But here's the thing: It won't fail. It can't fail. The system is rigged to guarantee that no one will look at the data honestly.
If you make an entire teaching staff across a district (or an entire state) use a specific practice and it fails, you can always claim that the failure was due in large part to the lack of follow-through. The solution is more accountability and more rigor. If the teaching staff succeeds on any type of achievement scores, you can call it a success and increase the accountability and rigor.
Either way, when something is introduced and it makes no sense, there is hardly any chance for anyone to point out the failure and move on. So when kids still can't read at the end of third grade, don't be surprised if the results is less professional autonomy in the name of accountability and rigor.
The conspiracy theorist in me thinks this is a plot to get rid of experienced teachers and replace them. First, with new teachers they don't have to pay very much, and when those new teachers fail, with people who can simply proctor while those students sit at a computer all day and take classes. That way the taxpayers "save" money while a corporation makes money.
ReplyDeleteI'm usually not right, though.
Well, there was the school in Rhode Island where they fired every teacher.
DeleteI think you hit the nail on the head here... It is like daylight savings time. We still do it because ?? no one knows how to stop it? Data shows? it works? it does not work?
ReplyDeleteHa ha! I love the daylight saving's time reference! Here in Arizona, we actually get that one right.
Deleteit's so simple and so true... and so scary
ReplyDeleteSometimes it feels that way.
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