by Norman W Wilson, PhD
A current tend blowing across the land in the thinking of education policy makers is alarming and exemplifies their failure to comprehend educational-learning processes. There is a building consensus the failure of the American Educational System can be fixed through improvement in students' scores on standardized tests.
Two areas of the educational program that are held up to the standardized testing torch are mathematics and reading. Written and oral communication is not on the list. Based on the success of students on standardized testing in these two areas, teachers are to be rewarded or put on probation, or removed from their teaching positions.
Recently the National Economic Policy Institute (August 29,2010) reported that some states are actually considering plans to base 50% of their teacher evaluation and monetary compensation on the success of their students on standardized tests. It doesn't take an Einstein to grasp the stupidity involved in such a plan.
Consider the following possible scenario: A student is disciplined by a teacher and is now mad at him. The student gets his friends together and they deliberately flunk the standardized test. The teacher gets a poor evaluation, maybe even fired. Revenge has struck. True, this may be an extreme case, but students do come together when they feel a fellow student has been wronged. Students have been known to stage protests.
There are many reasons why students do not do well on standardized tests. That is a discussion for another time. It is not always the fault of the teacher. It may be the fault of the system that demands teaching to the tests. The teacher becomes a dispenser of information rather than the manager of the learning processes, or the stimulus for critical thought.
A three-year study released September 22,2010 provides information suggesting that "'even significant bonuses to teachers for raising test scores fails to yield significant results." The study conducted by Vanderbilt University's National Center on Performance Incentives certainly casts doubt on the current Race to the Top Program.
If students are not succeeding in school, let us first find out why before pouring more tax dollars into a system that isn't meeting societal demands.
Norman W Wison and his wife Suzanne are Camano Island residents. This essay used by permission from the author. His website is http://www.shamanicmysteries.com
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