On some academic indicators, Florida has made strides in recent years, but it continues to rank near the bottom in per-student spending. With more education cuts on the horizon, it's hard to see how the public's take on school quality will change for the better, said Darryl Paulson, a professor of government at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg.
Education spending is "almost a cornerstone of how education success is viewed," said Paulson, who teaches courses on education policy.
Also on the downside: The public still doesn't like the FCAT.
Former Gov. Jeb Bush, who left office last year, made the test the keystone of his accountability system. Now FCAT scores determine school grades, factor into teacher bonuses and help decide whether third-graders can be promoted.
Supporters say that system has forced schools to better tailor teaching to a student's individual needs, and put a spotlight on poor and minority students. But critics say it has elevated test preparation over real learning and has led schools to cut back on noncore classes.
The Times survey found FCAT frustration crossed party lines, with almost as many Republicans 42 percent as Democrats (51 percent) saying the FCAT has hurt education in Florida.
"You have to have some measure, I understand that," said Ashley Andrews of Clearwater, the father of a third-grader. "But I feel that too much emphasis is put on the FCAT. I don't feel it's a good indication of whether a child has gotten a good education."
Carol Sampey of Indian Rocks Beach said the FCAT has helped and hurt.
On the one hand, "You're not just passing kids who don't know how to read," said Sampey, a mother of three small children. But on the other, "You hear schools are failing because of one student who has a disability. It seems like they're saying, 'Here's the formula and you have to stick with it, even if it doesn't make sense.'"
To date, Republican lawmakers who supported Bush's agenda have not backed away from high-stakes use of the FCAT. They say evidence is on their side.
National test scores show Florida is making some of the biggest gains in the country in elementary reading and math. The state is a leader in the percentage of high school students taking and passing rigorous Advanced Placement tests. And a recent report by Education Week magazine credited Florida for boosting the academic performance of poor kids.
Kim Black, president of the Pinellas Classroom Teachers Association, said some of the negativity reflected in the Times poll could be based on the public's perception of the state's status rather than the reality.
"The Legislature continues to underfund public schools, and the public knows that money equates to a quality product," Black said. "But I think that when you look at the data, we are improving."
Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, chairman of the Senate Education Committee, said he doesn't see "the decline and fall of the FCAT" during his time in the Senate. On the other hand, Gaetz and other education leaders are considering changes to the system, including some that could diminish the FCAT's role.
They're openly exploring use of other standardized exams to supplement or replace the FCAT in some grades. And there is talk of rolling other factors into the school grading formula, especially for high schools.
Among the factors mentioned: graduation rates, scores and participation rates on AP exams, and the percentage of students earning industry certification -- a nod to the growing importance state officials are putting on career and technical education.
"If I was a mom or a dad, I'd want to know ... how a school is performing that I want to send my child to," Education Commissioner Eric J. Smith told the Times in a recent interview. "That is not to say that we can't continue to really work on what are the best components of that mark."
"Nobody I know ever said, 'This is it, we're done,'" said Rep. Joe Pickens, R-Palatka, chairman of the House education council. "The underlying reasons for an accountability system are going to stay pretty much about the same, but how we go about measuring that accountability and rewarding it" could change.
The Times survey suggests the public's sour view on schools hasn't affected people's opinion of Crist, who on substance has stayed true to Bush's vision. He has made no major policy announcements on education. And his latest proposed budget continues to offer financial rewards to teachers and schools whose students do well on the FCAT.
And yet, 46 percent of respondents said they approved of how he was handling education issues, compared with 23 percent who did not. Nearly a third said they didn't know if they approved or disapproved.
By comparison, 40 percent of respondents in a 2006 Times poll approved of Bush, while almost as many, 37 percent, did not.
The public isn't blaming Crist for the firestorm Bush created, said Paulson at USF. But style may be at play, too. Crist rarely misses an opportunity to praise teachers, and he says he is open to making changes to the system. People across the political spectrum have praised his more inclusive, less combative tone.
Bush "didn't hesitate to twist arms," Paulson said. But Crist "is a nice guy. It always helps to be a nice guy."
Ron Matus can be reached at matus@sptimes.com or (727) 893-8873. Donna Winchester can be reached at winchester@sptimes.com or (727) 893-8413.
http://www.sptimes.com/2008/02/16/State/School__good_system__.shtml
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Want better scores? Make the test easier
A change in the rules helped some South Florida high schools raise their state-issued grade. But the rules are getting tougher.
BY KATHLEEN McGRORY
kmcgrory@MiamiHerald.com
Last year, based on a lackluster performance on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Tests, Dillard High got a D grade from the state. This year, without significant improvement on the exams, the Fort Lauderdale school scored a B.
How did that happen?
The state introduced a new formula this year for grading high schools that allowed schools to pump up their grade by steering more students into so-called ``accelerated courses.''
It wasn't crucial that students pass the courses, only that they enroll.
Dillard was hardly the only school to figure this out. Schools including Central, Hialeah High, North Miami Beach and Felix Varela in Miami-Dade also channeled more students into advanced courses -- and reaped benefits under the new formula. Statewide, participation in Advanced Placement classes rose 20 percent.
``Some of those massive [grade] increases may not have been because of actual learning gains,'' said state Rep. Erik Fresen, a Miami Republican on the House Education Committee. ``That's something we need to dig into.''
Although they are pleased with the improvement in school grades overall, education officials are planning to tinker with the grading criteria. That will be discussed at Friday's state Board of Education meeting in Miami.
For more than a decade, Florida's high school grades were derived exclusively from student scores on the FCAT.
This year, FCAT scores counted for only half of a school's grade. Newly factored in: graduation rates, the percentage of kids earning a minimal score on the SATs and ACTs, and the number of students in accelerated courses such as Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, and high school/college dual enrollment.
As with AP enrollment, the number of students taking dual enrollment courses rose 18 percent.
``What it tells me is that our high schools were pushing the envelope a little bit with kids that they thought might not have otherwise been AP ready,'' said state Education Commissioner Eric Smith.
At Dillard, participation in college-level classes spiked from 22 to 67 percent. Meanwhile, the percent of students passing those classes plunged from 45 to 17 percent.
Schools do get some credit for kids passing the courses, but the bulk of benefits comes from enrollment numbers.
South Plantation High followed the same path as Dillard. Enrollment in accelerated classes soared from 29 to 51 percent, while FCAT scores rose slightly.
The result: The school grade climbed from Dto A.
``This year, there was a focus . . . on identifying kids that had AP potential and giving those kids access to AP classes,'' South Plantation Principal David Basile said. ``It's highly unlikely we'll make those kinds of gains again.''
Brian Peterson, a Florida International University professor who edits The Miami Education Review, said kids often do ``rise to the occasion'' when placed in challenging courses.
But they need to have a foundation to succeed.
At long-struggling Miami Edison Senior High, 23 percent of the student body was enrolled in accelerated classes, helping Edison rise from an F to a C.
Just 9 percent of Edison sophomores earned passing scores on the reading FCATs.
Broward Superintendent Jim Notter said schools are not gaming the system, just following the rules set up by the state.
The present formula ``is a motivator for principals to provide a quality opportunity, especially for minority students, to take high-rigor classes,'' he said.
State Rep. Ana Rivas Logan, a former Miami-Dade School Board member, said schools that loaded kids into accelerated courses won't be able to maintain their high grades.
``They'll get the extra points this year, but next year it will be unsustainable,'' she said.
Next year, participation in accelerated classes will count less and passing the class will count more.
The state will also roll out a more rigorous set of FCATs this spring, Smith said.
``All those elements will make it much more difficult for schools,'' Smith said.
Miami Herald staff writers Patricia Mazzei and Carli Teproff contributed to this report.
Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/12/16/1977386_schools-outsmart-failure-on-the.html#storylink=addthis#ixzz18Vh0r2nM
BY KATHLEEN McGRORY
kmcgrory@MiamiHerald.com
Last year, based on a lackluster performance on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Tests, Dillard High got a D grade from the state. This year, without significant improvement on the exams, the Fort Lauderdale school scored a B.
How did that happen?
The state introduced a new formula this year for grading high schools that allowed schools to pump up their grade by steering more students into so-called ``accelerated courses.''
It wasn't crucial that students pass the courses, only that they enroll.
Dillard was hardly the only school to figure this out. Schools including Central, Hialeah High, North Miami Beach and Felix Varela in Miami-Dade also channeled more students into advanced courses -- and reaped benefits under the new formula. Statewide, participation in Advanced Placement classes rose 20 percent.
``Some of those massive [grade] increases may not have been because of actual learning gains,'' said state Rep. Erik Fresen, a Miami Republican on the House Education Committee. ``That's something we need to dig into.''
Although they are pleased with the improvement in school grades overall, education officials are planning to tinker with the grading criteria. That will be discussed at Friday's state Board of Education meeting in Miami.
For more than a decade, Florida's high school grades were derived exclusively from student scores on the FCAT.
This year, FCAT scores counted for only half of a school's grade. Newly factored in: graduation rates, the percentage of kids earning a minimal score on the SATs and ACTs, and the number of students in accelerated courses such as Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, and high school/college dual enrollment.
As with AP enrollment, the number of students taking dual enrollment courses rose 18 percent.
``What it tells me is that our high schools were pushing the envelope a little bit with kids that they thought might not have otherwise been AP ready,'' said state Education Commissioner Eric Smith.
At Dillard, participation in college-level classes spiked from 22 to 67 percent. Meanwhile, the percent of students passing those classes plunged from 45 to 17 percent.
Schools do get some credit for kids passing the courses, but the bulk of benefits comes from enrollment numbers.
South Plantation High followed the same path as Dillard. Enrollment in accelerated classes soared from 29 to 51 percent, while FCAT scores rose slightly.
The result: The school grade climbed from Dto A.
``This year, there was a focus . . . on identifying kids that had AP potential and giving those kids access to AP classes,'' South Plantation Principal David Basile said. ``It's highly unlikely we'll make those kinds of gains again.''
Brian Peterson, a Florida International University professor who edits The Miami Education Review, said kids often do ``rise to the occasion'' when placed in challenging courses.
But they need to have a foundation to succeed.
At long-struggling Miami Edison Senior High, 23 percent of the student body was enrolled in accelerated classes, helping Edison rise from an F to a C.
Just 9 percent of Edison sophomores earned passing scores on the reading FCATs.
Broward Superintendent Jim Notter said schools are not gaming the system, just following the rules set up by the state.
The present formula ``is a motivator for principals to provide a quality opportunity, especially for minority students, to take high-rigor classes,'' he said.
State Rep. Ana Rivas Logan, a former Miami-Dade School Board member, said schools that loaded kids into accelerated courses won't be able to maintain their high grades.
``They'll get the extra points this year, but next year it will be unsustainable,'' she said.
Next year, participation in accelerated classes will count less and passing the class will count more.
The state will also roll out a more rigorous set of FCATs this spring, Smith said.
``All those elements will make it much more difficult for schools,'' Smith said.
Miami Herald staff writers Patricia Mazzei and Carli Teproff contributed to this report.
Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/12/16/1977386_schools-outsmart-failure-on-the.html#storylink=addthis#ixzz18Vh0r2nM
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
High Test Scores, Low Ability
Jacksonville is facing the same problem China seems to be. We have graduates ill prepared for college and the work force, but they some how graduated. It’s too bad there isn’t a job where recent grads could just take the F-Cat. –cpg
By Yong Zhao, he is the University Distinguished Professor in the College of Education at Michigan State University. The author of "Catching Up or Leading the Way: American Education in the Age of Globalization," he often blogs about education issues.
There's a frustrating paradox in Chinese education. On the one hand, millions of college graduates cannot find a job -- at least a desirable job that pays substantially more than what a migrant worker makes. On the other hand, businesses that want to pay a lot more can't seem to find qualified employees.
A McKinsey study found that fewer than 10 percent of Chinese graduates are considered suitable to work at multinational companies based in China.
Multinational companies in China are having a difficult time finding qualified candidates for their positions. According to a recent survey of U.S.-owned enterprises conducted by the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, 37 percent of the companies that responded said that finding talent was their biggest operational problem. A separate study by McKinsey Quarterly found that 44 percent of the executives in Chinese companies reported that insufficient talent was the biggest barrier to their global ambitions.
The explanation: a test-oriented educational environment.
China invented the keju system, which used tests to select government officials. It was a great invention because it enabled talents from across the society to join the ruling class regardless of their family backgrounds. Hence, a great meritocracy could be created. But it evolved into a nightmare for China as the system gradually changed into one that tested memorization of Confucian classics.
Keju is dead now but its spirit is very alive in China today, in the form of gaokao, or the College Entrance Exam. It's the only exam that matters since it determines whether students can attend college and what kind of colleges they can attend. Because of its life-determining nature, gaokao has become the “baton” that conducts the whole education orchestra.
Students, parents, teachers, school leaders and even local government
officials all work together to get good scores. From a very young age, children are relieved of any other burden or deprived of opportunity to do anything else so they can focus on getting good scores.
The result is that Chinese college graduates often have high scores but low ability. Those who are good at taking tests go to college, which also emphasizes book knowledge. But when they graduate, they find out that employers actually want much more than test scores. That is why another study by McKinsey found that fewer than 10 percent of Chinese college graduates would be suitable for work in foreign companies.
Chinese educators are well aware of the problems with the gaokao system and have been trying to move away from the excessive focus on testing. But seeking other valid indicators of strong academic records will take time, especially in a country of 1.3 billion people.
Taken from the NYTimes: http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2010/12/02/what-is-a-college-degree-worth-in-china/high-test-scores-low-ability
By Yong Zhao, he is the University Distinguished Professor in the College of Education at Michigan State University. The author of "Catching Up or Leading the Way: American Education in the Age of Globalization," he often blogs about education issues.
There's a frustrating paradox in Chinese education. On the one hand, millions of college graduates cannot find a job -- at least a desirable job that pays substantially more than what a migrant worker makes. On the other hand, businesses that want to pay a lot more can't seem to find qualified employees.
A McKinsey study found that fewer than 10 percent of Chinese graduates are considered suitable to work at multinational companies based in China.
Multinational companies in China are having a difficult time finding qualified candidates for their positions. According to a recent survey of U.S.-owned enterprises conducted by the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, 37 percent of the companies that responded said that finding talent was their biggest operational problem. A separate study by McKinsey Quarterly found that 44 percent of the executives in Chinese companies reported that insufficient talent was the biggest barrier to their global ambitions.
The explanation: a test-oriented educational environment.
China invented the keju system, which used tests to select government officials. It was a great invention because it enabled talents from across the society to join the ruling class regardless of their family backgrounds. Hence, a great meritocracy could be created. But it evolved into a nightmare for China as the system gradually changed into one that tested memorization of Confucian classics.
Keju is dead now but its spirit is very alive in China today, in the form of gaokao, or the College Entrance Exam. It's the only exam that matters since it determines whether students can attend college and what kind of colleges they can attend. Because of its life-determining nature, gaokao has become the “baton” that conducts the whole education orchestra.
Students, parents, teachers, school leaders and even local government
officials all work together to get good scores. From a very young age, children are relieved of any other burden or deprived of opportunity to do anything else so they can focus on getting good scores.
The result is that Chinese college graduates often have high scores but low ability. Those who are good at taking tests go to college, which also emphasizes book knowledge. But when they graduate, they find out that employers actually want much more than test scores. That is why another study by McKinsey found that fewer than 10 percent of Chinese college graduates would be suitable for work in foreign companies.
Chinese educators are well aware of the problems with the gaokao system and have been trying to move away from the excessive focus on testing. But seeking other valid indicators of strong academic records will take time, especially in a country of 1.3 billion people.
Taken from the NYTimes: http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2010/12/02/what-is-a-college-degree-worth-in-china/high-test-scores-low-ability
Rick Scott's education reform heads in wrong direction
Those seeking to steer the course of education reform in Florida, which includes many of Governor elect Rick Scott’s education team, would have the public believe several falsehoods.
Poverty is just an excuse. The truth is, poverty is a huge issue. Kids that come from homes with absentee parents, where a lack of food and violence are constant factors often perform poorly in school. Quite frankly they have more serious issues to deal with than learning the capital of Alaska and dividing two digit numbers.
Class size doesn’t matter: Class size is extremely important. It allows students to gain more valuable face time with their teachers and fewer kids get lost in the crowd. The Heritage Foundation (Jeb Bush’s education think tank) recently touted all of the great progress that Florida’s schools have experienced over the last decade but completely ignored the fact that most of the progress has occurred since 2003 when the class size amendment began to be phased in.
Test scores are the way to measure student learning. Test scores should be a component of education not the end all be all that they have become. Some kids don’t test well, some kids have bad days, and no kid should be tested at one time over a whole year, or several years’ worth of material.
Reform MUST be driven by external measures such as comprehensive tests. Assessments are most useful and reliable when they are closely connected to classroom instruction. Furthermore just who is going to get rich creating and scoring these tests? The Bush family profited greatly from the F-Cat and No Child Left Behind.
Classroom experience doesn’t matter. Most teachers don’t hit their stride, where they are most effective, till they are several years in. Unfortunately about half of all teachers do not last five years.
Tenure provides teachers with lifetime jobs. Teachers do not have "jobs for life"; they have due process and what’s wrong with allowing professionals who sacrifice so much having at least that.
Charter schools are deserving of public funds and support. Actually, charters have not been shown to have better test scores, on average, than regular public schools, their teachers aren't certified and they pick and choose who they allow in and retain.
Data must drive our children’s education. How about having a child’s ability, aptitude and desire drive their education; that might prove more effective.
Vouchers give parents choice. Vouchers also provide welfare for the well off and take much needed resources from cash starved public schools. The answer at least in the short term should be to improve public schools, not further erode them by siphoning money away.
Performance Pay for the most deserving teachers. This sounds great in a vacuum, unfortunately when put in practice it is arbitrary and hard to quantify. Somebody way smarter than me would have to come up with a way for this to be done fairly if it is to be both effective and meaningful.
Advanced degrees do not matter. I find it ironic that in every profession but education, do most people feel the need for more education is a good thing, ironic and disingenuous that is.
Improving teacher quality is the number one issue facing our schools. Improving teacher quality should always be an issue, but as long as we keep doing things the way we do now; we will never have meaningful improvement. Teachers don’t set the policies that put them and their children in no win situations and teachers did not choose to erode discipline nor bury themselves with mountains of superfluous paper work. Teachers did not decide to practically eliminate the teaching of the trades, skills and arts and put every child, regardless of aptitude, desire and ability into a one size fits all curriculum either. Yet teachers, not the policy makers, politicians, absentee parents, the public and children devoid of discipline or a work ethic are the ones who bear the brunt of the responsibility for the problems in education.
Education without a doubt needs to improve but many of the ideas put forth by the “education reformers” will do more harm than good, and serve interests other than schools and children. The truth is it wouldn’t take reinventing the wheel, breaking the bank or demonizing teachers to make things dramatically improve. Bring back discipline, develop alternative, rigorous and realistic curriculums, that play to children’s strengths, abilities and desires, and then stop overloading teachers, try giving them autonomy and encouraging creativity instead.
Governor Scott I can make the time if you need some help, unlike most of your education team the only special interests I serve are our children and the teachers who toil selflessly day in and day out.
Above was inspired by (and a tad bit was borrowed from) the Blog Lessons Learned: http://lessonslearnedteacher.blogspot.com/
Poverty is just an excuse. The truth is, poverty is a huge issue. Kids that come from homes with absentee parents, where a lack of food and violence are constant factors often perform poorly in school. Quite frankly they have more serious issues to deal with than learning the capital of Alaska and dividing two digit numbers.
Class size doesn’t matter: Class size is extremely important. It allows students to gain more valuable face time with their teachers and fewer kids get lost in the crowd. The Heritage Foundation (Jeb Bush’s education think tank) recently touted all of the great progress that Florida’s schools have experienced over the last decade but completely ignored the fact that most of the progress has occurred since 2003 when the class size amendment began to be phased in.
Test scores are the way to measure student learning. Test scores should be a component of education not the end all be all that they have become. Some kids don’t test well, some kids have bad days, and no kid should be tested at one time over a whole year, or several years’ worth of material.
Reform MUST be driven by external measures such as comprehensive tests. Assessments are most useful and reliable when they are closely connected to classroom instruction. Furthermore just who is going to get rich creating and scoring these tests? The Bush family profited greatly from the F-Cat and No Child Left Behind.
Classroom experience doesn’t matter. Most teachers don’t hit their stride, where they are most effective, till they are several years in. Unfortunately about half of all teachers do not last five years.
Tenure provides teachers with lifetime jobs. Teachers do not have "jobs for life"; they have due process and what’s wrong with allowing professionals who sacrifice so much having at least that.
Charter schools are deserving of public funds and support. Actually, charters have not been shown to have better test scores, on average, than regular public schools, their teachers aren't certified and they pick and choose who they allow in and retain.
Data must drive our children’s education. How about having a child’s ability, aptitude and desire drive their education; that might prove more effective.
Vouchers give parents choice. Vouchers also provide welfare for the well off and take much needed resources from cash starved public schools. The answer at least in the short term should be to improve public schools, not further erode them by siphoning money away.
Performance Pay for the most deserving teachers. This sounds great in a vacuum, unfortunately when put in practice it is arbitrary and hard to quantify. Somebody way smarter than me would have to come up with a way for this to be done fairly if it is to be both effective and meaningful.
Advanced degrees do not matter. I find it ironic that in every profession but education, do most people feel the need for more education is a good thing, ironic and disingenuous that is.
Improving teacher quality is the number one issue facing our schools. Improving teacher quality should always be an issue, but as long as we keep doing things the way we do now; we will never have meaningful improvement. Teachers don’t set the policies that put them and their children in no win situations and teachers did not choose to erode discipline nor bury themselves with mountains of superfluous paper work. Teachers did not decide to practically eliminate the teaching of the trades, skills and arts and put every child, regardless of aptitude, desire and ability into a one size fits all curriculum either. Yet teachers, not the policy makers, politicians, absentee parents, the public and children devoid of discipline or a work ethic are the ones who bear the brunt of the responsibility for the problems in education.
Education without a doubt needs to improve but many of the ideas put forth by the “education reformers” will do more harm than good, and serve interests other than schools and children. The truth is it wouldn’t take reinventing the wheel, breaking the bank or demonizing teachers to make things dramatically improve. Bring back discipline, develop alternative, rigorous and realistic curriculums, that play to children’s strengths, abilities and desires, and then stop overloading teachers, try giving them autonomy and encouraging creativity instead.
Governor Scott I can make the time if you need some help, unlike most of your education team the only special interests I serve are our children and the teachers who toil selflessly day in and day out.
Above was inspired by (and a tad bit was borrowed from) the Blog Lessons Learned: http://lessonslearnedteacher.blogspot.com/
Monday, August 30, 2010
The scientific method
When I first learned about the "scientific method", I was a student in the same building where I now teach. I learned about it in a very definite way. There was no room to wiggle, no gray area. Every time we did it, we started and finished in the same way; ask a question; do research; develop a hypothesis; experiment; analyze data and communicate results. That was it. (Now, sure, the terms might have been slightly different from teacher to teacher, but they always meant the same thing). Then, in college, 'collect and analyze data' may have been split apart, but even their gist was always the same: there was a definite start and a definite finish.
Fast-forward to 2010: Now, the scientific method is no longer a beast with a definitive beginning and ending. Instead, it’s now a free-flowing entity that jumps back and forth, or can skip steps altogether. That’s right, folks - for almost 2,500 years, the scientific method was fine and dandy...but, suddenly, the Florida Department of Education decided it needed tweaking. (Aristotle, long thought to be the father of the scientific method, probably wouldn’t be pleased).
I asked another science teacher what the deal was - why were they switching up the scientific method after following it had led to TIVO, air conditioning and the peanut butter cup - (the three greatest inventions known to man) along with all the other scientific breakthroughs we currently enjoy? "Where were the steps...the order..." I asked, "and how can we skip doing 'research' and go straight to 'experiment' "? He kind of shrugged his shoulders and scrunched up his face, and replied, "Chris, I learned it the same way as you did, and this is the first year I am teaching it the new way; but I do what I am told".
"It's science", I replied. "If people would have done what they were told, we would still think that the world was flat, the sun revolved around the earth, and I shudder to think what peanut butter would taste like. Come on now", I continued, “ 'just because' is not what science is about".
"Well..." he began, "I think it's because it’s easier this new way. When kids have to put things in order, they can miss a step or mix the steps up". He scrunched up his face and shrugged his shoulders at the same time. I nodded that I got it, and what I got was that the 'everybody-gets-a-trophy' folks (who had somehow become in-charge of education's big picture) had decided to dumb-down the scientific method in order to make sure more kids could get that question right on the F-CAT. That’s what I got.
Folks, I know it’s ironic that I use a tool, the scientific method, (that tells us things can constantly evolve and change) to make my point - but my point is that there are some things we shouldn’t evolve or change. I get it, but at the same time, I really think there are some things that shouldn’t change unless it’s a manifest necessity. We shouldn’t change just for the sake of change and we definitely shouldn’t make changes that dumb education down. We should be moving forward, not back.
Education experts talk about the need for rigor, and also call for students to take advanced classes like Algebra II and Chemistry; but, then, at the same time, they dumb-down the Science portion of the F-CAT by getting rid of the short-answer questions. That makes it all multiple-choice, and it lowers the passing grade requirement on the Writing portion of the F-CAT from a 3.5 to a 3. An English teacher friend of mine said that a 3 on the F-CAT basically means being able to hold a pencil. I have another friend who told me only about 30% of his Algebra II students could pass a legitimate Algebra I class. Wouldn’t a better idea be to make sure students have mastered a skill and can do it well, rather than pushing them along and hoping they miraculously pick it up somewhere? In short, wouldn’t it be better to make sure students can do some things well rather than a lot of things half-assed? We shouldn’t be afraid of rigor, we shouldn’t be afraid to challenge students, and we shouldn’t be afraid to fail children, either, as long as, in the end, they have the skills they need. Education is not just a destination, but it is a journey, as well.
Education currently finds itself in a precarious position. We’re caught between what we say ("we want to prepare all children for a post-secondary education"), what we have done (created the reality of a nobody-can-fail environment), populated by who we have, (a significant portion of children who aren’t prepared for school; who should either be held back to get the skills they need or, sadly, will never get the skills society wants them to have). That doesn’t mean they can’t be successful; it just means we have to be realistic.
Education has reached a tipping point where something has got to give - and, because of the dichotomous nature of education, 'pass them at all costs - regardless if they are successful or not' - means, in the end, numerous children will be robbed of a proper sense of how society works and society itself will suffer.
The system has made it nearly impossible for teachers to fail children; "the kids aren't doing the work", or "the kids are doing substandard work" aren’t good enough reasons anymore. If a teacher fails a child now, the teacher's ability and credibility are questioned. Now, I am not saying that we shouldn’t have safeguards in place like tutoring after school and summer school opportunities. What I am saying is when we differentiate instruction to the point where three different levels of work from three different students can get the same credit and when we initiate learning recovery that any child can take (regardless of why they need it; unexcused absences, behavior or a lack of effort), we pervert the whole system.
What’s going to happen when these children join the workforce or go to college? Are their employers and professors going to dumb-down what they have to do, or have different requirements for the same class or for the same job? No, they are not - and after a lifetime of being pushed along or having things altered to fit not just what they can do but what they want to do, then cold reality is going to slap them in the face. They are going to get a wakeup call that they are not prepared for.
When education meets students where they are, it prevents education from getting students to where they should be. I would argue that when we dumb-down the scientific method, we’re not doing the kids any favors. Sure, it might be easier; sure, our test scores might go up, and a school grade might get better - but what’s the real benefit? Is there a real benefit? I doubt Aristotle would think so
Fast-forward to 2010: Now, the scientific method is no longer a beast with a definitive beginning and ending. Instead, it’s now a free-flowing entity that jumps back and forth, or can skip steps altogether. That’s right, folks - for almost 2,500 years, the scientific method was fine and dandy...but, suddenly, the Florida Department of Education decided it needed tweaking. (Aristotle, long thought to be the father of the scientific method, probably wouldn’t be pleased).
I asked another science teacher what the deal was - why were they switching up the scientific method after following it had led to TIVO, air conditioning and the peanut butter cup - (the three greatest inventions known to man) along with all the other scientific breakthroughs we currently enjoy? "Where were the steps...the order..." I asked, "and how can we skip doing 'research' and go straight to 'experiment' "? He kind of shrugged his shoulders and scrunched up his face, and replied, "Chris, I learned it the same way as you did, and this is the first year I am teaching it the new way; but I do what I am told".
"It's science", I replied. "If people would have done what they were told, we would still think that the world was flat, the sun revolved around the earth, and I shudder to think what peanut butter would taste like. Come on now", I continued, “ 'just because' is not what science is about".
"Well..." he began, "I think it's because it’s easier this new way. When kids have to put things in order, they can miss a step or mix the steps up". He scrunched up his face and shrugged his shoulders at the same time. I nodded that I got it, and what I got was that the 'everybody-gets-a-trophy' folks (who had somehow become in-charge of education's big picture) had decided to dumb-down the scientific method in order to make sure more kids could get that question right on the F-CAT. That’s what I got.
Folks, I know it’s ironic that I use a tool, the scientific method, (that tells us things can constantly evolve and change) to make my point - but my point is that there are some things we shouldn’t evolve or change. I get it, but at the same time, I really think there are some things that shouldn’t change unless it’s a manifest necessity. We shouldn’t change just for the sake of change and we definitely shouldn’t make changes that dumb education down. We should be moving forward, not back.
Education experts talk about the need for rigor, and also call for students to take advanced classes like Algebra II and Chemistry; but, then, at the same time, they dumb-down the Science portion of the F-CAT by getting rid of the short-answer questions. That makes it all multiple-choice, and it lowers the passing grade requirement on the Writing portion of the F-CAT from a 3.5 to a 3. An English teacher friend of mine said that a 3 on the F-CAT basically means being able to hold a pencil. I have another friend who told me only about 30% of his Algebra II students could pass a legitimate Algebra I class. Wouldn’t a better idea be to make sure students have mastered a skill and can do it well, rather than pushing them along and hoping they miraculously pick it up somewhere? In short, wouldn’t it be better to make sure students can do some things well rather than a lot of things half-assed? We shouldn’t be afraid of rigor, we shouldn’t be afraid to challenge students, and we shouldn’t be afraid to fail children, either, as long as, in the end, they have the skills they need. Education is not just a destination, but it is a journey, as well.
Education currently finds itself in a precarious position. We’re caught between what we say ("we want to prepare all children for a post-secondary education"), what we have done (created the reality of a nobody-can-fail environment), populated by who we have, (a significant portion of children who aren’t prepared for school; who should either be held back to get the skills they need or, sadly, will never get the skills society wants them to have). That doesn’t mean they can’t be successful; it just means we have to be realistic.
Education has reached a tipping point where something has got to give - and, because of the dichotomous nature of education, 'pass them at all costs - regardless if they are successful or not' - means, in the end, numerous children will be robbed of a proper sense of how society works and society itself will suffer.
The system has made it nearly impossible for teachers to fail children; "the kids aren't doing the work", or "the kids are doing substandard work" aren’t good enough reasons anymore. If a teacher fails a child now, the teacher's ability and credibility are questioned. Now, I am not saying that we shouldn’t have safeguards in place like tutoring after school and summer school opportunities. What I am saying is when we differentiate instruction to the point where three different levels of work from three different students can get the same credit and when we initiate learning recovery that any child can take (regardless of why they need it; unexcused absences, behavior or a lack of effort), we pervert the whole system.
What’s going to happen when these children join the workforce or go to college? Are their employers and professors going to dumb-down what they have to do, or have different requirements for the same class or for the same job? No, they are not - and after a lifetime of being pushed along or having things altered to fit not just what they can do but what they want to do, then cold reality is going to slap them in the face. They are going to get a wakeup call that they are not prepared for.
When education meets students where they are, it prevents education from getting students to where they should be. I would argue that when we dumb-down the scientific method, we’re not doing the kids any favors. Sure, it might be easier; sure, our test scores might go up, and a school grade might get better - but what’s the real benefit? Is there a real benefit? I doubt Aristotle would think so
Thursday, August 19, 2010
A Lack of honesty
There is something comforting about honesty, even if you don’t like what you are hearing. Immediately, you know what’s going on and/or you know where you stand. Sadly, our educational leaders here in Jacksonville traditionally haven’t been that honest. Remember these? “Kids can get the same education at neighborhood schools as they can at magnet schools”… “Tying Principal’s evaluations to suspensions does not affect discipline”… and, finally, among other whoppers: “The district respects its teachers and thinks they are our most valuable resource”. However, where the district has a long way to go on the honesty road, at least in the last few days they did make some strides.
For years, teachers have dedicated a disproportionate amount of time teaching just to the F-CAT test. All other facets of education sadly became secondary. Well, this year at several schools throughout the district, they have gone ahead and created an F-CAT prep class that every student will take every day. Now, since the district has not completely committed to honesty, they are instead calling it an “enrichment/remediation class”. Don’t worry though; kids will receive credit for the class. It’s what’s called an academic elective; unfortunately, I am not sure if many kids would have elected to take it had they been given the option.
Next, the district made some honest changes to the Grade Recovery program. In theory, grade recovery was for students who missed a lot of days for an illness or another legitimate reason, or for kids that came to school, worked hard and tried hard but just didn’t “get it”. They could make up work, and, if they did well improve their grade. In reality, however, any kid could do it regardless of the reason they failed a class. The district renamed “grade recovery” - it’s now called “learning recovery” . Just like the county; if they think something has a negative connotation they change the name - say goodbye, “autistic”, say hello, “communication and sensory deficit”. They also officially changed the requirements – now, any kid can legitimately take it regardless of the reasons (behavior, absences, lack of effort) they failed. Now, that’s honesty in full effect!
There’s something comforting about honesty even if you don’t like what you are hearing. If only our school district was a little more honest more often, maybe people would understand the damage they are doing to the cities children.
For years, teachers have dedicated a disproportionate amount of time teaching just to the F-CAT test. All other facets of education sadly became secondary. Well, this year at several schools throughout the district, they have gone ahead and created an F-CAT prep class that every student will take every day. Now, since the district has not completely committed to honesty, they are instead calling it an “enrichment/remediation class”. Don’t worry though; kids will receive credit for the class. It’s what’s called an academic elective; unfortunately, I am not sure if many kids would have elected to take it had they been given the option.
Next, the district made some honest changes to the Grade Recovery program. In theory, grade recovery was for students who missed a lot of days for an illness or another legitimate reason, or for kids that came to school, worked hard and tried hard but just didn’t “get it”. They could make up work, and, if they did well improve their grade. In reality, however, any kid could do it regardless of the reason they failed a class. The district renamed “grade recovery” - it’s now called “learning recovery” . Just like the county; if they think something has a negative connotation they change the name - say goodbye, “autistic”, say hello, “communication and sensory deficit”. They also officially changed the requirements – now, any kid can legitimately take it regardless of the reasons (behavior, absences, lack of effort) they failed. Now, that’s honesty in full effect!
There’s something comforting about honesty even if you don’t like what you are hearing. If only our school district was a little more honest more often, maybe people would understand the damage they are doing to the cities children.
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Blame the Messeneger
The district web site at one point details the problems both real and perceived with this year’s f-cat and then touts the successes that several schools had. This begs the question does the district believe the f-cat was inaccurate when assessing some schools but accurate when assessing others? If this seems incongruent to you don’t worry, it’s not, it’s just par for the course in the Duval County Public School district.
When there is a success they have no problems beating their chest saying look a us, but when there is a failure, like the f-cat results or the fact seventy percent of graduates have to take remedial classes in college they equally have no problem pointing the finger and casting blame elsewhere. Welcome to the way things are run in Duval County.
The truth is the f-cat despite whatever noble purpose it may have represented when first conceived has become an albatross around the neck of public education. It’s flaws, drawbacks and problems were well documented before this years round of problems. Real leadership might call for replacing it with something that works effectively rather than saying it’s great when it gives us the results we want and terrible when it doesn’t.
Chris Guerrieri
School Teacher
When there is a success they have no problems beating their chest saying look a us, but when there is a failure, like the f-cat results or the fact seventy percent of graduates have to take remedial classes in college they equally have no problem pointing the finger and casting blame elsewhere. Welcome to the way things are run in Duval County.
The truth is the f-cat despite whatever noble purpose it may have represented when first conceived has become an albatross around the neck of public education. It’s flaws, drawbacks and problems were well documented before this years round of problems. Real leadership might call for replacing it with something that works effectively rather than saying it’s great when it gives us the results we want and terrible when it doesn’t.
Chris Guerrieri
School Teacher
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Same in Same out: The F-cat
If you are having a hard time judging how the county did on the F-Cat I think that’s understandable. It can be difficult to look at the statistics and know exactly what an improvement is especially when different parties might disagree. The Duval County School Board web site has a very positive spin, though if the past is any indicator they could spin a school burning down as an opportunity to practice building conservation. Then the Times Unions headline was Northeast Florida schools get mixed FCAT results and if you know anything about the typical Times Union coverage of the DCSB, that’s them pretty much blasting the district. So what to do?
Well when I wanted to know how to interpret all the data, the pluses, the minues and the pushes, to get to the real nitty gritty, I looked at one of my teacher colleagues updated facebook status which said, Checked out the FCAT Scores online .... Not pretty :( Next year is gonna be a WHOLE lot of *fun*
I sighed and not because I sensed sarcasm there but because this past year wasn’t a whole lot of fun either.
This past year saw a lot of changes to the teaching profession and to what teachers were required to do. When I started teaching a little over a decade ago I could fit six lesson plans on a page, where this year I was required to create individual lesson plans that were often more than two pages long. Next Data became the word as the year as teachers were required to create complicated and time consuming data notebooks that took the place of the information most teachers could get just working with their students for a few days. Then teachers were required to create word walls, board configurations, artifact maps, agenda boards, group justifications, basically a list of extra tasks a mile long and that was before teaching even began and for many teachers this robbed them of both their creativity and enthusiasm.
To make sure teachers word walls were correct and that the standards were posted, there were stress inducing and time stealing state walk throughs, district walk throughs, academic coach walk throughs and administration walk throughs too. Unfortunately there main concern didn’t seem to be how the teacher was teaching or if the students were learning but if everything was uniform and posted in the right position.
Then this year it seemed like we gave up any pretense of not teaching just to the test. In this era of high stakes test taking it has been going on for quite some time but this year it was more focused than ever. We had blitz sessions, practice tests days, after school and Saturday sessions, and meeting after meeting all about the f-cat. Speaking of meetings I actually went to one meeting, I kid you not about all the other meetings I had to go to.
Basically for a few extra points on the f-cat the district put yokes on the back of teachers, subtly cajoling then into working hundreds of hours of unpaid over time by giving them more responsibilities to do in a day than was possible. Forcing them to be away from their friends and families in order to complete tasks that at best only had a peripheral relationship with teaching. Since Jacksonville has a school district that is almost universally believed to be struggling this begs a few questions, the first of which is, what are we doing wrong?
Teachers are working harder and longer than ever before but for the most are just concentrating on the one thing the district has deemed important the f-cat but despite all that they are doing, on average kids are making marginal gains at best. You would think since the district has put all its energies into one task, we would be doing a lot better. There’s not a lot of joy in schools these days and even though there is a lot of hard work going on we are having less and less to show for it.
I may have a solution.
The Premack principal basically says people will perform a less desirable activity to get at the more desirable activity, for example, eat your vegetables before you can have your desert. There are no deserts in schools any more, not for teachers or for students.
What would happen if instead of micromanaging teachers, giving them more tasks than they can do, thus stealing some of the joy from many, the district gave teachers autonomy, just a list of what was to be covered. Encouraged creativity, telling them to find their kids strengths and to teach to them and then finally asking them to give just one extra unpaid hour a day so they don’t get burned out or feel overwhelmed.
What would happen if instead of making school a dreary place for many children filled with many classes they aren’t interested in we tailored curriculum's to their likes and at least in high school had reasonable schedules that aided them in being successful.
I didn’t always love school growing up and there were sometimes I didn’t even like it. I grew up in an era, not that long ago where one test didn’t determine my fate. I can’t imagine the pressure that must be on some kids especially the ones just marginally interested in school or whose schedules have no classes they could look forward to. There was a time however when I loved being a teacher, I would look forward to coming up with lessons and engaging and working with my classes. Now however I often feel as overwhelmed as the kids, actually teaching hasn’t become drudgery but so much else during the day has. It would be disingenuous of me not to say that hasn’t taken it’s toll and I don’t think I am the only teacher that could say that.
I see everyday the way we do things and I see the results and like I think you should be, I am unimpressed.
Would we do worse if we tried a different approach? Could we do worse?
I would bet we would do better and much better. People typically perform a higher level when they enjoy the thing that they are doing or have something to look forward to and that goes for teaching and learning as well.
So how did we as a county do on the f-cat? You tell me. How d you think we will continue to do unless we change things? You tell me that one too.
Well when I wanted to know how to interpret all the data, the pluses, the minues and the pushes, to get to the real nitty gritty, I looked at one of my teacher colleagues updated facebook status which said, Checked out the FCAT Scores online .... Not pretty :( Next year is gonna be a WHOLE lot of *fun*
I sighed and not because I sensed sarcasm there but because this past year wasn’t a whole lot of fun either.
This past year saw a lot of changes to the teaching profession and to what teachers were required to do. When I started teaching a little over a decade ago I could fit six lesson plans on a page, where this year I was required to create individual lesson plans that were often more than two pages long. Next Data became the word as the year as teachers were required to create complicated and time consuming data notebooks that took the place of the information most teachers could get just working with their students for a few days. Then teachers were required to create word walls, board configurations, artifact maps, agenda boards, group justifications, basically a list of extra tasks a mile long and that was before teaching even began and for many teachers this robbed them of both their creativity and enthusiasm.
To make sure teachers word walls were correct and that the standards were posted, there were stress inducing and time stealing state walk throughs, district walk throughs, academic coach walk throughs and administration walk throughs too. Unfortunately there main concern didn’t seem to be how the teacher was teaching or if the students were learning but if everything was uniform and posted in the right position.
Then this year it seemed like we gave up any pretense of not teaching just to the test. In this era of high stakes test taking it has been going on for quite some time but this year it was more focused than ever. We had blitz sessions, practice tests days, after school and Saturday sessions, and meeting after meeting all about the f-cat. Speaking of meetings I actually went to one meeting, I kid you not about all the other meetings I had to go to.
Basically for a few extra points on the f-cat the district put yokes on the back of teachers, subtly cajoling then into working hundreds of hours of unpaid over time by giving them more responsibilities to do in a day than was possible. Forcing them to be away from their friends and families in order to complete tasks that at best only had a peripheral relationship with teaching. Since Jacksonville has a school district that is almost universally believed to be struggling this begs a few questions, the first of which is, what are we doing wrong?
Teachers are working harder and longer than ever before but for the most are just concentrating on the one thing the district has deemed important the f-cat but despite all that they are doing, on average kids are making marginal gains at best. You would think since the district has put all its energies into one task, we would be doing a lot better. There’s not a lot of joy in schools these days and even though there is a lot of hard work going on we are having less and less to show for it.
I may have a solution.
The Premack principal basically says people will perform a less desirable activity to get at the more desirable activity, for example, eat your vegetables before you can have your desert. There are no deserts in schools any more, not for teachers or for students.
What would happen if instead of micromanaging teachers, giving them more tasks than they can do, thus stealing some of the joy from many, the district gave teachers autonomy, just a list of what was to be covered. Encouraged creativity, telling them to find their kids strengths and to teach to them and then finally asking them to give just one extra unpaid hour a day so they don’t get burned out or feel overwhelmed.
What would happen if instead of making school a dreary place for many children filled with many classes they aren’t interested in we tailored curriculum's to their likes and at least in high school had reasonable schedules that aided them in being successful.
I didn’t always love school growing up and there were sometimes I didn’t even like it. I grew up in an era, not that long ago where one test didn’t determine my fate. I can’t imagine the pressure that must be on some kids especially the ones just marginally interested in school or whose schedules have no classes they could look forward to. There was a time however when I loved being a teacher, I would look forward to coming up with lessons and engaging and working with my classes. Now however I often feel as overwhelmed as the kids, actually teaching hasn’t become drudgery but so much else during the day has. It would be disingenuous of me not to say that hasn’t taken it’s toll and I don’t think I am the only teacher that could say that.
I see everyday the way we do things and I see the results and like I think you should be, I am unimpressed.
Would we do worse if we tried a different approach? Could we do worse?
I would bet we would do better and much better. People typically perform a higher level when they enjoy the thing that they are doing or have something to look forward to and that goes for teaching and learning as well.
So how did we as a county do on the f-cat? You tell me. How d you think we will continue to do unless we change things? You tell me that one too.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
F-cat scores
When I taught middle school I went to my lead teacher frustrated. A few of my kids weren’t getting the material despite my best efforts. They’re not dumb, I said, they just don’t seem to care. She looked at me and calmly said, Chris if your kids aren’t meeting your expectations, lower your expectations. Her message was clear. If I lowered my expectations they would be easier for the kids to meet.
Fast forward a half dozen years and it seems like the State of Florida recently took her advice when they changed the writing and science requirements on the f-cat. Science went from a mix of multiple-choice, open-ended questions, short answers and essays to mostly multiple-choice questions. In short they took out the type of questions the kids did poorly on. Passing on the writing went from a 3.5 being out of six being barely acceptable to a three. By the way if we were scoring a test and a student got three out of six correct they would get a score of fifty and fail. This is what is now acceptable to the state.
Parents if you are worrying how these new changes affected your child, please don’t. The science test isn’t a graduation requirement here in Duval County, it turns out the test is just for funnsies and very few students did poor on the writing portion of the test. Though since so many students are below grade level in reading it does make me wonder if the same students are capable of reading and interpreting what they wrote.
Most educators and critical thinkers don’t care for the f-cat and even point to it as causing many of the problems facing education in Florida. As bad as it was before it’s become even worse with it’s dumbing down of itself, how are people supposed to take it seriously. The high stakes testing environment it has created is full of strife, riddled with reliability issues and it’s way past time we got rid of it and did so immediately.
Chris Guerrieri
School Teacher
Fast forward a half dozen years and it seems like the State of Florida recently took her advice when they changed the writing and science requirements on the f-cat. Science went from a mix of multiple-choice, open-ended questions, short answers and essays to mostly multiple-choice questions. In short they took out the type of questions the kids did poorly on. Passing on the writing went from a 3.5 being out of six being barely acceptable to a three. By the way if we were scoring a test and a student got three out of six correct they would get a score of fifty and fail. This is what is now acceptable to the state.
Parents if you are worrying how these new changes affected your child, please don’t. The science test isn’t a graduation requirement here in Duval County, it turns out the test is just for funnsies and very few students did poor on the writing portion of the test. Though since so many students are below grade level in reading it does make me wonder if the same students are capable of reading and interpreting what they wrote.
Most educators and critical thinkers don’t care for the f-cat and even point to it as causing many of the problems facing education in Florida. As bad as it was before it’s become even worse with it’s dumbing down of itself, how are people supposed to take it seriously. The high stakes testing environment it has created is full of strife, riddled with reliability issues and it’s way past time we got rid of it and did so immediately.
Chris Guerrieri
School Teacher
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