The first link is from "Bridging Differences" - a blog written by Diane Ratvich and Deborah Meier. This post discusses whether student test scores measure teacher performance.
The second link is from "Education Policy Blog" - a blog written by a group of contributors interested in educational policy. This post considers the 'hard' questions of education and provides a great model of effective research questions.
The last link is a review of Diane Ratvich's most recent book from the The New York Review of Books. Considering Ratvich's arguments about educational reform, the author summarizes and reflects on the ongoing debates about reform.
The first link dealing with students scores reflecting teachers was a very interesting article to read. I see both sides of the argument, but I think there are so many factors that contribute to test scores that shouldn't necessarily reflect a teacher's performance. There are students who aren't motivated to do well and therefore don't care about their grades. These students shouldn't reflect the teachers performance because even if the teacher is trying her best to motivate her students it still doesn't mean they will be. There are also factors such as family life, studying skills, and attendance. These things shouldn't all be put onto the teacher's shoulders. Parents and students need to take responsibility for education. On the other hand some teachers tests are too hard or covers information not shared in the classroom. These scores can then show that the teacher is not preparing students well enough. The problem with this is how to tell when scores should reflect teacher's performance. I think it is an issue that needs to be addressed but there needs to be a more accurate way of testing this.
ReplyDeleteThe "Bridging Differences" article really sparked my interest. My mom is a 7th grade teacher and I have heard so much about education policy and things going on in her school over dinner table conversations. I think it is rediculous to evaluate teachers based on test scores. Some students are bad test takers and some dont care at all so their scores will not reflect teaching. Evaluating teachers is difficult and controversial no matter how it is done. I think one way to do that is to judge progress in students and how much their skills have improved over a year with a teacher. Anytime teachers just teach to the test students hardly gain anything from it and do not learn real life skills they need, instead they learn how to fill in bubbles and make educated guesses when they are clueless.
ReplyDeleteThe first link, "Bridging Differences," was pretty insightful. I agree with some parts, but disagree with some others. Firstly, I would have to agree that the "No Child Left Behind" act hurts education more than it helps. In relation to this, I would have to agree that I don't think every child can be "proficient". For one, the "No Child Left Behind" act downright scares schools,administrators, and teachers into thinking they might loose their jobs and credibility as educators. Students can't all be proficient and I know many schools make testing easier just so they can get more "proficient" scores. This helps no one. Secondly, I would have to disagree about her ideals on bad teachers. She said they could simply not get tenure or get fired. Do you know how hard it is to fire a teacher after they've obtained tenure? Really hard, at least that's my understanding. Overall, I would have to agree that testing students to measure teachers' performances is not an accurate means of getting information like that. I would have to disagree with her views on teachers and say that bad teachers can be a major part of poor education, and not just a "red herring" as she claims
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