We need a new way to explain what is happening to teaching...

[YvonneCa]

...and education right now. Everyone seems to think reform is just about getting rid of poorly performing teachers. If that were true, I'd be for it. But the truth is this is just the 'spin' and the excuse that allows states and districts to fix their budgets.

No one would go for "Let's save money in education by getting out from under the HUGE COSTS (in both salary and benefits) for our dedicated, most experienced teachers."


I have two MAJOR problems with what Secretary Duncan and the Education Reform movement are doing:

1. Democrats, President Obama, our students AND many excellent teachers will all be hurt by this. It is wrong on so many levels.

2. The newly reformed schools will not necessarily be better with inexperienced people...and we can't afford to fail again on education reform.

[daleanime]

1. Huge K&R.

:bounce:

[YvonneCa]

4. Thank you! n/t

[DJ13]

2. Education seems to be an early test case for the elites plans for Social Security

Claim its in crisis (even if its not) over and over until people parrot that meme, then propose sweeping "reforms" that amount to little more than a slash of funding and a move towards privatization so theres another revenue stream for the corporations, with little regard to the well being of those who depend on the existing system.

[YvonneCa]

19. I sure do hope you are wrong about...

...this.

[BrklynLiberal]

3. The reform they are discussing = getting rid of free public education.

The corporations want to turn schools into private money making centers, as they have done with prisons, hospitals, wars, etc...and will try to do with everything they can get their hands on.

[Fire1]

5. I've provided a link of charter schools across the country that

have failed and the reasons for failure. It shows that charters are not the panacea for education reform.


http://edreform.com/accountability/charters/CER_ClosedCharterSchools2009.pdf

[YvonneCa]

7. Thank you for the link. Here's another...

...link about charters in Texas and the NEA:

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/politics/state/stories/DN-neaprez_28tex.ART.State.Edition1.35e7bf4.html


(Thanks, Dinger! ;) )

[Fire1]

11. The NEA is correct. n/t

[mediaman007]

6. I have a solution: Read on...

So far governmental types (Federal and State) have chosen to use testing data to evaluate teachers. On the surface its sounds good, but to people who work with data, the testing data is pretty flimsy. After all, all students are not the same.

My solution (and I hate to give it away, because I think it has merit) is to give each class a difficulty value or Class Value Factor (CVF):

Students that range between 40 percentile and 75 percentile are worth 1.0 students.
Students that lie between 25 and 40 might be worth 1.2 students.
Students that lie lower than 25 and greater than 75 should be worth 1.5 students.

Add in factors for single parent families, divorced parents, Free and Reduced Lunch, Special Education and students that are transient to get a class value.

A "base" class can be worth the number of students in the classroom. Then these new CVF's should give some teachers a class value of 35 to 50 students or more!

Once the class value (sum of student points) has been determined, a percentile can be calculated to get a CVF of "class value divided by base value (number of students)."

I suggest that we take the mean scores for a classroom and multiply by the CVF to get a product that in some way shows the true measure of teacher effectiveness.


Does it sound goofy? No more than considering every student to be the same and every teacher to be judged on those students.

I say, agree to being evaluated, but don't accept their math. Instead its an opening to demonstrate the multiple factors that enter a classroom's production.

[YvonneCa]

10. EXCELLENT post. And thank you for focussing on solutions...

...to what is happening.

I don't know where this will end up, but there HAS to be a way to be more fair to teachers in the evaluation process. Your idea DOES get at the real problem, IMHO...that all teaching assignments are not created equal. (And I'll repeat, just to be clear, that the difficulty of the teaching assignment has nothing to do with the ability level of the students or the expectations for their future learning.) ALL students can learn and WILL LEARN, given appropriate environment and instruction.


But...the current way data is collected (even though it looks like we're heading to more of a growth model) lacks both validity and reliability. Until that is fixed...it is just wrong to use it to close schools, get rid of teachers, or make other high-stakes decisions based on crappy data.

[mediaman007]

12. It seems so wrong that the decision-makers cannot

get the minute detail that would make evaluation more precise. I can't believe that they think a simple test has enough data.

Just like the way NCLB was to be evaluated. My 2007 class vs my 2006 class. Not the same children and in some cases, not even the same tests.

[YvonneCa]

14. "My 2007 class vs my 2006 class. Not the same children ...

... and in some cases, not even the same tests." Thank you for your words.

This has been a big part of the problem. Teachers know that every class is different...some years they are higher, calmer, more studious...and other years they are noisier, boisterous and struggle more academically. I would have been thrilled if my test scores were for the SAME class...beginning versus end of the year. But that isn't what NCLB did.

My district used its own assessment for that...which helps. But the testing system has to be VASTLY improved before data can be used for high-stakes purposes... like evaluation, firing, and publishing VAA in the L A TIMES. Good grief! :7

[Dappleganger]

13. k&r

[YvonneCa]

15. Thanks. n/t

[DrDan]

8. being honest in what is being attempted would be a good start.

As in . . . trying to bust the unions, privatization, etc.

[Fire1]

9. Yep. That too. n/t

[ibegurpard]

16. simple...they are trying to privatize education

[Tatiana]

17. It really seems to me like the teaching profession is under attack.

Many factors affect student achievement-- one of the most important is the home or parenting. Then there is curriculum, administration, time on task, motivation and a host of other factors. But it seems like all these factors have fallen by the wayside and now the consensus is that teachers solely are responsible for student achievement. "Get rid of bad teachers!" is what everyone shouts. But the fact is that across this nation, especially in large urban districts, we are not getting rid of bad teachers; we are getting rid of the most effective, most experienced NBC (national board certified) teachers and replacing them with cheaper, less effective novice teachers.

One of my good friends just got pink-slipped from her teaching job in Chicago. She is not eligible for the reassignment pool. She has been rated "superior" on her evaluations for the past decade. She has two masters degrees and is NBC. She has 30 days (of extended benefits) to find another job.

I really believe a component of this "reform" is union busting, plain and simple.

The research available on charter schools show that they really are no more effective than regular public schools when demographics are held the same. "Race to the Top" is a joke. There is no evidence that Chicago-exported ideas like "turnarounds" or the creation of more charter schools improves student achievement. I wish we would stop looking at school reform from a corporate perspective ("competition") and instead use research and experienced educational experts to guide decision-making that leads to ALL schools being quality schools.

[YvonneCa]

18. I agree completely. What a lovely...

...post. (And I LOVE your sig line.) :)

[Doremus]

20. 2 words: 1) Union 2) Busting

And a few more:

3) Treasure 4) Hunt 5) for 6) Public 7) Money 8) to 9) Steal