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Expectations, Freedoms, and Limitations of Technology Classroom Flyer

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Expectations, Freedoms, and Limitations of Technology Classroom Flyer

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Taking Care Of & Storing Classroom Technology Flyer

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Taking Care Of & Storing Classroom Technology Flyer

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"Test Performance Does not an Educational Leader Make!" by Dr. Scott Taylor explores the issue of standardized testing and how it is used to judge the success of the school, its leaders and its teachers. While these tests are acknowledged as a way to assess a students progress, the argument is made that this should be only one way of doing so and there are other valid ways that should be considered as well.  This blog argues that there are important things to consider outside of test scores such as the creative ways one problem solves.  The blog concludes with the statement that judgement should be made on a variety of factors and not solely on the test scores of students.

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It's too easy to measure an educational leader's success by looking myopically at students' performance on test scores. It seems like policymakers and education laypeople take the easy way out when they look to what they believe is the most concrete measure of student achievement and consider success based on standardized test scores.

I have been struggling to reconcile my core belief that standardized test scores are a poor measure of school and teacher success with the way society looks at me as an educational leader. I work hard to help my teachers, principals, and supervisors support student preparation for standardized tests because I know we will all be judged by assessment results. But why should my success be based mostly on how well my students do on the tests and perceivably how well the teachers have prepared the students for those tests? The PARCC and other standardized assessments are validly one measure of a child's progress, but many distinguished educational scholars rightly make a compelling case for the high value of using multiple measures to judge student progress (read senior research associate in the School of Education at Duquesne University Susan Brookhart's excellent ASCD article about this subject by clicking here).

I want to be measured by other means. Perhaps my ability to address the needs of all learners by creating specialized programs is something people could use to measure me? Maybe my work to communicate with all the stakeholders should be an indication of my success? Shouldn't the myriad ways I engage members of the local community in the decision-making process be considered an example of my ability to lead effectively?

Educational leadership is not a "black and white" enterprise- it is a craft that requires an individual to see the world in myriad "colors" that calls for all kinds of creative solutions to problems and different approaches to relating to people with divergent personalities and attitudes. Leaders should be judged according to their ability to effectively help the community they serve grow socially, emotionally, and academically and not only by their capability to get their students to perform well on tests.

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Test Performance Does not an Educational Leader Make!

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It's too easy to measure an educational leader's success by looking myopically at students' performance on test scores. It seems like policymakers and education laypeople take the easy way out when they look to what they believe is the most concrete measure of student achievement and consider success based on standardized test scores.

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Standardized tests are used nation wide and are used to pass judgement and make decisions on a myriad of important subjects (such as teacher, principle, school, curriculum and student success). Decisions based on scores effect employment, school scores and government funding. While there is validity to the tests and its ability to represent student knowledge and growth, I must agree with Dr. Taylor in that there are so many other equally valid ways we must consider using for educational assessments. Current educational institutions must recognize the importance of these tests while also assuring that students are being taught in creative and relevant ways. The importance of student learning being meaningful can not be undervalued, nor can it be represented or measured on a standardized test.

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As a current and future educator and a lifelong child advocate this article was an important read and helped to solidify my feelings about standardized testing. I recall my years teaching math at a Title I school and how I was instructed to "teach to the test" and focus on "bubble kids" (i.e. students who were right on the edge of proficiency). This nearly turned me off teaching until I found so many others, like Dr. Taylor, that also see the importance of creative and meaningful lessons and the validity of teacher-student-community relationships.  Of course it is important to assure students will do well on standardized tests as they are currently so highly valued, but doing so doesn't have to take away from the implementation of meaningful and creative lessons/learning strategies.