Perspective Check RE: Jones Feeder Pattern Comments

My last blog praised Secretary Duncan for pushing back against the blame game after a comment that was leveled by one of the varsity players in HISD Education Politics. In my efforts to identify an alternative to just blaming teachers I reviewed the Jones feeder pattern data for any blaring facts we should be focusing on. Here is what I found:

1. EVERY elementary school in the feeder pattern is Exemplary or Recognized- Alcott El, Cornelius, Golfcrest, Kelso, Seguin are all Exemplary under the state standards. Brookline, Garden Villas, and Gregg are recognized. Hartman was acceptable under the state accountablility ratings. ALL schools met Adequate Yearly Progress for the past 3 years.

2. Attendance rates seemed to decline overall as students matriculated to the next level.

3. Schools (obviously) and class sizes increased while parental participation decreased.

Now, does being exemplary or recognized mean that all students are reading on grade level? Of course not, however the discrepancy between the top accountability ratings at these schools and the 80-90% off grade level when they hit HS is enough to make you go, huh??

Does anyone else notice a problem here? How can a school have such high rankings if kids are off grade level? Is there a problem with the accountability system? Think we've established that. I think there are some other factors at play here that need to be addressed and haven't been included in any accountability system. Enter points 2 and 3 above.

Exactly how many times can a student be caught skipping class before the negative EVAAS rating is used to hold the student accountable and not the teacher? Oh, Wait a minute??? The only accountability measures they have included is withholding graduation-- the very thing we are trying to accomplish so that schools can be recognized for the work that they do. They still went to prom last week, didn't they teachers? We have all been frustrated when the sob story is used to overrule consequences for behavior or failure to attempt to perform...

Our education system has always done the parent involvement thing backwards. The overwhelming level of parent involvement happens at the elementary level when the greatest need is between grades 8 and 10. Kids are vulnerable at this age and have a tendency to get lost. Get them to 11th grade on time and they are likely to finish. If they are driving to MS, then we have a problem. Yet larger class sizes and less parental involvement seem to be the norm. I wish our schools would require that commitment contract from students and parents starting in 6th grade. If we can get them through 10th, then we can let them start developing more autonomy and making more adult decisions.

The job of our elected school board should be to take the lead on policies that we know work, instead of using the cane approach on just the teachers. We are on the wrong track and no one seems to get it. Until we do the hard work to lay out those policy alternatives that will matter and find people with the courage to implement them, things will only get worse.

Get involved in your next school board election. If every member tithed 20 bucks a year and committed to volunteering 3 hours of time we would have $284,000.00 and 887.5 days worth of volunteer time to make the changes we know will positively impact our schools, our students and our communities. Is that really too much to ask?

Post Script-- At the last HISD Board meeting Ms. Harris stated that she supports teachers and the statement that she made came out wrong. I, for one, believe that she didn't mean the statements to come across the way they did. She has actually done things through actions not just words to support teachers and help bring in programs to help you do your jobs--- However words matter. Maybe she has been spending too much time around some of the other board members that I would have naturally expected to hear teacher-bashing from. Members e-mailed me multiple copies of the video prior to my blog proving that people do listen to what our school leaders say and why we need to make sure what we say is what we mean. I've had to learn that lesson my own way here recently on another matter. You keep watching and make up your own mind!

Snaps for the Secretary of Education

It is no secret that I have been critical of the Dept of Ed regarding their policies that seem to solely blame teachers for chronically failing schools. However, I also have a duty to give credit where credit is due and the Secretary deserves a HIGH 5 for his rebuke of our school leaders choosing to play the blame game. He certainly got a front row seat to view the philosophy of education in HISD.

HISD published a clip of the video where at about 8min and 40sec into the clip our District 4 Board Member blamed the middle and elementary teachers in the Jones feeder pattern for the 80-90% of students that were not on grade level in reading. Further, she went so far as to advocate inciting outrage and picketing (something I thought we were always blamed for) against those teachers and their schools.

The response from the Secretary was notably humane as he rightly pointed out that the blame game doesn't help students succeed. We ALL have a responsibility to ensure that our kids are successful, including the kids themselves. HISD consistently points the finger at teachers, as evidenced by Harris’ remarks. The question is then how to HUMANELY hold teachers, students, parents, the District, community and state responsible for doing their part? No system can be successful when appropriate parameters aren't defined and enforced for all the responsible parties within said system. No matter how exceptional the engine, my truck won't run if the tires don't do their job..

We take our kids the way they come to us. We can't change them, their parents or our communities out as easily as I can change my tires or HISD thinks it can change out our teachers. Who would want to come teach in HISD under the type of philosophy that we have seen evolve here over the past few years? I bet a few people realize how penny wise and pound foolish they may be when that large cadre of dedicated career teachers in HISD decides to stay home for good. Most mid-career teachers already intend to bail for suburb jobs closer to home at their first opportunity.

Maybe we can change out the Board if we all decide to work together (and not for retreads of the same failed model). It is certainly going to take more than just a few of us, so get involved.

Check out the video yourself:
http://www.houstonisd.org/HISDConnectDS/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=67377dbbacd68210VgnVCM10000028147fa6RCRD&vgnextchannel=9339e02e91b23110VgnVCM10000028147fa6RCRD

Grier says we are dragging students backwards.

From the HISD public website:

"If scores show that a teacher is actually dragging students backwards academically year after year, I expect principals to take this information very seriously. We simply can't allow teachers who consistently struggle—despite our best efforts to support them—to continue teaching. And we can't afford to wait to use all the information that is available to us. The stakes are too high for our students." - Terry B. Grier, Ed.D., Superintendent of Schools (highlight by me)

We will acknowledge that some students grow at a slower rate than others. The superintendent claims that teachers are "dragging students backward" that they know less coming out than going in. He then states that these teachers will be fired even if the administration does not know all the facts. We need to keep the pressure up. We can't allow these types of statements to be left unchallenged. Contact your board members. Make them either live with their decisions or do something to correct them.

Andy Dewey
Executive Vice-President, HFT

DATA AND RESEARCH IMPORTANT, EXCEPT WHEN IT COMES TO FIRING TEACHERS

Last week I testified before the HISD School Boardprotesting the use of EVAAS scores as a measure by which teachers would lose their jobs. My reasoning is not because I don't think teachers need to be accountable for student learning, but because I find it hard to be a hypocrite. We talk about the need for research-based solutions that are quantifiable, replicable and valid. The EVAAS model meets none of the above stated measures.

Here is a reprint of my remarks--

Ross, Stringfield, Sanders, and Wright argue that summative uses of EVAAS data in isolation from other indicators of effectiveness would be negligent, especially if high stakes are attached to the results. Well, you don’t get any higher stakes than holding student’s back or firing teachers based on a snap-shot test score.

As stated by Professor Beardsley of Arizona State University, “there is no evidence that research reports conducted internally, and especially externally, have validated the claims made by the developers of the EVAAS system. Several specific concerns with the EVAAS system cited in multiple research findings have yet to be addressed.

Randi Weingarten stated in her speech “A New Path Forward” stated that test scores should only be part of a comprehensive system for evaluation that includes, observations, self-evaluation, portfolio reviews, appraisal of lesson plans, review’s of student work and other projects. Using snapshot test scores for employment evaluations is flawed and unproductive. Teacher evaluation needs to be a continuous process throughout a teacher’s career.

Our position on the use of value-added data in Houston has always been to begin using value-added data as a tool to improve instruction. Two years ago I was here to ask for time to ensure that a critical mass of teachers and their instructional leaders were well versed in understanding and utilizing the value-added reports to help them improve practice. Instead of allocating adequate resources and providing accountability to guarantee that sufficient understanding levels were in place you chose to take the politically expedient path of layering high-stakes compensation into the equation. The ASPIRE program has yet to quantifiably deliver on the outcomes it was intended to produce. Adding the even higher stakes of teacher termination based on this flawed system will only exacerbate the problem and eventually dig you into a deeper hole.

The real travesty in all of this is that because the board and certain members of the community have bought into these simplistic approaches to improving urban education we have neglected the real problems of poverty and generational inequity within our society. We have misused scare resources waging a war on teachers and principals that could have been used to heal scars created in the past and to right the wrongs created by greed and indifference.

As long as all kids don’t come to school on par with their peers we will never end the achievement gap. It is politically

correct to talk about serving ALL children, but the rubber meets the road when it comes to making those hard decisions of providing the additional inputs necessary to close the gap or to more equitably distribute the available inputs district-wide. Several of you serve on this board to represent kids and communities with the most need yet you buy into the propaganda advocated by the same people that’s only answer to your kids is to….just work harder.

Stop failing your kids and your teachers with this divisive political manuvering and get back to focusing the big-picture needs of our students.

BOARD SAYS TO TEACHERS- WE DON'T WANT TO FIRE YOU, WE WANT TO HELP YOU.

I don't think a policy change to add test scores to the list of 34 possible reasons to be fired is the best way to make me believe your overall goal is to help me as a teacher. What about you?

The levels of hypocrisy rose to new "heights" yesterday at the board meeting as members of the board attempted to disguise this move to fire teachers based on test scores behind offers of professional support to help them. Funny, we've had a contract for two years to work with the District on providing on-going , research-based professional development based on trends identified through the ASPIRE program. The training has been extremely successful according to responses from teachers and principals as the major focus has been on managing anti-social behavior and delivering foundational research on teacher effectiveness. The one part that has been missing is the shared discussion on needs or trends identified by the ASPIRE program. We can't accomplish that part of the contractual mandate without the district stepping up to be part of the conversation.

Yesterday the superintendent vowed to work with "Teacher Organizations" on this very issue. I plan to put that to the test next week by contacting the superintendent to discuss this very issue and ask how we can work to ensure that our teachers better understand the EVAAS data as it relates to their classroom, how we design training that reflects the needs identified through the data, and how we do a better job of asking our teachers what they feel their priority needs are in this area.

Fire the Teacher over Testing is BAD POLICY

Only a monumental dumb ass would advocate for the policy to tie one shot test scores to teacher evaluations and terminations being proposed by HISD at the board meeting today. The supporters of this policy have abandoned research-based practices in favor of political expediency that will damage our ability to attract and retain teachers in some of the hardest to staff schools in the state.

I am betting that our District leaders will vote for taking the quick and easy route over doing the real work to improve schools. It is easiest to blame everything on the teacher or even the principal. We have a very important role in the process, however teachers who have the least amount of power in the process also are the targets of the most extreme examples of "accountability" gone amok. Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with accountability. I want fairness and equity for everyone: our students, parents, and yes-- our teachers. What we will undoubtedly end up with once this is implemented is 110% teaching to the test and an increase in teacher turnover. Schools will be marginally better, at best. The dropout rate will continue to rise because our efforts are being spent on fighting teachers instead of fighting stressers that lead students to drop out.

More later, but if you haven't read the peer-reviewed journal, "Methodological Concerns About the Education Value-Added Assessment System, " then I suggest you take a look at it for explanations why I feel the way I do. It was written by Audrey Amrein-Beardsley, Professor at Arizona State University.