Admittedly, I am not particularly good at keeping up with the news and I definitely had to Google "Baltimore City Schools news" to find something to write about in this post. What can I say? Watching the news just depresses me most nights. I don't really need to see video coverage of the tragedies my students tell me about so nonchalantly.
Anyway, one of the top hits was all about former Maryland lieutenant governor Michael Steele's recent comments about how Frederick Douglass High is teaching its students next to nothing. I had heard a lot about this school. There was that documentary on HBO a little while ago and a current member of our staff used to teach there. He told of fires, weapons, droves of students roaming the halls anonymously, burnt out teachers who cut their own classes... It seemed outrageous but he assured us it was all true. And from what I had seen and heard about Baltimore schools, I had to believe him. I mean, have you seen season four of "The Wire"? This place is crazy!
With all this bad press, it's no wonder no one wants to come teach in Baltimore.
Last spring some of my colleagues and I dropped by Douglass for a visit with that staff member I mentioned. He prepped us for the madness we were about to see but I think we were all shocked by the almost eerily quiet hallways. Students were in classes and it looked like they were learning something. Is this the Frederick Douglass Steele saw? My co-worker was amazed at the difference, almost embarrassed that his horror stories suddenly seemed completely fictional.
In the article, I read that Douglass has been making tremendous improvements in the last two years and it looks like people are starting to notice. I guess HBO hasn't had the chance to come back and do a follow-up documentary on the successes the school has had.
I can't help but wonder if a little positive propoganda couldn't turn educators on to the charm of Charm City schools...
Friday, March 6, 2009
No More Bubbles!
No Child Left Behind has forced our schools to place an incredible amount of importance on standardized tests. There is so much riding on the scores our students receive; it is hard not to feel the pressure when you walk into a school building during the month of March. Is the pressure reserved just for the students, who are actually completing the test? In my experience, the entire staff feels the extreme pressure of ensuring that our students succeed and score as high as possible on their exams.
As an elementary school teacher, it is painful to watch my students stress themselves out over filling in the right bubble. I have a wonderful group of 6 and 7 year olds who must bear the burden of completing a 4 day long standardized test (the Stanford 10). Every morning for a week, they are forced to sit in rows and fill in bubble after bubble for over an hour. It seems like so much time is spent preparing for the tests and we are losing valuable time for meaningful learning experiences. The time we have spent tutoring and taking practice tests could have been much better spent exploring new reading strategies, finding different ways to solve 5 + 7, or experimenting with magnets.
The stress my students feel is further expressed through my own stress as their teacher. I want my students to do well; I want them to show everyone that they are intelligent and talented students regardless of their home lives and situations. We are so quick to assume that children of low income, high-need communities are not as talented as their peers from “better” communities. I have spent the past 6 months giving my students every possible educational opportunity I can and I know they are prepared for their test. I know that my students have the skills to succeed; I just hope that the stress we have placed on them doesn’t hold them back from doing their best.
It kills me to watch my little first grades spend hours completing mindless work, filling in bubbles, when I know they should be up and exploring the word around them. So, just like the post below, I’m wondering how young is too young? And, how much time are we wasting with all this testing?
As an elementary school teacher, it is painful to watch my students stress themselves out over filling in the right bubble. I have a wonderful group of 6 and 7 year olds who must bear the burden of completing a 4 day long standardized test (the Stanford 10). Every morning for a week, they are forced to sit in rows and fill in bubble after bubble for over an hour. It seems like so much time is spent preparing for the tests and we are losing valuable time for meaningful learning experiences. The time we have spent tutoring and taking practice tests could have been much better spent exploring new reading strategies, finding different ways to solve 5 + 7, or experimenting with magnets.
The stress my students feel is further expressed through my own stress as their teacher. I want my students to do well; I want them to show everyone that they are intelligent and talented students regardless of their home lives and situations. We are so quick to assume that children of low income, high-need communities are not as talented as their peers from “better” communities. I have spent the past 6 months giving my students every possible educational opportunity I can and I know they are prepared for their test. I know that my students have the skills to succeed; I just hope that the stress we have placed on them doesn’t hold them back from doing their best.
It kills me to watch my little first grades spend hours completing mindless work, filling in bubbles, when I know they should be up and exploring the word around them. So, just like the post below, I’m wondering how young is too young? And, how much time are we wasting with all this testing?
Thursday, March 5, 2009
How Young Is Too Young?
With Stanford 10(the state test for first and second graders in Baltimore City) right around the corner I found myself in a grade level meeting today panicking about the test that will begin Monday the 9th. The administration was asking me and the other first and second grade teachers if we and our students were ready. “I sure hope so,” I replied. Six pairs of eyes stared at me and I couldn’t help but feel frustrated and annoyed that so much pressure is placed on our students to perform well. My students are six and seven years old! That is too young to be tested.
There are so many outside factors that affect our students’ scores. On a practice Stanford 10 my class took last week I had one of my brightest girls miss an entire section of reading questions because she came to school upset about a fight she had got into with her grandmother that morning. Because of this she refused to try and left several questions blank and randomly answered the rest. Her test, along with any other student having a bad day, is not true reflection of what they know but a reflection of how difficult their home lives are.
At our meeting this week we discussed the concept that many of our students are passing the first grade but are bombing the city benchmarks. I am more concerned with how my students are doing in first grade with first grade curriculum than whether they can decode the very difficult Stanford 10. There are so many more important life skills and concepts I want my students to grasp. Instead we have been cramming for the test.
We’ve planned a parent meeting last minute to discuss making sure your child is prepared on test day, sent home extra homework packets focusing on test prep, planned parties for post-Stanford 10 in an effort to motivate students to try their best and almost anything else to prepare our students. While I think we are as ready as we can be, why do I still feel like our scores may be outside of our control? And at this point I find myself saying I really can’t worry about it anymore. The test is Monday. My students are what they are. The test is what it is. I just wish my students could be valued for more than being basic, proficient or advanced.
There are so many outside factors that affect our students’ scores. On a practice Stanford 10 my class took last week I had one of my brightest girls miss an entire section of reading questions because she came to school upset about a fight she had got into with her grandmother that morning. Because of this she refused to try and left several questions blank and randomly answered the rest. Her test, along with any other student having a bad day, is not true reflection of what they know but a reflection of how difficult their home lives are.
At our meeting this week we discussed the concept that many of our students are passing the first grade but are bombing the city benchmarks. I am more concerned with how my students are doing in first grade with first grade curriculum than whether they can decode the very difficult Stanford 10. There are so many more important life skills and concepts I want my students to grasp. Instead we have been cramming for the test.
We’ve planned a parent meeting last minute to discuss making sure your child is prepared on test day, sent home extra homework packets focusing on test prep, planned parties for post-Stanford 10 in an effort to motivate students to try their best and almost anything else to prepare our students. While I think we are as ready as we can be, why do I still feel like our scores may be outside of our control? And at this point I find myself saying I really can’t worry about it anymore. The test is Monday. My students are what they are. The test is what it is. I just wish my students could be valued for more than being basic, proficient or advanced.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Shove This Up Your AYP
The bees are buzzing, the snow is melting, yes, friends, it is that time of year. The MSA is in the air. I feel as though we have begun a mad sprint in the midst of a marathon. I am constantly evaluating, myself and my students. Who is ready? Do they really understand inferencing? Do my BCRs look anything like the state "standard"? My students have started evolving into walking As, Ps, and Bs. The pressure is mounting. My school has always made AYP, but this year the bar is even higher and with so many schools closing and dumping their students on our doorsteps, I don't know if we will make it.
It is a double-edged sword; however, because I question, how can we NOT make it. The MSA is the only place in the world where 33% is considered proficient. I know I demand higher scores for my students in my own classroom, but the truth is, all a student has to get on the MSA to be considered proficient is one out of every three questions. In my mind, these floor low standards are shameful. But if they are really floor low, why are we struggling so to meet them?
I cannot help but wonder if suburban schools feel the same stress that my school feels. And even if they do, I have to question, whose stakes are higher? I have to assume the middle and upper class students in the county are more confident going to to the exam, as their prior knowledge is higher. They know what a SAUCER is. They have seen a MAPLE tree. They have music programs which introduce them to SAXOPHONES. My students don't just have to find the answer, they have to figure out what in the world the question means.
Last year, my students scored 81% advanced and proficient in reading (compared to last year's 54%) and 93% advanced or proficient in math (last year's 77%). Dundalk Middle School is the nearest county school and here students scored 56.8% proficient or above in math and 77.3% proficient or above in language arts. Does this mean city schools are a better place to be? I would argue that education is not limited by one's placement in the city or the county, but the capabilities of the teachers in the classroom.
It is a double-edged sword; however, because I question, how can we NOT make it. The MSA is the only place in the world where 33% is considered proficient. I know I demand higher scores for my students in my own classroom, but the truth is, all a student has to get on the MSA to be considered proficient is one out of every three questions. In my mind, these floor low standards are shameful. But if they are really floor low, why are we struggling so to meet them?
I cannot help but wonder if suburban schools feel the same stress that my school feels. And even if they do, I have to question, whose stakes are higher? I have to assume the middle and upper class students in the county are more confident going to to the exam, as their prior knowledge is higher. They know what a SAUCER is. They have seen a MAPLE tree. They have music programs which introduce them to SAXOPHONES. My students don't just have to find the answer, they have to figure out what in the world the question means.
Last year, my students scored 81% advanced and proficient in reading (compared to last year's 54%) and 93% advanced or proficient in math (last year's 77%). Dundalk Middle School is the nearest county school and here students scored 56.8% proficient or above in math and 77.3% proficient or above in language arts. Does this mean city schools are a better place to be? I would argue that education is not limited by one's placement in the city or the county, but the capabilities of the teachers in the classroom.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Attention to Attendance
Throughout this school year, there has been a dramatic call to attendance. My administration has threatened that inaccurate attendance data can ultimately result in losing your job. BCPSS truancy teams echoed these warnings in professional development meetings as well. Our CEO wanted us to get students back in school in order to boost attendance. All of these actions draw attention to attendance data and its relevance in the school setting.
It is obvious that kids cannot learn unless they are in school, but by knocking on their home doors is not going to change attendance problems. I believe that accurate collection of attendance data is a tool to better understand how dire attendance problems are, but ultimately we need to figure out why students are not coming to school. At my school, we have a full-time position supposedly dedication solely to attendance. The school has also purchased technology that tracks students' entrance into the building and attendance for each class period. Even with these additional resources, our attendance is the worst in school history.
As a teacher, I am frustrated with the narrow focus on attendance. I constantly call students' homes in an effort to understand where students are at when they are not in school, but I do not feel as though this brings students back into the classroom. Overall, I think there are only a hand full of students who are chronically absent. I believe these cases should be handled by the additional support teams put in place to improve attendance. I rather focus on ensuring that the rest of my students improve upon their attendance and are in class daily.
The National Center for Education Statistics suggests coding each absence in an effort to see where students are when they are not in school (http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2009804). I think this coding would give me a better understanding of the reasons why students miss school. Even though the coding would be time consuming, I would be able to look for patterns in the data and work with my teaching team to address specific reasons for missing school. By addressing the reasons students are absent, we would be able to improve behavior patterns and in turn raise attendance.
I want my students in class each day, but I do not believe the recent attention to attendance will change attendance patterns, only create sudden rises in attendance, followed by drops.
It is obvious that kids cannot learn unless they are in school, but by knocking on their home doors is not going to change attendance problems. I believe that accurate collection of attendance data is a tool to better understand how dire attendance problems are, but ultimately we need to figure out why students are not coming to school. At my school, we have a full-time position supposedly dedication solely to attendance. The school has also purchased technology that tracks students' entrance into the building and attendance for each class period. Even with these additional resources, our attendance is the worst in school history.
As a teacher, I am frustrated with the narrow focus on attendance. I constantly call students' homes in an effort to understand where students are at when they are not in school, but I do not feel as though this brings students back into the classroom. Overall, I think there are only a hand full of students who are chronically absent. I believe these cases should be handled by the additional support teams put in place to improve attendance. I rather focus on ensuring that the rest of my students improve upon their attendance and are in class daily.
The National Center for Education Statistics suggests coding each absence in an effort to see where students are when they are not in school (http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2009804). I think this coding would give me a better understanding of the reasons why students miss school. Even though the coding would be time consuming, I would be able to look for patterns in the data and work with my teaching team to address specific reasons for missing school. By addressing the reasons students are absent, we would be able to improve behavior patterns and in turn raise attendance.
I want my students in class each day, but I do not believe the recent attention to attendance will change attendance patterns, only create sudden rises in attendance, followed by drops.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
