At 03:01 PM 1/10/2013, Domenico Rosa wrote:
In my opinion, Michelle Rhee
should have promoted the hugely successful teaching methods used in the
schools that are operated in Chicago led Marva Collins. Instead, Rhee
focused on fraudulent "mastery" test scores.
I do not disagree with your suggestion on the importance of sensible
classroom standards of behavior, instructional materials, and sound
teaching but Rhee's focus on the importance and validity of standardized
test scores is not misguided; it is by far the best we have on a global
scale that correlates very well with future success in math-based studies
which, in turn, correlates very well with general education success and,
one step further, correlates very well with upward mobility through
education for kids who need it most. I am sure that she did not
want, let alone encourage, fraudulent manipulation of the DC schools'
student performance but, if she turned a blind eye instead of applying a
hawk eye, she deserves to be criticized but not to dump her efforts in DC
and elsewhere. Some formula for people other than the teachers of
their same classes overseeing external testing needs to be employed and
principals who are confirmed of such flagrant cheating should be
dismissed and blacklisted from employment as principals anywhere as is
done with disbarred lawyers.
In contrast to traditional assessment and from one of the follow-up
postings, Adell Cothorne regurgitated some of the education assessment
idiocy supporting her criticism of Rhee's: focus on improving test
scores:
- "And you’ve got to get it [test score improvement]. So children
who need a little more processing time, children who may be able to give
you the idea, but they have to write a song about it, or they have to
create a picture about, (but) … when the rubber meets the road, it’s not
about differentiation at the end of the day. That teacher is judged on,
‘What scores did those children get on that test?’ And that test doesn’t
look at, ‘Could you sing the information?’ or ‘Could you create a poem?’
It looks at, ‘Could you write a short essay and could you bubble in the
right answer?’ So that has been the focus. How do they pass that test?
Not ‘Did they learn anything?’ but ‘Are they able to pass numerous
tests?’ "
The PBS ombudsman's assessment of the program is worth a read:
http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/2013/01/michelle_rhee_reformer_zealot_both_or_somethi.html
Wayne