Baltimore teacher Sean McComb is beginning his first full week as the newly minted , timed conveniently to coincide with Teacher Appreciation Week.
In a ceremony held in the White House East Room last week, President Barack Obama praised McComb and other Teachers of the Year representing every state, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. territories as the 鈥渂est of the best.鈥�
鈥淪tudents know that what teachers give them stays with them for a lifetime,鈥� the president said. He noted that great teachers take on the role of counselor, that they become the inspiration for their students to do big things, and that they do more than 鈥済oing through the motions of teaching to the test.鈥�
That 鈥渢eaching to the test鈥� line, and similar statements, have made their way into the president鈥檚 remarks before. In , for instance, Obama called for 鈥渂etter support for teachers and new ways to measure how well our kids think, not how well they can fill in a bubble on a test.鈥�
But while the president may have a view of teaching that involves more than test results, his administration鈥檚 policies have arguably failed to focus attention beyond that aspect.
Tested Nerves
Many of the education programs championed by the Obama administration have tended to emphasize the central role of testing in education policy and in judging teacher performance.
The state of Washington, for instance, from the proficiency requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act last month due to a disagreement with the U.S. Department of Education over the role of testing in teacher evaluation. The state is one of a handful that does not require state tests be used as determinants of teacher quality.
Arizona, Kansas, and Oregon are also at 鈥渉igh risk鈥� of losing their waivers due to similar concerns, and soon, too.
Some states already have new teacher-evaluation systems in place after applying for funding from the department鈥檚 Race to the Top competitive-grant programs. Those systems explicitly entail tying teacher evaluation to student test scores.
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has also voiced strong support for the School Improvement Grant program, which attempts to help struggling schools increase achievement through one of several improvement models. Many schools choose the 鈥渢ransformation鈥� model, which includes gauging teacher effectiveness through test scores. The 鈥渢urnaround鈥� model, meanwhile, requires replacing half of the school鈥檚 faculty.
Yet the research on SIG shows a mixed picture of the program鈥檚 effectiveness, with two-thirds of schools gaining ground in student achievement, and the other third losing it.
鈥淲hat the administration clearly believes is that, if they don鈥檛 strongly encourage states to adopt [teacher evaluation] measures that include student learning, [then] they won鈥檛,鈥� said Morgan Polikoff, an assistant professor of education at the University of Southern California.
Polikoff doesn鈥檛 believe that the administration actually wants student achievement to make up 鈥渆ven a preponderance鈥� of teacher evaluation, but added that if the administration does want states to do more than rely on test data, it needs to show more thoughtfulness.
鈥淸With school accountability,] what we saw there was a lack of creativity on the part of the states, just sticking with old measures and old approaches that we know lead to numerous problems,鈥� Polikoff said. 鈥淚 suspect that we haven鈥檛 really seen too much creativity in teacher evaluation as well, and I think that鈥檚 in part because of what the administration emphasized and what they didn鈥檛 emphasize.鈥�
Flexibility, If Not Guidance
While the Education Department has offered waiver states implementation of teacher evaluations tied to student growth, it has given states little guidance during the waiver process about what else those teacher evaluations should encompass.
The imminent arrival of exams tied to the Common Core State Standards has given states pause about how soon to use those in regard to teacher evaluation, too. But that鈥檚 another issue the Education Department has declined to clarify.
In a March meeting with the Council of Chief State School Officers, the group that helped spearhead the common core, Duncan on what role the common-core-aligned exams, currently undergoing field testing, should play in teacher evaluation鈥攏ot an endorsement, but not a statement of opposition, either.
If the tests being used for evaluation were expected to provide thorough reflections of student learning, Polikoff said, then 鈥渢eaching to鈥� them might not be a bad thing. The two state consortia developing common-core tests were expected to incorporate a considerable number of performance-based test items, which assessment experts say can better demonstrate understanding than multiple-choice questions do.
But certain complicating factors involving cost, time, and logistics have reportedly made the consortia scale back the number of such items. In other words, multiple-choice questions鈥攖hose 鈥渂ubbles鈥� the president referred to鈥攁ren鈥檛 dead just yet.
The consortia received over $300 million in federal funding to develop the tests.
鈥淪adly, I think that this administration is always going to be remembered, when it comes to teaching, for the high-stakes teacher evaluations component of their policies,鈥� said Maria Ferguson, executive director of the Washington-based Center on Education Policy. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 going to be really hard for people to look past that. I鈥檓 not saying that鈥檚 fair, but when people think of this administration, that鈥檚 what they鈥檙e going to think of.鈥�
Materials and Opportunities Needed
Critics worry about the indirect effects of the Education Department鈥檚 emphasis on teacher evaluation. At a , Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) suggested to Duncan that the level of federal involvement risks endangering other reform initiatives, including the common core.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e undermining, I鈥檓 afraid, the very high standards and teacher evaluation that I think both of us want to do,鈥� Alexander said.
The common core is actually one area where the administration and many teachers do see eye to eye, even if the president, wary of political backlash, won鈥檛 lend vocal support to the standards.
鈥淭he thing people misunderstand is, common core is a blueprint,鈥� said Milton Weist, the Wyoming Teacher of the Year, in a press conference after the White House ceremony. 鈥淲hen I go to build a house, I go to the building inspector, and he gives me a list of codes, and I have to build to those codes, but I can choose to build the Taj Mahal, or a shack. And I think most districts use those standards to build something pretty substantial that benefits their community.鈥�
But support for the common core doesn鈥檛 mean teachers are content with implementation efforts so far.
鈥淚 believe that we鈥檙e making this shift to higher expectations intentionally and with purpose, but we have to meet the needs of teachers in order to get there,鈥� McComb said in an interview. 鈥淣ow we need support in order to do that. We need materials and we need opportunities for professional learning in order to meet those needs. And that鈥檚 where the devil鈥檚 going to be in the details for really meeting the needs of kids.鈥�
A new survey of the Teachers of the Year, at both the national and state levels, as a key priority for educators. Many new teachers may actually be entering the profession with little training in the common core, because many higher education institutions have inconsistent approaches to teaching it.
Katie Brown, the Washington Teacher of the Year, also coordinates professional development for her school, Shuksan Middle School, in Bellingham, Wash. She says her school offers over 50 hours of in-school professional development annually.
鈥淎ny policy that is being written, we have to also understand the complexity of implementing those different policies,鈥� she said at the press conference. 鈥淭eaching is incredibly complex, and we not only are experts in our field, we are experts in collaboration if you give teachers the time to do so.鈥�
Brown noted that it is also important for teachers be allowed to direct their own professional development.
Still, if teachers can鈥檛 always have the policy support they desire, personal support also remains vital, they say.
鈥淚 know how good it feels when a student comes back to you and gives you a little bit of that gratitude and feedback, and I鈥檝e been sure to do that as well,鈥� McComb said. 鈥淚 really hope that I can use my opportunity to encourage more people to reach out and thank a teacher. ... That鈥檚 the fuel that keeps us going.鈥�
