Dec
3
Written by:
Dan Maas
12/3/2008
Whenever I get faced with the question "What are we doing to fix our education system," I struggle because I don't consider it to be broken. I personally believe, and the data shows, that our education system in the United States is doing better for more kids than ever before. Now that doesn't mean that we are doing well enough, but let's give credit where credit is due. Afterall, I can recall my days in high school back in the 80's when the "Nation at Risk" report came out telling us that kids graduating at the time were functionally illiterate and doom was coming to the United States because of our education system. And I recall at the time wondering where all the illiterate seniors were because I didn't know a single one... and since that time, we have seen the spark of the greatest intellectual revolution in human history powered by the innovation, skills and know-how of the United States. While unemployment is now on the rise due to tough economic times, we are still at around 6.5%... not bad for an information economy where the premium for literacy has never been higher. Heck, literacy has never been anywhere near as important to gainful employment as it is today. Seems our broken school system isn't doing too badly... we just know we can do even better.
The TIMMS report is a function of the National Center for Educational Statistics and is a genuine authority on education performance. TIMMS stands for Trends in International Math and Science Study and is due for a release next week. The power of the Internet means that leaks can end up anywhere and I got a tip from a friend that the report will reveal the following:
1. The Institute for Management Development rates the U. S. #1 in global competitiveness.
2. The World Economic Forum ranks the U. S. #1 in global competitiveness.
3. The U. S. has the most productive workforce in the world. (www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=160.
4. "The fact is that test-score comparisons tell us little about the quality of education in any country." (Iris Rotberg, Education Week June 11, 2008).
5. "That the U. S., the world's top economic performing country, was found to have schooling attainments that are only middling casts fundamental doubts on the value, and approach, of these surveys." British economist, S. J. Prais, PISA According to PISA, p. 154 (a terrible title since the chapters, all by European researchers, severely criticize PISA).
Don't believe it? Here are some links:
http://www.competitivealternatives.com/highlights/noncost.html
http://www.weforum.org/en/initiatives/gcp/Global%20Competitiveness%20Report/index.htm
EdWeek
These points underscore the question I have about using testing as the sole, unassailable measuring stick for education's effectiveness. If the tests are showing us to be lagging, and have done so now for decades, why are the products of public education (our graduates) so darned competitive? Maybe the tests don't quite tell us the whole story? Maybe tests tell stories other than what we think they tell us? Wake Forest, along with a growing trend of universities, has made the ACT/SAT test an optional element in their admissions process. Why? Because research is showing that high standardized test scores are more predictive of family income than college readiness. Further, the research is showing that the high school GPA is a better independent predictor of college readiness than the standardized tests!
No wonder! A test represents an interaction with a student for a few hours... a grade from a teacher represents hundreds of hours of interaction. Now don't get me wrong... I'm not advocating the elimination of testing. I'm just saying let's not over-estimate what tests tell us. This kind of research gives me confidence in the Performance Index that our Learning Services department, led by Connie Bouwman, has implemented for our achievement goals in LPS. Our Achievement Goal is to have 90% of all students on or above grade level by 2010-2012. Our measurement is a combination of standardized testing (CSAP), formative common assessments (MAP) and teacher grades. This reflects our belief that our teachers do a good job and generally know how well prepared their students are for their next level of education. It also reflects our belief that while we must attend to the test, we should be careful not to make the test the sole indicator of positive educational improvement in our schools.
All this supports my firm belief that our system of education is not only the most equitable system in the world, but is the most effective too!
But being on the right track does not mean license to stand still. A 21st Century education is high-tech and highly digital. It is free from the old barriers of time and space (see Mike Rudolph's (Heritage HS) physics class with kids from Center, Colorado). Information is a self-service industry available 24-7-365 (see Brian Hatak's (Arapahoe HS) article on how he has ejected the lecture from his class-time). Writing is no longer hampered by the tedium of rewrites and procedural requirements (see the powering up writing project). Citizenship is no longer defined by local, state and national borders. And publishing is no longer the domain of the elite, but is now the power of the people. Check out our web page with links on these and more topics for teachers...
How many of our classrooms fit the new bill? Not enough. How has education funding from the federal and state level changed to meet the new demands that do carry new costs? Well, this last question borders on political speech, so you be the judge...
That's the work ahead, folks. Let's get going...
1 comment(s) so far...
Re: But we kinda knew that...
"The fact is that test-score comparisons tell us little about the quality of education in any country." (Iris Rotberg, Education Week June 11, 2008).
I couldn't agree more with that. Take for example, the C-SAP test. They give funding out to the schools that get the highest test scores, while the other schools with the lower test scores suffer. Say for example that AHS gets an average score of...95%. And HHS only gets 94% and LHS gets 75%. AHS will get the most funds, while HHS gets a little funding, and LHS gets next to nothing in terms of enough to get new text books or something. But here's the thing, if last year AHS had the same scores, HHS had about the same scores, and LHS was at a 78%, the fundings should go to LHS because they're scores are going down, while AHS and HHS scores are staying about the same. Yet, it doesn't work that way. Plus, taking the C-SAP last year, I felt like I was taking the same test I took back in 8th grade. It's challenge level seems to be going down, not up. And at school, I want to be challenged. What's the whole point of staying in school if you're not going to learn anything new?
In general, I agree, our educational system is great, but just like people, there are always exceptions that need to be deal with individualy because not everyone can bend and twist the same way.
By Daniel Graham on
12/11/2008
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