Expect More, Achieve More

Heads-up: (1) Soap box, (2) In the news, and (3) Listening about effective teachers

(1) Soap box
The bar has gone up.

Unless you've been living under a rock, you probably know that we're expecting more from education in Tennessee. Students have higher expectations (higher graduation requirements, more rigorous tests). Teachers have higher expectations (new evaluation system, evaluated every year). All eyes are on Tennessee. Tennessee is at the cutting edge for education reform--pretty exciting.

We can already see that certain things are on the upswing.
Tennessee has moved up in its ranking about the well-being of our children. When some of these basic indicators improve, I would argue some of that would be attributed to the improving state of education in Tennessee.

Some of these conversations get caught-up in the debate about whether or not the "data-driven accountability movement" is a good thing. For instance, DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee fired over 200 teachers after the implementation of a new teacher evaluation system. The National Urban League and NAACP criticized Obama's administration for being too focused on high-stakes accountability. It's been pretty clear to me that, as this project has evolved, no one agrees on anything with education. That, everyone, is something we can all agree on :-)

I am biased, yes. I think all students deserve a great education. That means supporting teacher effectiveness. That ALSO means supporting parental involvement in education. That also means encouraging positive behavior in the classroom. That also means supporting after-school programs that reinforce learning.

But what we're finally seeing is a state standing up and saying, "We want more from education." We don't always want to be ranked between 45 - 50 in the nation in all the educational rankings. The "Expect More, Achieve More" campaign is not just about more rigorous tests, in my mind. It's about standing up and saying, "We're ready to do anything necessary to ensure that our students get a better education." It's the law. We have to get there. We owe it to our kids. It's not about placing blame, making excuses, and getting frustrated.

It's about working together to improve education.

(2) News
STUFF IN THE NEWS:

Differentiated pay for teachers in Kingsport, TN, in order to comply with Race to the Top.

Race to the Top money: What's it being spent on?
Another good Chattanooga-centric Race to the Top article. Talk about transparency.

United Way of Greater Knoxville and the League of Women Voters hosts school board candidate forum.

First United Way of Greater Knoxville Regional Coalition meeting held.

Teachers learn about abstract concepts thanks to Maryville College and Pellissippi State.

Pittsburgh really wants to invest in teachers.

Kingsport goes "Straight to the Top."

Innovation Valley works to give teachers in-services that help them communicate relevance to students about content areas.

(3)
LISTENING ABOUT EFFECTIVE TEACHERS:
[If you want to do a session with a group of about 5-10 people about what makes an effective teacher, let me know: luterg@unitedwayknox.org]

I've met with a group of teachers, first time parents, and police officers about what makes a teacher effective, and I picked up a few things that I thought I'd share. I didn't anticipate learning all this stuff, but that's what happens when the community voice is heard--that's one major dimension of my project!

1. Teachers need support. We know it's not all about the money. Simple "pats on the back" and encouragement go a long way. If teachers feel like all they hear is complaining from constituent groups and administrators, it doesn't motivate them to be great in the classroom.
2. Some teachers are encouraged to take PRAXIS tests so that they can teach outside of their specialty areas...so sometimes teachers don't always end up teaching subjects they're completely comfortable with.
3. Good teachers care about students and care about being in school. Common sense, maybe, but it seems like people really don't like it when teachers write off certain students because they don't understand something the first time or talk about how much they can't wait until they get a break from the students over a break / weekend (a student commented that when their teacher puts a "Countdown to Fall/Winter/Spring Break," it makes them think that the teacher can't wait to get out of school and get away from them).
4. Professional development and in-services, which provide on-going professional training to teachers, is best done within the school meeting specific needs of teachers. Things perceived to be "useless seminars" aren't helpful, but sometimes they're just used in order to fulfill requirements. Teachers know what they need, and it's up to their school leadership to provide it for them in the building.

Events, Teacher Evals, and Food for Thought

A few things to share with you...

TUESDAY, JULY 20: Knoxville School Board Candidate Forum (co-sponsored by the United Way and the League of Women Voters)...
Why? These leaders will be making decisions about the future of education in this community. If we expect more from education, then we need to pay attention to who is in office!
7:00 PM
Fulton High School Auditorium in Knoxville
Park on the Broadway side of the building! Districts 7 and 9 will be featured.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 21: Community Forum on the Future of Teacher Evaluations
Come get an overview of the new evaluation system and share your feedback about what you hope to see in this evaluation system.
3:30 PM
Holston Middle School Library

MONDAY, JULY 26 and TUESDAY, JULY 27: Straight to the Top Conference in Kingsport
Governor Bredesen, the City of Kingsport, Harvard University, Bill Sanders (the researcher behind TVAAS) and Commissioner of Education Tim Webb team up to talk about how education reform ties in with the economic development of our state.
There is a cost, $99, for one person to attend. $75 per person if you get a group of 4 or more to go.

For those of you interested in what's happening on the new TEACHER EVALUATION SYSTEM, check out THIS ARTICLE written by the Tennessee Report.
Don't forget that the Tennessee Teacher Evaluation Advisory Committee has an active website.

Just food for thought:
IS RTTT MONEY A DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD?
Clarksville struggles with this. And I think it's a good point.

If we see Race to the Top as money that is just there to start some flashy programs that aren't sustainable or plugging budget gaps, the money will be wasted.
If we see Race to the Top as a larger movement of raising expectations for teachers, students, parents, community organizations, businesses, and others related to education, it will be a success. This should be a larger community effort where everyone stands up and says, "How can I help?"

Stay cool in this heat!

Response...cont'd

Here was the reader's 2nd post...

Yeah it'd be great to teach students to perform well on tests but generating questions and making them take more and more of the questions they miss doesn't teach. there has to be instruction (not more testing) in between. So we definitely always use a cycle of analyzing test results, teaching to weaknesses, testing again...that's called "data-driven instruction" by people who feel the need to call it anything besides DUH...but the part that makes a difference is the instruction (based on data) not the data and testing by themselves. The danger, in my experience, is that test, retest consumes all instructional time. That's one thing I saw happen in some classrooms where I worked when they brought in ThinkLink (formative assessment platform).

and YES investing students in the test as something that helps them chart progress instead of something they take for someone else's benefit is a huge part in investing them in the idea of achievement and evidence that they can learn, change, grow, set themselves on a different (stay on a great) track.

The fact that teachers are teaching without understanding the standards is a little upsetting...teaching to standards was always our job - therefore so was understanding them...if they weren't doing that before what in the world were they teaching? macrome? Their own personal version of what a 7th grader should know? So having teachers be sure they understand standards is a great idea that doesn't have to have anything to do with testing.

And, again, involving students in the assessment cycle can only be good for motivation and engagement - they can see evidence that they know more when they work hard, and be proud of it. That's why teachers originally posted student work or had kids visibly track progress. Like I had a chart of number of pages read for independent reading. class averages on weekly quizzes - tangible individual and group evidence of progress...also not necessarily linked to a standardized test, but as proof of growth on a variety of scales.

those are great community involvement ideas and we have tons of examples of them all around, so totally possible. what's pie in the sky is that they aren't more prevalent (how crazy is that!) I'm happy to read some meat and detail behind the sweeping phrase "community involvement"!

I'm putting these comments out there because I think they represent a thoughtful discussion about "teaching to the test." Not meant to be critical of the work being done in Hamblen, just a peek into how some people think about it.

Response to the last posting

Hey, folks. I had a great exchange with someone who gets this blog and wanted to share it in the spirit of openness and the value of free-flowing ideas to make discussions stronger...

In no way is this meant to offend, but it's to highlight some of the on-the-ground conversations that people are having about the "teaching to the test" phenomenon. This is all up for debate...

READER'S ORIGINAL RESPONSE
Sounds like teachers engaging students in a test-retest cycle that is instruction free. Feedback and scores are different than instruction, and are only important if accompanied by specific targeted instruction- targeted test questions don't teach no matter how many online banks generate. I wonder how much time is spent taking tests, reviewing tests and retaking tests that could be spend engaged in authentic (real life) instructional activities that encourage a learning-orientation instead of a performance -orientation...something the motivation folks talk about when they study what students do well on tests and beyond (learning-orientation) instead of kids that stress about tests, but just learn material to perform well, not to internalize or apply or accumulate knowledge. I want to hear more about how these teachers used extra loads of testing and questions to make their teaching (rather than their testing) better.

Also, what do you see the community's role being in supporting teacher innovation? Can you be more specific about help and support?

MY RESPONSE (to the original response)

You’re right that they are looking at the test to help students master concepts. In some ways, some people may be thinking this is the epitome of “teaching to the test,” and they may be right. (At the risk of sounding like a testing guru) if we can devise tests to assess the concepts we want students to learn, and incorporate critical thinking, what’s wrong with teaching students to perform well on those tests? This model also seemed to make testing not seem as hard-nosed as the typical high-stakes testing you normally hear about. If you can get students to see a test as honestly a barometer of where they are, with the opportunity to go back and work on concepts that they’re not understanding, it might make testing a bit less intimidating.

I’ll be up front with you in telling you that their presentation was about how they assess student learning—not on their teaching strategies. So there very well may be more to the equation that I don’t know about…

These teachers started off in thinking about whether or not teachers understood the state standards in a way that would allow them to teach more in line with what the standards lay out. So, he gave me an example of where he was misreading some of the standards and was therefore teaching out of sync with what kids would see on the test. Again, this does smack of “teaching to the test.” But it’s important to think about whether or not teachers understand the very standards they’re trying to teach to the students. So, in their quest to do standards-based assessment, he uncovered this major issue. A good thing, I think.

Also, a cool point they brought up was when students get back a bad test grade, they usually throw it away and try to forget it. They’re trying to encourage students to go back, look at what you missed, and work hard to understand and master that concept so that they don’t’ fall behind…

I think there are a couple of ways the community can support teacher innovation and teacher effectiveness.

Parents: Be asking questions to your kids about what they’re learning. Be actively trying to follow what your child is learning in school. Ask teachers how they can best reinforce class concepts in the kids are learning at school. Plug into data that teachers provide to give them accurate pictures of where their students are re: learning.

Businesses: Help fund data systems. Provide teachers internships either during the year or during the summer that would allow them to see the relevance of course concepts. Make themselves available to guest teach some concepts. Provide real-world learning opportunities for students through class projects.

Non-profit agencies: Reinforce concepts in after-school programs. Make intentional attempts to touch base with school administrators to find out how they’re teaching concepts. Share their experiences in how they present concepts to students. Align program objectives with school curricular and extra-curricular objectives.

Are these pie in the sky? They’ve been on my mind a lot.

See the reader's 2nd response in my next post...
My post got too big and it won't let me post it all!