Reaction to statements in: “Teacher quality under the microscope”
Policy makers grapple with how to define successful teaching -- and whether financial incentives can help spur excellence
By Meris Stansbury, Associate Editor Thursday, August 20, 2009
[Posted on eSchoolNews Sunday, August 23, 2009]
From the above article (posted below in my blog): “Education Secretary Arne Duncan has said he supports merit pay for teachers--a practice linking raises or bonuses to student achievement. He also said test scores alone should not decide a teacher's salary, "...but to somehow suggest we should not link student achievement to teacher effectiveness is like suggesting we judge sports teams without looking at the box score."
Duncan also is using federal stimulus dollars to press the issue.”
Here is my reaction to Secretary Duncan’s stating that linking student achievement (test scores) to teacher effectiveness is just like linking sports team box scores (game results) to coaching effectiveness:
Secretary Duncan proffers a specious comparison/agument that linking student achievement (test scores) to teacher effectiveness is just like linking sports team box scores (game results) to coaching effectiveness!
How many sports teams do not have “tryouts” for coaches to select their players?
How many teachers do get to “tryout” which students they want in their class?
In over 4 decades in education I have never heard of a group of teachers that were able to get together to hold a draft for the best students to be in their class! Nor, have I ever heard of a public school being able to say, “No, you’re not good enough to come to school here (can’t be on our “team”) – we don’t want you!” However, this happens all the time with sports teams!! In sports, it is not unusual that, if an athlete just can’t “cut it”, s/he is often “cut” from the team.
How many players on a sports team were made, by penalty of law, to play?? Once you get into the secondary level of sports, the, by far, vast majority of players have volunteered to participate. They give of their own time, and spend their own (or their parents’) money for equipment, extra lessons/practice, etc. in order to participate. Most parents of sports players also put in extra time and effort to get their athlete to and from practice, and strongly encourage them to do their best. Unfortunately, this is hardly the case with the majority of public school students and their parents.
How many coaches have been told you have to have all the school’s special needs students and disabled students as part of your team and you have to ensure that “all these students can play, and at high levels”? Teachers take on this task/challenge on a daily basis in their classroom.
How many hometown newspapers consistently report on how well a teacher’s class has performed on their last assessment? I’ve never seen anything that resembles “the Sports Section” that pertains to teachers and their classes, have you?
Schools have begun to celebrate the academic achievement of students with special assemblies, awards, honors and recognition only relatively recently. This is something that has been a tradition in sports for as long as I can remember – it’s one reason I chose to participate in sports from elementary school through college and then to coach for 20 years. Athletes, even those that are not “stars” or even “starters” still like the recognition they get for being a “part of the team”. However, the normal case with students is that only a few “honor”/best students can get any kind of recognition.
How many teacher’s students get to know their name is being broadcast by radio and/or TV every Friday night? How many teacher’s students have grown up seeing their parents and peers watching/listening to their favorite teacher’s class take a test every week?
How many new skills are coaches introducing each year with their players? In my 40 years of playing and coaching football, for example, we started each new year off going over the same “basics” as we did the previous year: getting into a proper stance, blocking, tackling, running and passing, offense and defense. Each year coaches build on the same “basics” and help athletes develop their natural talents. Sure, they introduce a few more offensive plays or defensive alignments and skills but the main effort was to get the athletes to be able to do the “basics” at a higher level and more consistently. There was hardly anything about football that was actually new from year to year.
Teachers, however, must introduce each new year’s group of students (did I mention that coaches get to work with the same players for several consecutive years?) to the large list of standards they are required to master this year. And yes, there is a degree of just enhancing some of a previous year’s standards but, most of what students are required to master this year is brand new information, skills and ways of thinking they were not exposed to last year. There are many, many more points one can make in contrasting coaching and teaching but I hope the few I’ve mentioned will suffice.
Honestly, I’m a big Obama fan and, I guess, by extension, I am a fan of his choice as Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan. However, I get the distinct feeling that Secretary Duncan has not taught in the public school system -- the system that cannot refuse any student, unlike Charter, Parochial, or Private schools system -- and simply does not truly understand the challenges of teaching.
I am a huge ‘teacher advocate’ and I applaud all efforts of trying to enhance and improve the teaching profession. After my three decades in the classroom, I entered the “corporate” world and have increased my income tremendously and decreased my stress tremendously. In fact, it was a medical condition that forced me out of the teaching profession which is not uncommon. But, I still have ultimate respect for those that are called to daily serve by befriending, working with and, educating our children (and, in my case, our grandchildren).
But, to compare student results on tests to the box scores of sports teams is simplistic at best and, ultimately, dishonest. That bucket won’t hold water and that dog won’t hunt. Yes, let’s work to find a way to encourage teachers and students to improve -- ultimately the course of our nation lies in the balance. But, let’s do so in a way that honors the efforts of those teachers that show up every day to help students without making comparisons that make no sense whatsoever! Secretary Duncan needs to spend those federal stimulus dollars on things that will actually make sense and will be able to truly address the problems of education.
Pat Ryan
pat.ryan@studyisland.com
Monday, August 24, 2009
Pat’s reaction to 'student test scores can be compared to sports team scores'
Teacher quality under the microscope
Policy makers grapple with how to define successful teaching -- and whether financial incentives can help spur excellence
By Meris Stansbury, Associate Editor Thursday, August 20, 2009
[Posted on eSchoolNews Sunday, August 23, 2009 http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/top-news/index.cfm?i=60271 ]
It's no secret that one of the keys to creating better schools is to raise the quality of teaching in the nation's classrooms. But how to identify, and encourage, high-quality teaching is proving to be a challenge.
Several efforts to address this question are under way. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has just launched a five-year, $500 million initiative to quantify what, exactly, makes a teacher effective and how to tie that to student achievement. And the Obama administration has cited improving teacher quality as one of four education-reform areas it plans to target in particular.
Education Secretary Arne Duncan has said he supports merit pay for teachers--a practice linking raises or bonuses to student achievement. He also said test scores alone should not decide a teacher's salary, "...but to somehow suggest we should not link student achievement to teacher effectiveness is like suggesting we judge sports teams without looking at the box score."
Duncan also is using federal stimulus dollars to press the issue.
Later this year, states will compete for a piece of $5 billion in "Race to the Top" stimulus funding, which rewards those states and school systems that adopt innovations the Obama administration supports. Whether officials tie student data to teacher evaluations will be a consideration in awarding the grants, said Duncan.
Although relatively rare, the use of pay-for-performance programs appears to be growing, albeit slowly. According to analyses of data from the "Schools and Staffing Survey" administered by the U.S. Department of Education, 13.6 percent of districts rewarded excellence in teaching in 1999-2000, and 14 percent rewarded excellence in teaching in 2003-04.
In 2003-04, 19.6 percent of districts said they rewarded some schools for excellence in teaching through a school-wide bonus or additional resources for a school-wide activity, and 15.4 percent of districts said they provide a cash bonus or additional resources to individual teachers to encourage effective teaching.
The key challenge in implementing pay-for-performance systems, experts agree, is how to define teacher excellence. The most obvious way would be to look at student achievement, as Duncan wants to do. But that's controversial, as many people believe test scores alone paint an unfair or incomplete picture of a teacher's contribution.
A recent survey, "Exploring the Possibility and Potential for Pay for Performance in America's Public Schools," conducted by the American Association of School Administrators (AASA), revealed the motivations and concerns that influence superintendents' consideration of pay-for-performance systems.
Out of 536 school administrators from 45 states, 45 percent expressed moderate to strong interest in pay-for-performance programs, and five percent of all respondents were already pursuing pay-for-performance programs for teachers in their districts.
The top three indicators school leaders would use in determining performance-based pay were student achievement (89 percent), teacher evaluations (68 percent), and teacher attendance (54 percent).
But defining student achievement should mean more than calculating test scores, many observers say.
"I don't believe merit pay based solely on test scores is appropriate," said Marc Liebman, superintendent of the Berryessa Union School District in San Jose, Calif. "The research I did [for] my doctorate ... indicated that using test scores as a hammer doesn't work. I don't think giving teachers more pay to get higher test scores will get the desired result, except in cases where teachers teach to the test, not to the students--which totally misses the point of high-quality instruction."
Education Sector, an education think tank, and public opinion research company FDR Group surveyed a national sample of teachers on their attitudes toward a variety of teacher policies, including compensation reforms. They found that fewer than half (42 percent) favored incentives for "teachers whose students routinely score higher than similar students on standardized tests."
In analyzing these results, as well as other survey data, the nonprofit Center for American Progress (CAP) determined that teachers are more likely to support programs that rely on a variety of measures of teacher performance, rather than those that rely on only one measure (such as test scores).
Also against merit pay based solely on student achievement scores is the Economic Policy Institute, which recently released a report titled "Teachers, Performance Pay, and Accountability: What Education Should Learn from Other Sectors."
The study, conducted by economics professors Scott J. Adams and John S. Heywood at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, claims there are "significant downsides of reward-punishment systems based on quantitative outcomes, whether in the public or private sector."
"Contrary to the claims of advocates of teacher merit pay, relatively few private-sector workers have pay that varies in a direct formulaic way with their productivity--and the share of such workers is probably declining," Haywood states.
He adds, "Formulaic reward structures often reward only a few dimensions of productivity and run the risk of causing workers to abandon effort in the dimensions not rewarded."
Growth models and peer evaluations
If pay-for-performance programs should be based on multiple measures and not simple test scores, what should those measures be, and how can they be implemented properly?
According to CAP, programs should be designed to discourage teachers from "overly focusing on test-taking strategies, or repetitious drill on a narrow band of curricular material believed to be heavily represented on state exams."
CAP suggests that more inclusive approaches can be derived from high-quality evaluation systems that incorporate a variety of student outcomes and observations of teacher performance, in addition to value-added estimates. Also, the group suggests that evaluation systems should be correlated with student achievement data--teachers whom observers rate more highly should garner better results in terms of student achievement.
Joe Kitchens, superintendent of the Western Heights Public Schools in Oklahoma City, Okla., believes test scores must be a basic consideration, but there should be other types of measures as well, such as "other types of engagement with students that would matter greatly."
Based on Kitchens' observations within his district, he thinks student achievement depends on a number of factors, some of which are outside the control of teachers--such as student mobility. "We have pretty strong evidence ... that we must become more effective in dealing with mobile families, and any positive solution regarding merit pay would have to take the issue of mobility into consideration," he said.
Districts that are experimenting with pay-for-performance systems include the Plano, Texas, Independent School District, which has come up with an innovative "growth model" to help analyze how much of a student's achievement can be attributed to his or her teacher--and how much can be attributed to other factors. Twenty-eight of Plano's 68 schools are participating in this state-funded program as part of the Texas Educator Excellence Awards, or TEEG.
"We developed a measure for use, [called] the ‘Plano Effect Score,' that provides an accurate look at student achievement over the course of a school year using multiple measures and not simply the state assessment," said Jim Hirsch, associate superintendent for technology at Plano ISD. "Using a growth measure based on individual starting points eliminates the reliance on other factors. Our research shows that a minimum of 70 percent of students' growth is determined by their starting point; other factors are minimal if the analytics are modeled correctly."
Plano uses the program to target its schools that are most in need of intervention, and teachers at the selected campuses who teach the core subjects of reading, English, math, and science are eligible to receive a minimum award of $1,400 based on the academic growth of the students instructed by their grade-level or departmental team.
Other examples of pay-for-performance models that include many measures of success include Arkansas' Achievement Challenge Project, Denver's Pro Comp Program, North Carolina's Mission Possible Program, and Vanderbilt University's Teacher Advancement Program.
Higher salaries for high-need subjects
Along with merit pay, Duncan also has touted the idea of providing incentives for high-quality teachers to teach in underserved schools, as well as rewarding teachers in math, science, and other "high-need" fields that remain in their subjects for a number of years.
The National Center on Performance Incentives has studied the impact of TEEG--a pay-for-performance program in Texas that targets high-poverty, high-performing districts--and concluded that awards of $3,000, on average, reduced the predicted turnover rate to less than a quarter of the rate that was expected before the program was introduced.
Another estimate comes from SUNY-Albany researcher Donald Boyd, using data from New York City schools. He reported it would be necessary to "pay teachers an additional $2,900 to induce them to teach in a classroom with a 25-percentage-point increase in the proportion of minority students, but only an additional $350 to teach in a classroom with a 25-percentage-point increase in the proportion of students receiving free or reduced lunch."
A charter school in New York City's Washington Heights, called the Equity Project, will open in September, paying teachers $125,000 a year--twice as much as the average New York City public school teacher earns, and about two and half times as much as the national average for teacher salaries.
The school marks the biggest experiment yet as to whether the promise of higher pay can lead to better teaching. Teachers at the school also will be eligible for bonuses based on school-wide performance, of up to $25,000 in the second year.
The school's leaders believe that talented teachers, not technology or smaller class sizes, create success. Teachers so far include an accomplished violinist who uses neuroscience lessons during her music classes, two teachers with Ivy League degrees, and a phys ed teacher who used to work as Kobe Bryant's personal trainer.
The Equity Project will open with 120 fifth graders chosen this past spring in a lottery that gave preference to children from the neighborhood and to low academic performers. It will grow to 580 children in grades five though eight, with 28 teachers.
The school will use public money for everything but its building. Teachers will be responsible for duties usually given to assistant principals (there are none), and other positions which will not be filled. There will be no deans, substitute teachers, or teacher coaches. Teachers will work longer hours and more days, and they each will have around 30 students. They will not have the same retirement benefits as members of the city's teacher's union; they also can be fired at will.
"Teacher efficacy is the single most effective component [to] increased student achievement, outside of the students taking ownership of their own learning," said Hirsch. "However, extremely high salaries might help recruit teachers with high efficacy, but it won't guarantee it."
"Studies nationally have shown that, statistically [speaking], salary is not correlated with student success or achievement," said Liebman, "so I am not sure whether this idea has merit or not."
According to CAP, additional evidence on the effectiveness of merit pay programs will be available beginning in 2011 from the National Center on Performance Incentives, which received a five-year, $10 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences to study the effectiveness of performance incentives.
One study will employ a randomized experimental design to assess the causal impact of a pilot program in Nashville public schools. The program allows math teachers to earn bonuses of up to $15,000 per year, conditional on their students' gains on state exams.
"Successful implementation of pay-for-performance models will require an ongoing dialog with all members of the education community to arrive at a solution that best serves the nation's students," said Randy Collins, AASA president and superintendent in Waterford, Conn.
"At this point, there are more questions than answers in the research on performance pay," said CAP, "but existing research findings suggest that the strategy holds promise for improving student achievement. There is less information about the impact on teacher recruitment and retention."
For its part, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT)--the nation's second largest teachers union, behind the National Educational Association (NEA)--acknowledges the traditional single-salary schedule for teachers has shortcomings. The group "believes it is time to explore viable, fair, and educationally sound teacher compensation options that will raise salaries while contributing to efforts already under way to ensure high-quality, well-prepared teachers for all students."
The AFT is encouraging its local unions to explore various teacher compensation systems based on their local conditions, though it does not support merit-pay systems based on individual test scores. According to the AFT, a professional teacher compensation system could include financial incentives to teachers who acquire additional knowledge and skills, or who agree to teach in low-performing or hard-to-staff schools. Such compensation proposals also could include increased pay for school-wide improvement, mentoring new and veteran teachers, and teaching in high-need areas, the group said.
The NEA did not respond to interview requests before press time.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Study Island Announces the Release of Northstar Learning Post-Secondary Programs
Study Island, LLC, a leading provider of online, standards-based educational and testing programs, has announced the launch of the newest addition to its family of products, Northstar Learning.
Northstar Learning consists of a series of affordable, engaging, Web-based educational programs designed for the adult learner. The first programs released from Northstar Learning are GED, Developmental Math, and Developmental Reading and Writing. These programs are designed for specific, basic skill requirements for entry into college level classes.
"We are so pleased and excited to launch Northstar Learning," stated Tim McEwen, Study Island's CEO. "Adult learners have such a limited amount of support. We are proud to incorporate our unique style into an affordable program to advance the education of adult learners."
GED helps adult learners comprehend all five GED modules (Reading, Writing, Math, Social Studies, and Science) with practice questions that are tied to specific cognitive levels related to the GED Test. Developmental Math assists adult learners in mastering basic math skills through pre-algebra. Developmental Reading and Writing assists adult learners in mastering fundamental reading and writing skills including critical thinking, vocabulary development, and comprehension skills.
About Northstar Learning
Northstar Learning is owned and operated by Study Island LLC. Founded in 2000, Study Island is a leading provider of online, standards-based assessment, instruction, practice, and test preparation for the U.S. K-12 educational market. For more information, visit www.northstarlearning.com.
Author Information
Elissa Nadel
Study Island, LLC
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Study Island Wins Stevie® Award in 7th Annual American Business Awards
Study Island won a Stevie Award for Customer Service Department of the Year - Computer Software - More Than 100 Employees in The 2009 American Business Awards last month.
The awards were presented during ceremonies at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City. The ceremonies were hosted by Cheryl Casone of Fox Business Network and broadcast nationwide on radio by the Business TalkRadio Network.
In winning the Stevie, Study Island beat out other finalists including McAfee, Inc., SoftPro, and Double-Take Software.
Stevie Awards were presented in over 40 categories including Best Overall Company of the Year, Executive of the Year, and Corporate Social Responsibility Program of the Year. More than 2,600 entries from companies of all sizes and in virtually every industry were submitted for consideration.
"We are so honored to win The Stevie Award for Customer Service Department of the Year," stated Tim McEwen, CEO of Archipelago Learning, Inc., the parent company of Study Island. "We've been in business for over nine years and our goal has always been to focus on our clients. What a great compliment to our team of customer relations professionals."
More than 200 executives across the country participated in the judging process to determine the Finalists and Stevie Award winners.
Details about The American Business Awards and the list of Finalists and Stevie Award winners are available at www.stevieawards.com/aba.
About Study Island:
Study Island is a leading provider of online, standards-based assessment, instruction, practice, and test preparation programs for the U.S. K-12 educational market. For more information, please visit www.studyisland.com. Study Island is a member of Archipelago Learning, LLC based in Dallas, TX. www.archipelagolearning.com.
About The Stevie Awards:
Stevie Awards are conferred in four programs: The American Business Awards, The International Business Awards, The Stevie Awards for Women in Business, and the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service. Honoring companies of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies recognize outstanding performances in the workplace worldwide. Learn more about The Stevie Awards at www.steiveawards.com.
Contact:
Elissa Nadel
Study Island, LLC
800-419-3191
www.studyisland.com
###
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Pat's response to The Prichard Blog's "Quickies from Interim Education"
In her August 11, 2009, 8:24 PM blog, Susan Weston states that "Formative assessments for classroom use is another area where KDE is concerned."
Study Island provides classroom teachers with the data they need for real formative assessment for learning. Because Study Island is built specifically from Kentucky Core Content Standards and not just aligned to them, teachers can have confidence they have a tool that will help them help their students to master their required standards. In a very user-friendly manner, teachers and administrators can monitor the academic progress of each student, class or sub-group of students (i.e., Title I, Free/Reduced Lunch, Special Ed, etc.) to assure they are on track for making AYP.
Ms. Weston points out that "Associate Commissioner Ken Draut described that 'daily, weekly, monthly' data source as 'what [changes] teacher behavior,' but as also [an] area where it may be difficult to provide the help schools and districts want."
Study Island provides the "daily, weekly, monthly" data teachers need for true formative assessment. This real-time data is available to the teacher, school and district to drive instruction and meet the needs of individual students. Through continuous monitoring of students' results on Study Island assessments, teachers and administrators (building and district) have the necessary data for flexible grouping and can differentiate instruction for every individual student and class.
Soon, teachers will be able to get "live" feedback from students as they do their work. This feature will allow teachers to take immediate corrective action if they notice students not indicating mastery of particular standards. Another terrific feature that will be released soon is called "Parent Notification" with which parents can receive automatic email messages of their student's upcoming assignments, reminders of due dates, results of assignments and much more! What an effective and efficient means for home/school communication!
Equipping teachers with such a powerful tool as Study Island will make the climb up the "steep hill" to which Ms. Weston refers much easier!
Quickies from Interim Education
The Prichard Blog
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
The Interim Joint Education Committee met yesterday. Without trying to be comprehensive, I'll share what struck me most.
Commissioner Holliday shared his vision of education with lightning speed. He wants the strongest possible high-level skills for students, he knows strong collaboration is the only way to make it happen, and he thinks Senate Bill 1 is the core way for Kentucky to get it done. He said that much clearly, stopped for questions, received none and closed with "Thank you for this honeymoon period."
KDE and CPE staff gave a tag team presentation of their SB 1 work to date and plans to keep the work on track in the months ahead. Either they're really on the same page or they're doing excellent work handling any disagreements they've encountered.
Professional development and support for teachers to implement the standards is one area where both agencies are concerned about capacity and resources. Representative Flood responded supportively, saying "PD funding is where we are your partners."
Formative assessments for classroom use is another area where KDE is concerned. Associate Commissioner Ken Draut described that "daily, weekly, monthly" data source as "what chances teacher behavior," but as also area where it may be difficult to provide the help schools and districts want. Senator Dan Kelly and Representative Harry Moberly did not sound supportive to me: the Senator argued that KDE should let local people handle that, and the Representative saw the issue as fundamentally one of building teachers' skills, not a need for any added assessment tools to track performance during the school year.
Overall impression: We're on a strong path to develop standards and back them with assessments. Equipping teachers to meet the standards will be a harder climb, and legislators may not yet see quite how steep a hill it's going to be.
Posted by Susan Weston at 8:24 PM
Labels: Accountability, Assessment
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
$357 Million in Recovery Funds Now Available for Kentucky to Save Jobs and Drive Education Reform
Application for Part 1 of Kentucky's State Stabilization Funds Approved Today
http://www.ed.gov/news/pressreleases/2009/07/07272009b.html
FOR RELEASE:July 27, 2009
Contact: Sandra Abrevaya,(202) 401-1576sandra.abrevaya@ed.gov
U. S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan today announced that more than $357 million is now available for Kentucky under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009. This funding will lay the foundation for a generation of education reform and help save hundreds of thousands of teaching jobs at risk of state and local budget cuts. Kentucky will be eligible to apply for another $176 million this fall. Today’s funding is being made available per Kentucky’s successful completion of Part 1 of the State Stabilization Application, which was made available on April 1.
“The Recovery Act was designed to meet two critical challenges: rescue the economy from the immediate peril it faces and invest in the building blocks of a strong economy,” Secretary Duncan explained. “The Recovery Act investments in our students and our schools will have a huge payoff in the years ahead.”
“The $357 million Kentucky will receive today is part of the single largest boost in education funding in recent history,” said Duncan. “The President’s leadership and support from Congress have made this historic investment possible. Kentucky can now utilize these funds to save jobs and lay the groundwork for a generation of education reform.”
To date, Kentucky has received nearly $288 million in education stimulus funds– representing a combination of funding for Title I, IDEA, Vocational Rehabilitation Grants, Independent Living Grants and Government Services funds. On April 1st, Kentucky received nearly $78 million in Title I funding and $87 million in IDEA funding. This represents 50 percent of the Title I and IDEA funding Kentucky is eligible for in total. On April 1, Kentucky also received nearly $5 million in Vocational Rehab funds and more than $751,000 in Independent Living funds.
In order to receive today’s funds, Kentucky provided assurances that it will collect, publish, analyze and act on basic information regarding the quality of classroom teachers, annual student improvements, college readiness, the effectiveness of state standards and assessments, progress on removing charter caps and interventions in turning around underperforming schools.
Kentucky is also required by the Department of Education to report the number of jobs saved through Recovery Act funding, the amount of state and local tax increases averted and how funds are used.
See Kentucky and other state applications for initial funding under the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund Program at http://www.ed.gov/programs/statestabilization/resources.html.
FREE webinar Professional Development from Study Island and TeacherWeb
To view the Study Island & TeacherWeb Webinar Calendar of FREE webinar professional development, go to:
http://teacherweb.com/MH/StudyIsland/Webinar/wscal1.stm
Here are the topics that are being repeated throughout August:
· SI Training: Charting your Study Island Course (Teachers)
· SI Training: Registering Users
· SI Training: Back to School, Back to the Island (Teachers)
· SI Training: Welcome to the Island, Study Island Administrators!
· SI Training: Charting your Island Course (Teachers)
· TW: Digital Student Lockers
· TW: Customer Only Blog Pages: Increasing Interaction Outside the Class
· TW: Customer Only Improve communication through News Flashes
· TW: Intro to TeacherWeb & IslandWeb
Pat's comments on the "Prichard Blog" article
I want to point out that Study Island is a tool that ~400 Kentucky schools currently use to help meet the goals Rick Stiggins writes about. This web-based program continuously provides evidence about individual students needed for classroom learning decisions.
It also provides data on which standards are being mastered, allows quick and easy snapshots of sub-groups of student populations on a “periodic but frequent” basis (in fact 24/7/365) to enhance program planning at the school and district level requires.
Study Island allows teachers to show each student clear expectations, help each student make steady progress toward those standards, and (in the process) break the cycle of growing despair that currently leads many students to stop trying when the goals seem both mysterious and out of reach.
About half of the schools in our new Kentucky Commissioner of Education, Dr. Terry Holliday's, former school district in North Carolina used Study Island.
From the "Prichard Blog"
Balanced assessment's "sunlit vision" (with a roundup)
Posted: 04 Aug 2009 05:37 PM PDT
The 2008 Assessment Manifesto offers a potent technical argument, and yet, as I argued in January, "There’s a sunlit vision of confident, excellent classroom work at the heart of this Manifesto project."
The technical case made by testing expert Rick Stiggins is that we need "balanced assessment" with different tools to support three different kinds of decisions:
- Classroom learning decisions need evidence about individual students continuously.
- Program planning at the school and district level requires data on which standards are being mastered, looking at groups of students, on a “periodic but frequent” basis.
- Accountability testing must check, from outside, whether enough students are meeting the standards, annually.
When assessment for learning practices like these play out as a matter of routine in classrooms, as mentioned previously, evidence gathered from dozens of studies conducted around the world consistently reveals a half to a full standard deviation gain in student achievement attributable to the careful management of the classroom assessment process, with the largest gains accruing for struggling learners.
My take is that balanced assessment is the testing element of the consistent high quality teaching nurtured in professional learning communities and in the world's top school systems.
For more on this valuable report, here are the links to my earlier posts:
An assessment manifesto worth our attention (January 22)
Manifesto: Engaged students, profound learning gains (February 9)
Manifesto: Three decisions, three kinds of data (February 10)
Manifesto: Students! Parents! Participating in decisions (February 11)
Manifesto: Lean standards (and SJR 19) (February 12)
Manifesto: Classroom implications (February 13)
And here are links to the two other bodies of thought I see as deeply related to the Stiggins approach:
PLC roundup (expect updates on this one) (May 21)
World's top systems: a roundup (July 22)
