Comments on: Un-”progressive” Boston Teachers Union Gives Important Policy Lesson http://www.ediswatching.org/2009/11/un-progressive-boston-teachers-union-gives-important-policy-lesson/ Keeping an eye on Colorado laws, policies, and other developments that affect parents’ educational choices Fri, 12 Mar 2010 16:30:11 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 By: Ben http://www.ediswatching.org/2009/11/un-progressive-boston-teachers-union-gives-important-policy-lesson/comment-page-1/#comment-5161 Ben Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:35:55 +0000 http://www.ediswatching.org/?p=399#comment-5161 Liz, The rewards should be tied to measured student growth, not student status or performance. This is the commonly accepted approach. When one teacher helps most students in her class achieve a half-year's growth in reading and another teacher helps most of her student achieve two years' growth in reading, don't you think the latter teacher should be recognized with some sort of financial incentives? If there's a problem with "teaching to the test," that suggests there must be some sort of problem with the test. Are the skills & concepts being measured on assessments not connected to real world academic success? Maybe we should improve the tests then. If "teaching to the test" helps a poor student close the gap in his reading or math skills, what's the matter with it? There are plenty of schools out there like the one you profile -- that are based on student-centered learning. How do we measure if they've been successful or not? No testing system is perfect, but if done well it can provide us with truly useful information. Liz, The rewards should be tied to measured student growth, not student status or performance. This is the commonly accepted approach. When one teacher helps most students in her class achieve a half-year’s growth in reading and another teacher helps most of her student achieve two years’ growth in reading, don’t you think the latter teacher should be recognized with some sort of financial incentives?

If there’s a problem with “teaching to the test,” that suggests there must be some sort of problem with the test. Are the skills & concepts being measured on assessments not connected to real world academic success? Maybe we should improve the tests then. If “teaching to the test” helps a poor student close the gap in his reading or math skills, what’s the matter with it?

There are plenty of schools out there like the one you profile — that are based on student-centered learning. How do we measure if they’ve been successful or not? No testing system is perfect, but if done well it can provide us with truly useful information.

]]> By: Liz http://www.ediswatching.org/2009/11/un-progressive-boston-teachers-union-gives-important-policy-lesson/comment-page-1/#comment-5159 Liz Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:50:11 +0000 http://www.ediswatching.org/?p=399#comment-5159 I'm very conflicted by tying teacher pay to student performance. I've seen just fabulous teachers stymied by the kid who has issues that the school can't begin to address (screwed up home life, medical and learning issues). And I've seen mediocre teachers still do well, because that year, she or he got the cream of the crop among 2nd-graders. It's not a cut and dried issue to me at all. I'm just tired of schools that teach to the test -- isn't there a better way? How about this <a href="http://www.rickposner.com/" rel="nofollow"> progressive public school </a> that's profiled in a book, "Lives of Passion, School of Hope?" The students hired the teachers, ran their own government, evaluated their own progress and designed their own curriculum -- and the book follows alums as they entered and now live in the real world. And one of the tenets of the school is "understand and deal with the world that is," so it's not like they're all living in la-la land. And it's not a place that teaches to the test! Can we not have more schools like that, that appear to be human, caring and inspiring? I’m very conflicted by tying teacher pay to student performance. I’ve seen just fabulous teachers stymied by the kid who has issues that the school can’t begin to address (screwed up home life, medical and learning issues). And I’ve seen mediocre teachers still do well, because that year, she or he got the cream of the crop among 2nd-graders. It’s not a cut and dried issue to me at all. I’m just tired of schools that teach to the test — isn’t there a better way? How about this progressive public school that’s profiled in a book, “Lives of Passion, School of Hope?” The students hired the teachers, ran their own government, evaluated their own progress and designed their own curriculum — and the book follows alums as they entered and now live in the real world. And one of the tenets of the school is “understand and deal with the world that is,” so it’s not like they’re all living in la-la land. And it’s not a place that teaches to the test! Can we not have more schools like that, that appear to be human, caring and inspiring?

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