Why I Will Not Teach to the Test

To Teach.. or Not To Teach (to the test)- That is the Question

In the article, Why I Will Not Teach to the Test, by Kelly Gallagher, the question of should we teach to the test is asked. Mr. Gallagher provided reasonings as to why we as teachers should not focus our instruction solely on the standardized test.

1. In order for students to reach a thorough understanding of the standards, it may take up to a year for each. In order for our students to master each of the standards we would need to go from a system that is set up for kindergarten through twelfth grade to a system that would range from kindergarten through twenty-second grade
2. Although the results of a study testing the outcome of student performance on the end of year test showed that those students who were exposed to all of the standards performed better than those who were taught some of the standards more in depth; later results showed that those students who were taught more thoroughly out-performed their counterparts in college.
3. Many countries who we compete with academically focus on in depth, higher order thinking, where students must rationalize their beliefs through writing; whereas we focus choosing the right answer on a multiple choice test.
4. Multiple choice tests do not allow students to prove their knowledge. It only proves that they selected the correct answer; be it through knowledge or guessing. We should have the students perform written assessments that value critical thinking.

Mr. Gallagher also argues that "value added" assessments should not be performed on a broken system. Before we can assess teachers, we need to fix our education system- making in comparative to those of high achieving countries.

Implications as an Administrator
As an administrator, I would urge my teachers to create opportunities for higher order, critical thinking. Although our state focuses on the results of standardized tests, our role as educators is to ensure that our students are life-long learners. This means that we base our instruction on what is going to allow our students to achieve long-term educational success- not a "Met" or "Exemplary" for one year.

Citation
Gallagher, K. (November 12, 2010). Why I Will Not Teach to the Test. Retrieved from
        http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2010/11/17/12gallagher_ep.h30.html?r=1682084091

Think Big, Bigger... and Smaller

"I Would Like a Grande, Venti... Maybe a Short..."

The world of educational interventions is somewhat like ordering a coffee at Starbucks for the first time. For many, it is a daunting task that is filled with uncertainty. With the NCLB deadline quickly approaching, schools are racing to close the educational gaps for students. Many feel that this change requires a tremendous overhaul of the public school system. In many regards it does, and in fact, we are not doing enough.

Think Big, Bigger... and Smaller by Richard E. Nesbett states that many times in education we provide large, expensive interventions (such as HeadStart) that show minimal long term results in reducing the educational gaps of students. The article provides examples of even larger, more expensive programs that have shown greater impact on student performance than the commonly used Head Start program.

• High/Scope Perry Program- ages 3-4, targets low income African American students, provides 2 and 1/2 hours of quality instruction each week, weekly homevisits
• Abcederain Project- infancy to 5 years, full day, year round, low child-teacher ratio

These two alternatives have highly skilled employees with considerable experiences. The effects of these programs proved to be worth the additional funding.

The article also provided information on the current interventions used in public schools. Vouchers, Charter Schools, and Whole School Interventions, all show little to no influence over improving achievement gaps. However, the KIPP (Knowledge is Power Program) program, a program requires longer hours and more teacher responsibilty (home visits), shows great strides in reducing that gap.

Smaller interventions have also proven to close the achievement gap. For example, first year Junior High School students were partnered with college students. One group (control), was taught lessons pertaining to drugs and refraining from the use; while the second group (experimental) was taught lessons dealing with the "expandable nature of intelligence". Both male and female students who were exposed to this intervention performed much higher than their counterparts.

Implications as an Adminstrator
As an administrator, I would look at the population and needs of my school. In addition to that, I would need to look at the available funding and support of my staff. If my staff was willing to put in extra hours with the students, and I was able to fund this effort, I would definitely look at interventions that are "Venti". However, if the teacher support and funding is not available, I would look into using interventions that are considered "Short" in comparison. One size does not fit all, the plans that are in place to close the achievement gaps are not enough. My job as an administrator is to think outside of the box and develop a plan that will work for my population.

Citation
Nesbett, R.E. (November 2010). Think Big, Bigger... and Smaller. Retrieved from
           http://ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/nov10/vol68/num03/Think-Big,-Bigger-%E2%80%A6-and-Smaller.aspx

Interview... Round 2!

What's the Solution?

In interviewing my principal with regards to the challenges he has faced in dealing with special education or students with 504's, he immediately went into a story of how he handled one of his most challenging decisions.

There was a student who was transferring into his school whose current placement was in a self-contained classroom. Unfortunately, there was not a self-contained class at his school. This meant that he would have to change the student's IEP.  A plan needed to be put into place to transition the student from a self-contained setting into an inclusive setting. A panel of twelve adults comprised of district office personnel, administrator from both schools, advocate/lawyers, and the parents of the student met to develop this plan.  Herein lies challenge number 1.

Challenge#1: How do you balance the wishes of the parents and the school's capabilities?

The student's records showed that the his problems were more social than anything.  It was believed that the self-contained setting did not work best for him. A plan went into affect where he was placed into an inclusive classroom. A shadow from the student's previous school was provided. As the weeks progressed, the student was gradually separated from the shadow. After the transition was complete, the student appeared to have transitioned well. However, one day he informed my principal that he was going to run away from school that day. The student already had  plan of escape. Herein lies challenge number 2.

Challenge #2: What do you do when you do not have the resources from the district needed to handle the situation? This student no longer had the support of the shadow, and his current state now deems it necessary for him to have someone shadow him to ensure that he does not leave the school's property.

Supreme Court Decisions

Forest Grove School District v. T.A.

Summary
T.A., a student in the Forest Grove School District, suffered from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), severe depression, substance abuse, and failing grades. However, when he went before a review, it was found that he did not qualify for special education services or protection under Section 504 (Wright, Wright, 2009). Led by frustration, his parents opted to remove him from his public school, and enroll him in a private boarding school during his junior year in high school.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA 97), "authorizes tuition reimbursement for the cost of the private school when a school district fails to provide the student with a free and appropriate education (FAPE)" (Wright, Wright, 2009). With this, the parents sought a due process hearing in 2003.  Two years later, the District Court ruled that T.A.'s parents should receive tuition reimbursement from the school district. The school district then appealed the decision with the Federal courts, and in that case, the judge set aside the reimbursement. His interpretation of IDEA 07 was that in order for a family to receive tuition reimbursement, the student must first be served by special education services. This case ultimately fell into the hands of the United States Supreme Court. In 2009, the United States Supreme Court decided that an Oregon family could sue their local school district for tuition reimbursement. With this decision, the case was remanded back the the US District Court.

Citation

Wright, P., Wright, P.(June 22, 2009). Supreme Court Issues Pro-Child Decision in

            Forest Grove School District v. T.A. Retrieved from

            http://www.wrightslaw.com/law/art/forestgrove.ta.analysis.htm

Opinion
In my opinion, the decision first made during the Due Process hearing in April 2003 was favorable. T.A. did not receive a FAPE. In the NPR podcast, it was stated that had the district provided T.A. with minimal services, all of this could have been avoided. Many times in my profession, I have referred students for testing, and the results have deemed the student ineligible for services, even though their classroom performance shows otherwise.  This is an on-going debate in schools across our district. Shouldn't all students be provided with an opportunity to receive the best chance for educational success?

Adding to the Collection

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCrX1Wf35zk

The video that I am adding to the collection is entitled, "What it Takes to be an Effective Teacher in the Year 2010 and Beyond!" I chose this video because it provides you with insight into how ensure that you are being most effective. Integration (including technology), reflective practices, teaching to a student's learning style, etc. are all things that we as educators are aware of. However, I believe that many times we become bogged down with teaching to the standards and passing the test, that we forget to use these common practices on a regular basis. One very interesting point that was made in this video was that digital natives learn to type before the can speak.

Video Responses

Leveling the Playing Field

Are we giving our students everything they need to know? Or, are we telling them? As teachers, we have all been taught the scaffolding method, where we slowly relinquish control over the learning to the students. This method comes in handy with those students who struggle comprehending the concept. The textbooks that many teachers use today continue with this process.  Upon watching the video by math teacher, Dan Meyer, I strongly began to question this commonly used "best practice". In essence, we are teaching our students how to answer questions from a textbook, but we are not teaching them how to apply their knowledge in order to solve real-world problems or questions. Real-world applications that do not result in an answer from the back of the book, will enable students to use their prior knowledge to make connections in their learning. The result of this being, a student who is now eager to actively participate in classroom discussions- one who has now found his/her mathematical (educational) voice- one who will now take this educational confidence to further him/herself academically.

As a principal, my goal would be to have an environment where learning had meaning for every student. I would provide my staff with professional development geared towards making their students intellectualists. I would hope to have a student population who thinks about their learning and strives to make connections to their everyday lives.

 A Vision of 21st Century Learners

Are you a digital native? Or a digital immigrant? In today's society of educators, many are the latter. These teachers have not had the opportunity to have total immersion in technology, which leads to an inability to apply it in their classrooms. Our students are in a sense bilingual. They are completely engrossed in a day and age where information is transmitted at lightning speed via a portal that can fit into the palm of their still forming hands. Yet, they are expected to learn in environments that are comparable to that of the "bag car phone".  Are we serving these students to the best of our abilities? Or are we in essence placing a glass ceiling above them due to our technological inadequacies?

As principal, my vision would be to have a school where the use of blogs, wikis, pod casts, etc. are common occurrences. My students and teachers would be able to converse across the globe to acquire first-hand knowledge rather than obtain information via a textbook. These medias will ensure that all students will be more competitive in the global market.

Thinking Globally

Last year, my students sang a song entitled "One Nation". Hearing their voices sending a resounding message that we are united brought tears to the eyes of every adult spectator. Many times, we do not believe that our students are aware of the situations that are occurring globally. Or, we believe that they are too concerned with their own personal lives to have empathy for others. This could not be further from the truth. They are aware of what is going on; however, there are many instances where this knowledge is not cultivated. By providing our students with opportunities to learn about the various societies and cultures we are in turn creating a population who is more empathetic and cultured.

As a principal, I would have my students participate in a World Fair. This would be an opportunity for the students to become experts in a particular country or region. Through the use of technology, the students will gather information regarding their country- one major point being how their country is connected with ours.

Safety in Numbers

"You Have the Right to be Safe- Not Silent"

The terms educator and advocate are synonymous. As educators, we are constantly advocating for our students' safety. It has be ingrained in our heads since our inception in this profession that, according to Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs,  for a person to reach the Self Actualization stage he or she must feel safe. We all want our students to reach their full potential; therefore, it is imperative that we are proactive in maintaining a safe learning environment for all students.

Too many times students face situations in their academic career that interfere with their ability to reach their full potential. What can we as educators do? Be proactive- not reactive. If you are reacting to a situation, then it has already occurred- and that means that at least one child's life has already been impacted by bullying, sexual misconduct, or physical abuse. That is one child too many.

So what's next? Implement a plan for teaching students how to communicate appropriately. The Montessori program incorporates Peace Education into their curriculum. With this education, the students are more apt at conflict resolution. Ten years ago, my high school Peer Mediation group developed a motto that I still teach today. "No Communication, No Peace- Know Communciation, Know Peace".  If we teach our students how to resolve conflicts without verbal or physical altercations, we are in turn creating an environment where students feel safe, and are able to learn.

With each new century comes a new set of challenges. The 21st Century has brought about a new form of bullying coined "Cyber Bullying". School technology standards should also incorporate social etiquette when using technology. By providing the students with an understanding of the long term affects of misconduct, they will hopefully choose not to perform these acts.

Abuse, whether sexual or physical, occurs daily. The abuser could be a parent, relative, boyfriend, or girlfriend. As educators, we are on the front lines. We see things that others do not. It is our job to protect our students by providing resources geared to ending the abuse.

Each day, there are many who face situations at home that would break even the strongest person's spirit. Many times, schools are the safe-havens for these students. If we do not provide them with an outlet of support, where will they turn?

Decisions, Decisions

Changes to Make, Conversations to be Held
Working in a Title I school with a high transient population, there tends to be a need to either shuffle teachers around from one grade level to another, or hire a new teacher. Being a first-year administrator, making a decision like this can be a daunting task. However, this was one of the first major decisions made by my current first-year administrator.

Variables
There were a couple of variables which needed to considered; the first being unknown populations. The K5 student population is the one where the number of students entering your school is unknown. There are many instances where parents wait until the week prior to the school's start date to register their child. This can lead to an influx of an additional 20-30 students, which could equate to an extra 5-6 students per classroom.

In our current state of economic affairs, the second variable to consider is the option to hire an additional teacher to offset the numbers. This was in fact the plan; however, as we know- plans change. This would no longer be an option.

The Decision-Making Process
With this new knowledge, a decision as to which teacher to move needed to be made. The first thing that my administrator did was to contact some of his veteran elementary administrators to see how they have handled this situation in the past. After this, he evaluated the levels of certification among the staff. In looking at this information, it was determined who he could or should move without throwing off the equilibrium of the school. List in hand, his next step was to gage the comfort levels of the teachers. Which teachers could handle larger class sizes? Which teachers could not?

After each step in this decision-making process occurred, the list of possible candidates decreased. He then took into account that each K5 classroom had a full-time assistant. Therefore, there would be a ratio of 2:25 (or 1:12.5) in K5 versus 1:25 in first grade. All things considered, his list now consisted of only the K5 teachers.

His next step was to speak with the K5 team. If none of the teachers were interested in moving, he would ultimately have to decide which of them he would have to "force" ask to move. Luckily, there was in fact one teacher who was interested in moving to first grade. She actually wanted to work in a looping scenario, where her students from K5 would loop into her first grade classroom. Thus the decision was made.

Levels of Involvement Model
I believe my administrator followed the Levels of Involvement Model. He first gathered information from individuals (fellow administrators and district office), and then he gathered information from the team (K5 teachers). With all of the information in hand, he ultimately made his decision.

Reflection
The process by which my administrator made this decision appeared to be fair. I believe that in making decisions such as changing a teacher's grade level, it is imperative that you gather as much information as possible and consider all variables. If I were in the same predicament as an administrator, I feel that I would follow the same procedure.

Scheduling Nightmares!
Creating a working schedule can be a nightmare. It is difficult to generate a schedule that works best for all grade levels and meets the needs of the staff. This was the second decision made by my administrator.

The Decision-Making Process
The first step made by my administrator was to again contact his fellow veteran administrators to ascertain how they developed their master schedules. With their input, he created sample schedules and sent them to the grade levels. He gave them the constraints that they could change the order of their schedules; however, they could not alter the times they went to special area classes, lunch, or recess.  Once each grade level had the opportunity to review the schedules, he met with each of them to discuss the changes they felt needed to be made. He heard varying opinions from the teachers. Ultimately the initial schedule only changed slightly.

Levels of Involvement Model
With this decision, I believe that my administrator followed the Levels of Involvement Model. First, he gathered input from individuals (fellow administrators), he then created a sample master schedule. His second step was to provide each grade level a copy of the schedule and give them the opportunity to alter the schedule with constraints (delegate with constraints). His final step was to meet with each grade level and come to a consensus for the master schedule.

ReflectionHaving experienced this decision first-hand. I appreciated the manner in which my administrator handled the process of creating a master schedule. I would consider using this method of devising a schedule. However, I would first like to try a varying method. As an administrator, I would like to create a scheduling committee. This committee would be comprised of a representative from each of the grade levels, special area classroom teachers, resource teachers (student with academic disabilities), Reading Recovery teachers, Gifted and Talented teachers, and myself. I believe that together we could create a workable schedule without the need for modifications.