I don't know about y'all, but every time I read the Linda Darling-Hammond book, I want to pack my bags and hop in a plane to Finland, Hong Kong, or Singapore. I'm left frustrated that the solutions described in the book seem so far off for American students. And, after reading this chapter, I was left wondering what I can do as a student and as a future teacher to create a positive change in the way our students are assessed, which would ultimately also have positive effects on teaching and learning. These are some of the questions that occurred to me as I read the chapter, that I would love to hear your thoughts on:
What can we, as students/teachers, do to help our students thrive within our stressful high-stakes, almost entirely content-based, assessment culture?
Do you think that the general American public would be receptive to a teacher-managed, school-based examination system, like those found in Finland and Hong Kong? Why or why not?
In Texas, do you think the move from the TAKS to the STAAR is a move in the right direction, according to the criteria set forth by LDH? Is it enough? Why or why not?
I'll start by responding to your first question about what teachers can do. In the extra article we were given this week that presented a "yes" argument for testing and a "no" argument against testing, I was inspired by some of the suggestions the no article presented. One of the examples given was focusing on feedback rather than on grades. If grades are a requirement of the school, of course you have to put a grade, but providing feedback is the most important part. A grade doesn't show students what they did wrong or how they can improve, which is why feedback should be the main focus. Another interesting idea presented was the idea of coming up with a grade together. The down side of this would be the amount of time it would take to meet and collaborate with each student individually. A modified version of this could be giving students the criteria ahead of time and having them self grade/reflect or have them peer/grade in addition to the teacher grading based on the clearly laid out standards. In my opinion these strategies could help to reduce the stress.
ReplyDeleteFor the second question, I don't see why the United States couldn't adapt to a teacher-managed, school based examination system. I don't think the transition would necessarily be smooth because in general I feel as though teachers as well are parents are reluctant to change within the school system. It would also require more work on the teachers' end of the deal because they would have to analyze the standards set before them and create a test to asses what students can actually do instead of simply regurgitate. I also feel as though our generation of teachers would have to be the ones to make the change though. We have so much information about all the problems our education system is facing and rather than be clones of what is currently being done and currently not working, we have to start making changes within out classrooms. Easier said than done though I'm sure.
ReplyDeleteI like your comment about our generation having so much access to information. I feel like a great approach to improving education is to take that information and apply personalization, as discussed in LDH. Personalization can help funnel all the information we have learned about, into a practice suited for specific environment, after all schools and teachers are all unique. I
DeleteWow. Great questions, Katelyn. Don’t move to Finland or Hong Kong – we need your good thinking and question asking here!
ReplyDeleteThe question I wanted to reply to is the second one about receptivity of the public to a teacher-managed, school-based examination system. I wish I could say, “Yes! They trust us!” But I am not sure that is the case. I have often thought that the current system of testing students is partially a way to see if teachers are doing a good job – a way of building teacher accountability into the process. Are they teaching what they should? Are they teaching well? Are they teaching all the children? And these are good questions. There are many teachers who are not good at what they do. I do worry that it conflates to big problems: equity for all students and teacher quality. In my mind these are separate but related issues. So, as Haley says, this is going to be hard. And still I remain hopeful, especially because as says Haley – it will be your generation that takes up this work.
It has also occurred to me that grades exist partially to assess the teacher, which seems crazy considering the teacher would be the one deciding what kind of work deserves each grade. Perhaps people would be more open to a teacher-managed school-based assessment system if they knew that all teachers are adequately prepared and supported through excellent teacher education programs. This is probably a factor in other countries that have moved away from standardized testing.
DeleteThe whole "grades" debate that we broached in class I found very interesting. How strange that when a student gets to college, professors often times do not care too much about the grades the students receive. In high schools, however, if all your students fail, you're packing your bags. Ideally, wouldn't a teacher want every student to get an A? But then, what is a grade worth? Obviously the emphasis should be on the material, not the grade, but with so much pressure on students, how ought they to feel? If a student fails their class, how ought a teacher to feel? As much as I think they should feel as though they failed partially as a teacher, I think too often we see teachers overwhelmed with students--they almost can't care, and some students slip through the cracks.
DeleteI don’t want you all to feel overwhelmed or hopeless about the work we as a nation need to do in order to make schools good places for students to learn. There is so much you can do in your classrooms by using best practices in teaching and in assessment. And they can be done even in a high-stakes testing environment. As Dr. B always says, people will tell you what to teach but they don’t worry so much about how you teach it. We know that it is the latter that is probably most important, so in a sense we have the power to make change. Even if it is quietly, one classroom at a time.
ReplyDeleteI agree that a lot of the education books I've read seem pessimistic when it comes to the American school system but I still think as future educators we can change this. For the first question I liked the idea in the article about not giving out grades to students and instead give feedback so students can improve and learn from what they did wrong. I actually seen a type of this during my observation, students had to complete a mastery grade. From my understanding students have to complete certain tasks in order to prove they mastered the topic, if they can't prove mastery than additional help is provided until the student reaches mastery. In my class each student was called to meet with the teacher and were then asked two questions they had to answer correctly and show they knew how to cite in their papers they were working on. I thought this was a really cool idea and very helpful for teachers to address the the different learning styles of students as well as one on one time with each student. I think by giving mastery grades has real world implications as well because in most jobs people are not going to get a letter grade on their work but they'll get feedback and have to address their deficiencies.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like a great system! School is supposed to be about learning and mastering concepts, not rating students. Allowing students to prove mastery, and giving them multiple changes and additional help, seems to me to be what every teacher should do. All teachers should strive for every student to leave their class with mastery, rather than just a passing grade. And you're right, this definitely has real world applications. Your boss will never say, "Well, you got 60% of that assignment right, and we're giving the whole office a 10 point curve, so you passed! Great job on your project!"
DeleteThat does sound like a great classroom system! Grading students on mastery and meeting with them individually seems like a great way to meet students where they are and address their different learning styles and the unique problems that each student faces.
DeleteYour point that it applies to real world applications is also important too. In school and in college it's easy for me to get caught up in making the grade, but grades are going to stop mattering when we leave school (I hope!). And instead, like you said, people are not graded in the real world but rather critiqued and given feedback. I think our school system of assessment should reflect the world's system of assessment, since school is about helping students learn and preparing them to be citizens of the world.