Her introduction included the idea that all movements for
change were led by citizens fed up with the status quo. People have used
peaceful protest to bring attention to injustice. A country is only as strong
as the people who make it up.
One of the challenges currently facing schools is that a
school used to lead to an opportunity for economic equality. Now zip code
determines educational opportunity and so schools are no longer the tool for
economic growth. How do we provide children with equal opportunity to learn?
How do we ensure a sound basic education as required by the Campaign for Fiscal
Equality lawsuit which wrapped up in 2006? She introduced four priorities of the regents in order to
address the needs of students in New York.
Effective teachers and principals. Student funding formulas
need to support this ideal. She highlighted that in times of economic crisis,
teachers are blamed. She admits that ineffective teachers should be removed. That
being said only a small number of teachers are truly ineffective. The number of
new teachers entering the field is low- we need to identify how to recruit new
good teachers. This can be done through improved conditions. If we have an
evaluation system whose purpose is to fire teachers, it strangles teachers.
High stakes tests deteriorate classroom performance. Knowing this and knowing
the mandate to alter the evaluation system to be 50% test based and 50%
observation based, we need to look at the system for evaluation. Our 3-8 ELA and math tests are
not valid or reliable for assessing teacher performance. The current moratorium
on using student data for teacher assessment does not stop data recording and
sharing with the public or the deadline for adjusted APPR. A group of Regents
were identified by the others as a “gang” of 6 because they called the regents,
education department and the governor on turning a deaf ear to the research and
needs of teachers and students. There is no money in the governor’s budget proposal for
looking at APPR.
Assessment system adjustments. The United States uses
more testing than any other industrialized nation. High performance on state
tests is not equal to achievement. Tests do not improve performance. [I once ran into
a description like this: if we want kids to jump higher, merely raising the bar
will not improve their standing high jump.] Regent Johnson proposed assessment
through multiple measures: personalized, competency based tests and portfolios
that allow demonstration of problem solving, curiosity, critical thinking,
imagination, and respect. We need a research based system rather than parachute
decision making- decisions that just drop from the sky. We need to look at reducing the time spent on standardized, multiple choice tests and increase assessment that reflect "soft" 21st century skills- problem solving, creativity, and compassion. She affirmed that throwing out standardized multiple choice tests is not the plan, but balancing them with portfolios and other measures.
Learning Standards- Aim High New York. In the early
1990s Dr. Johnson worked in a district that was involved in an innovative attempt
to use increase rigor through higher standards. They learned that this was a long term project in which
professional development was included, and collaboration between team members
was essential including those related to the arts. Multi-subject projects were a key component of the experiment. The approach worked. Sadly, the Common Core State
Standards ignored the lessons learned from that movement.
The achievement gap is a serious concern. It is related to
race and economic isolation. Our lowest performing schools are schools in areas
of high poverty. Poverty leads to a loss of hope and a feeling of hopelessness.
Trauma, and the incidence of trauma is higher in areas of high poverty, results
in decreased academic performance. This leads to depressed performance BUT not
all poor children are poor achievers. We need to figure out how to make public
schools be the tool for economic advancement. In order for this to happen we
need to do what the governor’s commission suggested- reevaluate the state
standards. Unfortunately, there is no money in the governor’s proposal for this
work.
We need academic prompts to be mindful of student lives. We
need to acknowledge that trauma and poverty experiences impact mindset. No one
wants to be poor. 6 out of 10 children born into poverty are adults in poverty.
In the early twentieth century, schools were the cradle of hope. Are they
today? Schools are not about passing a test, but about problem solving and preparation
for effective citizenship and caring people. We need to ask what kind of people
do we want our students to become? What kind of lives do we want them to live
and what kind of society do we want them to create. If it is all about passing
the tests, it will not be about cultivating common good and adapting to
changing circumstances. School is the only dynamic institution that is shared
across our country and unites most Americans. It is time to revisit the purpose
of public education.
State Aid. The regents have proposed the need for 2.2-2.4
billion additional dollars of school aid as opposed to the governor’s roughly 994 million dollar
proposal. The governor’s proposal does not fund many of the things he wants
done. It does include funds for 3 year old preschool, but has not fully funded
4 year old preschool or even kindergarten. It does not include increased aid
for struggling schools, especially in the form of professional development. It
does not cover the transfer to digital learning, family community engagement, vocational
training or multiple pathways to graduation. There is plenty of room available for adjustments in order to meet the needs of our children and society.
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