OMG Teaching

CURMUDGUCATION: Guest Post: No Excuse, Deceptive Metrics and School Success:

...On the wall to their right is a list of the class averages from the last six network assessments (taken by all second graders across the charter network�s three campuses), all of which are in the 50s and 60s. Even though these two-hour tests are designed by network leaders to be exceptionally challenging— a class average of an 80% is the holy grail of teachers, who use their students� scores to compete for status and salary increases— this class�s scores are the lowest in the school, and the students know it.
The teacher speaks to them in a slow, measured tone. “When I left school here yesterday, after working hard all day to give you a good education so you can go to college, I felt disappointed. I felt sad.”
Shoulders drop. Children put their faces in their hands.
“And do you know why?” The teacher looks around the circle; children avert their eyes.
One child raises her hand tentatively. “We didn�t do good on our tests?”
The teacher nods. “Yes, you didn�t do well on your assessments. Our class average was very low. And so I felt sad. I went home and I felt very sad for the rest of the day...”