In the middle of this discussion on how to really help MCAT students, the New York Times drops this article on how much a good kindergarten teacher is actually worth.
This is too rich a topic to interrupt the discussion, so I'll keep my comments brief and let my readers do the unpacking. First, does anyone really think that standardized test scores are a good way to measure student progress? If the folks in the Obama administration are really interested in improving public education, start by coming up with a better metric. I'd suggest testing for creativity, but I think the irony of the suggestion might be lost on those who insist on sticking by standardized tests.
Which leads me to the second and last thing I want to say. Nothing is more important to our country's future than the quality of our children's education. Of all the things academics are trying to do, how about some of them follow this study's lead and really try to probe the value of good teachers at all levels, the value of various class sizes, of having computer training for elementary school students (I'm guessing negative value) and so on? Then, and I know it is a lot to ask, perhaps we could have an informed discourse on the proper spending levels for public schools.
I've never been the smartest person in the room. I never applied myself in school. But I could do reasonably well on standardized testing. Where did that get me in the long-run? Only a label based on a cold piece of paper. Teaching always seemed to rely too much on straight line, in the box thinking. From my perspective if you could derive at correct answers in unorthodox ways (while showing the validity of such ways) you weren't rewarded, you were chastised for doing it differently instead of being rewarded for being right. Which isn't always the ultimate goal in school, but often seemed to be in the instances where it happened to me...
ReplyDelete-- Dave