Huffington Post contributor and author Dan Brown related his experience as a first-year teacher in a high-needs N.Y. elementary school and basically asked how we can disentangle high-stakes testing from accountability. Paraphrasing his remarks,
The testing environment is terrifying, and my students' scores did not reflect their ability. High-stakes testing and accountability have been conflated. Is there research and development looking at alternatives beyond the high-stakes test?
Ed Trust's Amy Wilkins responded bluntly, "Why were you in that high-needs classroom?"--Implying that inexperienced first-year teachers shouldn't be working with challenging student populations.
By my way of thinking, the only proper response to a question like that is a torrent of profanity.
I would have been left sputtering.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite one of the comments that I've heard lately:
"A standardized curriculum is the only way to ensure differentiated instruction."