A Reflection on Educational Reform.

I was going to refrain from commenting on my recent endeavor to find out more about educational reform in my home state of Connecticut, because in many ways I am no expert on the subject. However, I feel able to make a few comments based on a Q & A session I witnessed regarding Governor Malloy's proposed bill. This bill, from what I have gathered, mostly deals with updating and changing the teacher evaluation protocol, making teachers accountable in a variety of ways (test scores, evaluation of student progress, observations of teacher performance, peer/parent review, and whole-school progress). Without the percentages, this seems a mostly fair evaluation of teachers (but again, I am no expert and am only beginning to learn about this bill). However, as a prospective teacher who will (hopefully) have a full-time teaching position in the fall, I do have a few concerns regarding this breakdown. 

For one thing, standardized test scores of a teacher's students count for 22.5% of the total teacher evaluation. Considering this alone counts for nearly a quarter of a teacher's evaluation, and probably contains the most amount of uncontrollable factors on the teacher's part, is that high percentage reasonable? As I have never taught in my own classroom, I cannot be entirely sure. I do have reservations about it, though. For one thing, on the day of the test, there are many factors out of the teacher's control that can affect student success, such as hours of sleep the student received the night before, whether or not the student had a balanced breakfast, and the testing environment a student is placed in (especially for tests like the SATs). These things can affect student focus and their cognitive functions. If their basic needs, such as food and sleep, are not met, their performance on other tasks is already limited in success (Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs). 

Another concern I have regarding the governor's answers to questions at this meeting was his dismissive attitude toward concerns of poverty in certain districts. His answers to concerns of educators and parents regarding the effects of poverty on student performance were that within each of the most "troubled" districts, there was at least one "successful" school (paraphrasing here). Well, in a district that has more than 10 schools, one successful building does not instill me with a sense of hope. In my grad school classes, we have discussed at length the degree to which change is possible within education without changing the society that education exists within first. Every conversation has ended in a consensus that schools reflect society, and so society must be the first to change. So, his response does not really answer the question. 

From my response above, you may think I do not support our governor in his endeavors to improve education. In fact, I applaud his efforts to make education better, because it is true that just 20 years ago, Connecticut was the #1 state with regards to education, which is no longer true and in fact we are in danger of dropping out of the top 10 states. I merely want to reflect on some of the reservations I have regarding where the state government's efforts are being concentrated. 

I will admit two things I am especially interested in seeing succeed within this bill. I am intrigued by the idea of more "individualized" professional development for teachers. I am looking forward to seeing how this is executed, as everyone (teachers and students alike) has different skills and levels of mastery. A more individualized development for teachers will mean that teachers can get the support they need in the areas they need it most, instead of sitting in a large lecture hall while someone imbibes information. Also, I am interested in this notion of an improvement of communication between agencies (police, schools, DCFS, etc.) that are involved in student cases, so that all agencies have complete and accessible information. After all, communication is one of the most important skills you learn in school, and the "hidden curriculum" shows students how the world around them operates. If they see that communication between parties that have some kind of connection to themselves is limited and unsuccessful, that is how they will learn to communicate. 

Well, enough of my rantings about this issue. I think I've gone on long enough. I only hope that the changes made will be for the benefit of our students, as they are our first priority.