Once upon a time, a long, long time ago, things were different. Kids came home from school and played outside until the street lights came on, after their homework was done. Adults would gather in front of someone's house after dinner and talk about the doings in the community. If a child misbehaved, the adult in the house had the right to reprimand the mischievous imp even if he or she was not their child. Everyone knew their child's teachers. Teachers were the loco parentis, not only teaching subject matter but how to behave, and they had the support of the parents. Everyone knew who the good teachers were and who the bad teachers were. Times were easier.
All was not ideal. Sexism was evident. Girls were taught to sew and type while boys were taught to take charge. Male teachers were paid more for the same work. Sexual harassment took place both between teachers and teachers and students. Overall though, the system worked well. Students worked hard, teachers had time to teach and parents rested well knowing that, while their children were in school, they were in good hands.
That was then; this is now. Many kids don't play outside anymore. People live in their home, never interacting with their neighbors. Children misbehave and no one is home to know or to do anything about it. Teachers have as much paperwork to fill out about their teaching as they have time to teach. Often, teachers get blamed for a student's bad grades and bad behavior. The lack of communication and parental support is evident. Mind, I am talking about a trend. There are still places where kids play outside and parents are involved and supportive. I applaud those families and hold them up as an example for everyone. But the trend is for parents and schools to become more estranged and accusatory and extreme measures are being considered to improve the situation. These measures will only make things worse. I am talking about teachers ranked on a student's performance on standardized tests. There is nothing beneficial in this idea.
The first major problem is the standardized tests. I see two problems with them. First, no matter how hard test creators try, the tests can be biased. If students do not have access to the information that is being taught, they will not do well. And many schools do not have access to the necessary tools to teach the curriculum, including a lack of textbooks, out-dated text books and antiquated technology. Second, students sometimes do no take standardized testing seriously. I have heard student after student talk about filling in the circles in pretty patterns or failing tests purposely because they knew they would get pulled out of class for extra help and that was seen as a good thing. Students see the standardized testing days as an interruption in their schedule and they don't like it. I've also heard students say they would rather be in class, where they could learn something, then waste a day taking a test.
The other problem is how is a test supposed to be a judgement on a teacher when so many factors play into a test-takers score. The smartest student in the grade might fail a test because he or she got no sleep the night before because their parents were fighting. The day of the test, there might have been nothing in the house for breakfast and they had no way of getting food. When they did finally get to school late, they are more concerned about their hunger and their parents then what the answer to question 32 is so they just leave it blank. Should the teacher get judged because the student didn't do well? Also, supposedly, the tests will reflect on that year's teacher, but education is cumulative. A student has been influenced from the first day of kindergarten. If the third grade teacher was lax when teaching sentence structure, the seventh grade grammar test is going to be more difficult because that knowledge was built on a shaky foundation. Ideally, the subsequent teachers would strengthen the faulty knowledge. But if a student feels like they have learned the information and can not see its relevance, they are not motivated to relearn it. So should the seventh grade teacher be judged because of a faulty third grade teacher and a lack of motivation on the student's part? Most importantly to me, if a teacher knows the test outcome is critical to his or her success, they are more likely to teach to the test. But the answers to life's questions are not A, B, C, D or all of the above. By teaching to a specific set of questions, we are not teaching the students to think critically. We are shackling their natural tendencies to ask questions and to be curious. We are denying them a broad education in content and analytical thinking in favor of someone keeping their job. Ultimately, we are risking our students' ability to compete in the global workforce.
There is another way. Part of the solution means returning to the times when teachers were respected for their profession and supported by the parents. If a student knows that behavior in school has consequences at home, not consequences for the teacher, they might be less likely to misbehave. That frees the teacher to teach, not fill out paperwork. Parents should get to know their children's teachers. Study after study says that a strong parent-teacher relationship leads to better students. Not everyone has to join the PTA, just a phone call or attending parent-teacher conferences can be enough. Administrators should become more involved with the teachers. Many principals have no idea what is going on in the schools because they have too much paperwork to tend. They need to spend time each day stopping in classrooms, roaming the halls, supporting the teachers in front of the students. When teachers feel they have the support of their administrators, they are more likely to do a better job.
Ranking teachers based on a standardized test is a bad idea. If parents want to know what the teachers are like, they should get to know them individually. If schools want to know if they have good teachers, the administrators should get to know the teachers. It is not as easy as looking at test results, but it is more effective and better for the school environment. Ultimately, it would foster better teachers. Isn't that what we are after in the first place?
