EduBlog Insights

An article, Standardized tests can send students who fail into a tailspin, from the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle (NY) features a principal arguing for testing reform. Hear! Hear! Our insanity about testing really is one our biggest obstacles in transforming education. It does my soul good to hear a principal speaking out. Some points he makes:

• The purpose of testing should be to help students grow academically, not to coerce higher test performances through public scrutiny and humiliation. We need more authentic valid assessments. Volumes of research prove that subjective teacher assessment is a much more accurate predictor of student success than any single standardized test score.
• Test writers construct standardized tests for the purpose of creating a wide range of scores, with roughly half scoring above average and the other half below.
• Standardized test scores do not tell how well schools are preparing students as citizens and leaders. Characteristics such as leadership, perseverance, listening skills and compassion are far more accurate predictors of success. Standardized tests can’t measure that.
• The emphasis on high-stakes standardized testing is creating a culture of failure among many students.
• Students who are poor, who are from English-as-a-second language families, who have special education needs, who desire to have a vocational education or who have unique interests or learning styles, have suffered under the one-size-fits-all.

Dan Drmacich says if you agree you should voice you concerns to school district officials, state and federal representatives.

This is an area where we need to do much more. Add to the obstacles wiki any links that will help us fight this. We need to do more than just speak to school officials and state and federal reps. Let’s collect a bank of data and break out of the blogs and take back our jobs of teaching. Yes we want accountability but assessment needs to come from a variety of sources. A while back Chris Lehmann posted here and referred us to Classroom Assessment: A Brave New World by Dr. Douglas D. Christensen.

The culture of high stakes testing is toxic. It not only takes the oxygen out of the work, it also makes all the wrong things important, as if they are the right things. For example, high stakes testing treats students, teachers and data as “commodities” to be manipulated as variables in some kind of strange economy or in some perverse experiment. In addition, I believe high stakes testing freezes the current system in place treating current practice as if it is good practice and practice that should be continued even though the whole point of accountability is to improve the system where a lot of current practice does not work. High stakes testing standardizes the current schooling model assuming it can work for all students, in all settings and under all conditions and we know that it does not and we know that it cannot. High stakes testing prevents the very innovation we should be encouraging.

Dr. Christensen nails assessment down to the correct place - in our classrooms with our teachers.

Some of my previous posts on this topic:

A Comment on High Stakes Testing

Maria on Testing

Picture Tomorrow’s Schools

Questions to Answer

Challenge High-Stakes Testing

More on High-Stakes Testing

I’m probably not done posting. This is one of our biggest obstacles to overcome!

A very good teacher friend asked me to answer some questions for an instructional technology class she is taking. The questions are centered around being an “exemplary change agent” and change management in education. They are tough. I thought I’d share my answers and would more than welcome any input from other edubloggers. This might be good to add to the “overcoming obstacles” wiki.

1. Respond to this quote: “Change is complex; everyone is an agent of change” How are you an “agent of change”, and why do you think this is important?

Change is complex because many factors are involved. It can occur slowly or fast. Change can be a little or it can be a lot There is no pat answer as to how to effect change. There is not always agreement on what is successful change. So defining “successful” change is difficult, especially in education.

Change has many facets and can occur when you least expect it. A change agent is someone who causes change and that could be intentionally or unintentionally.

I try to be an “agent of change” by blogging about changes I think are important in education. I also try to model the use of technology that puts our students in the center and in a place where their voice is heard as they learn to be effective communicators. I try to be open and flexible to avenues that open around me to share aspects of learning and technology that I believe will benefit our students and educators. I think this is important because we are in a period of massive change in our culture. We need to be working together to create a new culture of learning and teaching.
2, Why is change important in education?

Change is important because of our current outmoded paradigm of education. Traditional models of education are built around the teacher being the expert and the one that dispenses knowledge to students. Curriculum is delivered mainly through the lecture mode. We are teaching from textbooks that in many cases are outdated as they go to print. This has to change before technology can realize its promise. The fact that we are networked and connected to virtually all the written knowledge in the world and have it available in our classrooms and homes requires that we embrace and define a new definition of literacy in our digital age. We have to understand how to use it in our schools.

Another major problem is our current high stakes testing requirements that are the main basis, really the only basis, currently for evaluation of learning and teaching. Teachers will never be motivated to embrace technology if their evaluation is based on test results that don’t give any value on how to access, evaluate, analyze, and synthesize vast quantities of information. Yet, these literacy skills are the very ones we need to be teaching and learning in this informational age. An outdated educational system and a method of evaluation that promotes the continuation of that system have to be changed before technology can ever begin to realize its potential.

In addition, the limited staff development available in schools has focused on the computer, not technology’s role in learning and teaching. We do not have the support systems in place for educators to begin reconceptualizing their role to enable learning with the aid of technology. There is no priority in place to provide teachers the time to develop an understanding of how technology can transform the way we teach and learn.

The traditional teaching model must be revamped where the lecture mode is not predominant and critical thinking and application is the desired outcome, not regurgitation of facts. Educators need to be involved in designing this kind of learning. We need to work with colleagues, both in our school buildings and beyond. We need chances to learn from one another’s successes and failures and to share ideas and knowledge worldwide. Students need the same opportunities for learning through these connections. How we access, use, and communicate information is changing daily. We have to be stakeholders inng process. learning process.
3.Many people are resistant to change. How can change, whether with the curriculum, staff turnover, etc, be most effectively managed?

Change can most effectively be managed if leaders create a safe place to talk about what needs to change and why. A vision needs to be developed. Information from many sources should be collected and discussed. Educators need to be treated as professionals and their opinions valued. Leaders need to foster environments where educators can talk openly and candidly about real issues. Information needs to flow freely and the environment needs to be one where teachers can continually learn. Time for this needs to be a priority. The same safe environment needs to be available for students. Hearing the voices of the students will help. The message for all should stay focused on what works for the learning, a focus on the big picture and giving the stakeholders real ownership in creating solutions. Show models instead of lecturing. Continued reflection on the process by all is important.
4.How do you implement change when you feel it is needed? For example, if you want to implement a new program, teaching strategy, or activity, how would you go about it?

First, I would recognize professionally and publicly the excellence that currently exists in the teaching group.
Foster collegiality and teamwork.
I would try to make a clear and compelling case for what I am trying to implement.
Provide models that would show them results rather than just telling them.
Build in collaboration and reflection from stakeholders that is valued and discussed.

5.What leadership qualities are crucial during transitional times? How can effective leaders make change easier and positive for all those involved?

• Model the changes and behavoirs the leader wants to promote
• Make a clear and compelling case for the change
• Create a postitive climate of trust and openness
• Secure needed resources
• Provide time for learning how about if we took the time spent for tests and
• Good communication skills.
• Visionary outlook

Read Lani Ritter Hall’s post on No Child Left Behind–One Size Does Not fit All!. She has an excellent write-up. She also pointed to Chirs Lehman’s post which is right on target. I’m headed over to the site to add my signature.

What a warm way to end a wonderful Thanksgiving. The K12 Online Conference 2006 organizers sent an e-card and a video to all presenters.Thank you Lani, Darren, Sheryl and Wes! What fun! It was great to see their faces too! I am still enjoying the presentations from the conference. Even more fun!
Wes has shared some of his reflections from the conference. Read his entire post but I second his thoughts on the shift needed at all educational conferences.  Let’s write those conference evaluations and include this! Well said, Wes!

The 2006 K-12 Online conference will hopefully represent a basic shift in the way ideas and information changes hands at educational conferences. If the goal of educational conferences is to truly share ideas and make learning opportunities more accessible for learners located anywhere on the planet, I think it should follow that all the presentations at educational conferences should be made available as downloadable podcasts after each conference. In the spirit of “open content” (www.wtvi.com/teks/06_07_articles/ethic-open-digital-content.html) these materials should be offered as free downloads. When possible, presentations should be pre-recorded and made available to conference attendees in advance. When this presentation model is followed, interactive face-to-face discussions can take place at the actual conference about ideas that presenters have shared in advance via downloadable presentations. Hopefully we will see more educational conferences in the future follow these ideas which were modeled so well in K-12 Online! 

Over at Blogical Minds Mrs. C is trying out a new way to foster better proofreading by the students. The teacher prepared podcasts of their stories as written and posted this on the class blog:

I see your writing as a good start because you have your preliminary ideas on the blog. Now we need to do an initial proofing of your stories. This is something we need to talk about a bit. If you are proof-reading with only your eyes your writing may seem to flow and be OK. I think many times we read it as we are thinking it should sound and don’t always catch errors. What do you think? Sometimes those little bumps and hurdles that the eye does not catch can show up when you proof by reading aloud and listening. Let’s have a little fun today. I am going to do a podcast of each one of your stories. Then you will listen and we’ll all give feedback on this process.

Questions to think about:

• Does my story flow?
• Does it make sense?
• Is it sounding like I thought I had written it?
• Is reading aloud a good way to proof my work?
• Would I have read it the same way?
• Can punctuation help? How?
• Did misspellings change my meanings? How can I look out for that?

The students are on Thanksgiving break now but I look forward to seeing how this works out when they return. Next time the students can make the podcasts. What do you think? Any other proofreading techniques you’ve used that you’d like to share?

Don’t forget to make your nominations for the Third International Edublog Awards. Josie Fraser states so well the issues surrounding us:

Learners and educators still however face difficult issues around network restrictions, around data protection and ownership, and around commercial protectionism. This year has also seen a marked increase in hostility towards social networking sites in the US, demonstrating a widespread lack of appreciation of the informal and formal educational value of user-centered applications.

The Edublog awards are more relevant than ever in this climate – a space for us to refocus the debate surrounding young peoples use of technology as irresponsible, dangerous or illegal, and look at the positive, powerful and transformative work which continues to be demonstrated.

These awards are an effort to recognize the world of educational blogging and let us celebrate the good work of all. Join in on the spirit of this being a recogniton of educational bloggers worldwide!

Current edubloggers are invited to make a maximum of two nominations per category. Nominations are open from 8 November to 30 November. Email your nominations to the awards address: 2006awards@googlemail.com

The most popular, eligible nominations in each category will be available to vote on from 2 December to 14 December. Winners will be announced live at a special broadcast awards ceremony currently scheduled for 15 December 1500 GMT.

I’d like to say a special thank you with a tip of the blogging hat to Josie Fraser and James Farmer for all they do to promote excellence in the educational use of social software. they’re the best!