Diane Albanese’s Musings

Cape Gazette School Journal Column  – Education Better Off?

1-9-09

Vice President Dick Cheney was on Face the Nation this past Sunday morning and was asked by host Bob Schieffer the standard presidential exit interview question posed originally by Ronald Regan, “Are we better off now than we were eight years ago?”

Cheney responded, “I think we’ve done some very good things over the course of the last eight years. Defending the country against further terrorist attacks like 9/11, I think, is a major accomplishment, for example. I think we made progress on education with No Child Left Behind and prescription drug benefits for seniors, and so forth. I can point to tax policies, a series of policies and actions that were put in place that were significant progress.”

Progress in education Mr. Vice President? With all due respect – where? Never mind that the No Child Left Behind legislation has forced many teachers to teach to the test, reduce their classroom curriculum and for some, leave the profession entirely. Never mind that every day we see the stress in our students that comes from one-shot high stakes testing and the label of being a failure. Never mind that our whole thinking about what we do in the classroom has been altered and instead of reaching for the highest standards and promoting excellence, we are stuck in neutral, fending off mediocrity.

Are you referring to the fact that scores on state tests have risen on your watch? Is that what you mean? Reduce the entire nation’s education policy to the progress demonstrated on your test scores?

Test scores alone are not enough. Research from Harvard University Professor Daniel Koretz has shown that scores always rise when you put high stakes on a specific test but this does not necessarily prove that the students know more. Focus on the test and you get test takers who get better at it. Focus on content knowledge and the learning across the board increases.

Koretz created an experiment that tested his ideas. He found that when students were tested in a high stakes setting, their test scores steadily increased. When students were given a test without the high stakes consequences, their scores plummeted. He concluded that rising scores do not reflect real achievement.

Almost one year ago in his State of the Union Address, President Bush said, “On education, we must trust students to learn if given the chance, and empower parents to demand results from our schools. In neighborhoods across our country, there are boys and girls with dreams — and a decent education is their only hope of achieving them.

Six years ago, we came together to pass the No Child Left Behind Act, and today no one can deny its results. Last year, fourth and eighth graders achieved the highest math scores on record. Reading scores are on the rise. African American and Hispanic students posted all-time highs. Now we must work together to increase accountability, add flexibility for states and districts, reduce the number of high school dropouts, provide extra help for struggling schools.”

Bush and Cheney are united in their belief that education has improved on their watch. Researchers, skeptics and practitioners, those of us that teach every day, know better and we await the new beginning that our children deserve.

~ by Diane Albanese on January 5, 2009. Tagged: education school Bush NCLB