Many educators and parents are petrified because they know that high-stakes standardized tests don’t measure real learning and result all too frequently in narrowed curriculum, cheating and a climate of fear. And linking student test scores to teachers’ grades is plain unfair, given that teachers don’t control most of the factors that go into how a student is prepared to take a test on any given day.
Of course the tests don't actually measure learning, and students regularly blow off the tests. By the way, it isn't only standardized (or norm-referenced) tests that are the problem but also CRTs, which seek to measure a student's performance against state or school district benchmarks for different grade levels and subject areas. Ostensibly they are supposed to be more "fair," but the same problems can happen as with the norm-referenced Iowa or Stanford Achievement tests.
The first comment says it all:
As I posed earlier regarding a different article, the reason why the Charlottes-Mecklenburg schools are going testing crazy is that the superintendent of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools is Peter Gorman, who is a Broad Superintendent Academy alum.
Anyone who knows about the Broad Foundation knows that it pushes a corporate business-model approach to school "reform." It wrongly ties the "economic competitiveness" of the U.S. to student test scores. The Broad Foundation touts "competition" like charters and vouchers.
Gorman is one of those education "leaders" who has very, very limited teaching experience himself.
He recently told the Charlotte are Board of Realtors that standardized tests were, in fact, "scientific." Apparently he doesn't know very much about assessment.
He also told the Board of Realtors that "The teachers from Teach for America – a program that puts recent college graduates who didn’t major in education
into the classroom for two years – is one of our best sources of energetic, effective teachers." Apparently he hasn't read very much of the research on Teach for America teachers.
Gorman is one of those suck-ups who applauds Arne Duncan at every opportunity. He praises Race to the Top. He drools over Bill Gates and he lauds the Broad Foundation. And he seeks and takes their money.
Gorman is a guy who fancies himself a "leader" but who simply follows the corporate business-model "reform" crowd. He as stated that in the Charlotte schools, "We will link pay to performance and create standards that are rigorous and explicit to measure effectiveness. " And, continues Gorman, "we
will consider their [teacher] input ." How noble of him
Apparently Gorman is also not well-acquainted with the research on pay for performance (merit pay) either. Indeed, if a school system or organization were go ing to implement such a pay system the very first critical requirement is that it be designed and administered with the direct cooperation and consent of those it will affect.
Gorman cites that conservative canard (think Eric Hanushek) that having a "great teacher" three or four years in a row eliminates the "achievement gap." You don't have to do anything about poverty or motivation or parenting or any other social problems...the teacher can and will fix it all. But it just isn't true.
Gorman is a "leader" who slobbers when he talks about Teach for America. He's been criticized for laying off veteran teachers in the Charlotte schools while hiring TFA teachers, and he vows to continue that policy. Gorman calls his administrators his "boots on the ground for identifying and rewarding excellence." and while he says teachers will be involved in developing value-added evaluations , it appears that the work comes mostly from the Gates Foundation and a small in-house group of top aides.
Gorman is a self-aggrandizer who claims he'll "lead the way" to education "reform."
But he seems to be "leading" from behind.
You're not kidding.
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