Pat’s reaction to 'student test scores can be compared to sports team scores'

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