Student Feedback—Point III

Please forgive my poor writing on this blog post. I am not feeling well and this topic really gets to me.


III. Look at class grades and test scores


This proposal could be useful as long as the following things were taken into consideration.
--Previous grades and test scores
--Incongruity between grades and test scores
--ESL population
--Random bouts of failure
--Extra credit
--Evaluation Process/Teacher Expectations

1. In order to see whether a student has improved, we must look at their previous scores. Some students progress slower than others, therefore it is important to discover if that is the case. If that is the case, then progress, however slow, is a plus. Schools/Districts cannot just look at a grade or test scores to determine whether a student is trying or knows enough, therefore it is risky to look solely at these things.

2. Sometimes there is a huge discrepancy between a class grade and a test score. Personally, I used to be a horrible test taker. I was too anxious about my score to take my time and read carefully. I was not what you call a “test-taker.” In high school I would get A’s and B’s in all my classes, but when I took the SAT, I scored very low. I have seen similar things happen with my own students. When I taught sophomores, 98% of then passed the CAHSEE on the first try, while 50% failed my class. This suggests that they knew the material, but were not willing to do work when they were out of my sight. I had many students choose to not do their work because they said that it would be easier for them to just take the class in the Summer session (which I will get to later!). Because I knew my students knew the material, I knew it wouldn’t be right to base their knowledge on just grades or test scores.

3. Another important factor in determining whether a teacher is good or not based on grades and test scores is how big an ESL (English as a Second Language) population they have. These things do matter. If one teacher has 60% ESL students and another has 10%, then their scores and grades would be like comparing apples to kiwi. In that sophomore class that I taught where almost all my students passed, the two that didn’t were both ESL students. Yes, that could just be a coincidence, or it could mean a lot. The thought of weighing a teacher’s abilities on these things is scary if it were to be done blindly. I mean, if we are to expect the same progress from all students at the same time, regardless of former education or nationality, then we would have major problems.

4. Random bouts of failure are bound to happen throughout your high school years. It turns out that things that happen outside of school also affect what goes on inside as well. It has happened many times where I have had a student suddenly stop trying or seem distant. Usually what I found was that something was going on at home and they did not know how to handle it. In some cases, the “not caring” routine lasts a full year or two. There are those cases where students think school is a joke and they don’t realize until later that it’s important. I know of one student who did just that—failed his first two years and then committed himself to graduate on time by going to night school after regular school just to catch up. He spoke to his fellow classmates about it, trying to help them realize sooner than he did. He may not have been able to convince all those he spoke to, but that’s kind of the point. Some students need to decide for themselves when it is right to start living the way we think they should. It’s like being an addict and then one day, poof, you just realize that you need help. These bouts of failure happen and cannot all be taken care of by the magical teacher. Sometimes the teacher has nothing to do with it. Sometimes the bouts of failure even happen on testing days!

5. The topic of extra credit really irks me. Yes, I was one of those mean teachers who only gave extra credit to those who fought for their grades. I was so mean, I had them do extra assignments that were educational and connected to what we were learning in class. These extra credits assignments had deadlines and expectations and came few and far between, if at all. The part that gets me is that I know that there are teachers out there who give extra credit for the most ridiculous things, like school supplies. Students would always complain to me about the fact that they could bring in tissues for extra points. I would respond to them by asking, what was the educational value of such a task. Look, I know that sometimes extra credit is given for silly things in order to get supplies and let the student feel like they are helping themselves. If teachers do this, then it is okay if they were giving 5 points per box at a limit of three boxes per student, ONLY when the total amount of points in is so high that the tissues probably won’t even affect their grade. If bringing in tissues can take you from a D+ to a C, something is very wrong. Extra credit can be okay in moderation, but it makes looking at grades and test scores to judge a teachers’ worth a bad idea.

6. Imagine a world where the only thing that keep teachers hired are grades and test scores. What would that teacher teach? The test. How might that teacher grade? Easy. This can be as bad for the education system as tenure. Students have this ability to figure out which teacher they would rather have due to their expectations of student work. I have heard students suggest that other students take or transfer into other classes just to get an “easy A”. It sickens me to hear such things. Being a teacher, I have no idea what goes on in other people’s classrooms. All I know is what the students say. Yes, the students could be full of it, or they could be right. I once was a long-term substitute at a school for a semester. When the semester ended, I had to be let go because I was not yet credentialed and No Child Left Behind had kicked in. Even though the woman who took my position was not yet credentialed either, she was “closer to getting her credential” than I had been. What an awful way to choose a teacher for our students. After about a month of no longer teaching these students, I went back to the school as a substitute for another class. I had time to stop by and say hello and see how the classes were doing. As I talked to these former students, I kept hearing the same complaint; “We don’t learn anything. All we do is watch movies”. First of all, it made me happy to hear that these students were hungry to learn. Second, it made me sad that they were put in that situation due to the idiotic notion that the one closest to the credential is the better one for the job, and second. Again, the students could have been full of it, or they could have had real concerns about their school experience and what it would mean for the next year.
The way a teacher evaluates students is also very important. Sometimes students expect credit for assignments just because they turned them in. I was never one for giving credit just because you wrote your name. I realize that what I teach may be hard for some students, but I need to see you try in order to give you credit. Administrators can look at the way that teachers evaluate their assignments from essays, worksheets, random quizzes, etc. if the teacher makes their evaluation methods clear (which I am suggesting!).

Perhaps it doesn’t sound like I am helping at all, but am bringing up points to not look at grades and test scores. This is not my intention. What I want to explain is that looking at such things requires a lot more than people think. How can we deal with this type of thing? Well, we can keep clean, clear records of our grades, grading scales, expectations, etc. Basically, I think that if students and teachers kept daily track of what they did in the classroom, that would help others see what actually goes on. As far as expectations, that one is a little more tricky. Expectations, however, can also show in daily assignment. If one teacher writes that in an hour and a half all they will do is vocabulary words and read from a book, while another teacher adds that they will also do grammar and notes, then we can see a difference there. Now, just because one teacher goes over many things in a day, doesn’t mean that the students grasp all of them, but more practice on more things on a regular basis is very beneficial to students. Perhaps teachers could have more time to spend discussing such things with the other teachers in their subject.

Student Feedback—Suggestion IV---I'll get to III later

Student Feedback—Point IV
IV. Ask the students

Almost all of the groups encouraged the administrators to talk to the students. I asked them to elaborate on what the administrators should ask and how they should do it. Here are answers that they gave me:

--Have students take a survey. (This was shot down by a couple of students who suggested that most students will lie on written surveys because they don't want to write--they want to get it over with and go home).
--Have the administrators come in to Interview students and teacher aides in the classroom, asking the teacher to step outside. Lead the class in a discussion regarding the teacher--no writing. Ask the following questions:
1.) Does this teacher impact you and your life positively?
2.) Does this teacher care about your grades?
3.) Do you feel encouraged or inspired by this teacher?
4.) Do you feel like you are learning in this class?
5.) Do you feel that this class moves forward together or that students are often left behind?
6.) Do you think this teacher enjoys their subject?
7.) Are your teacher's methods helpful? Are they accommodating?
8.) Do you enjoy this class?
9.) Do you feel safe in this class?
10.) Do you feel challenged in this class? (Positively or negatively).


These questions are essential for knowing whether or not the teacher is doing their job in a manner that fits with the school or district policies. This type of evaluation could be done annually for all teachers, tenured or not.

Student Feedback—Suggestion II

II. Regarding Homework
When I asked the students what they meant by this, they explained that sometimes too much emphasis on homework was bad, while too little was just as troubling. They felt that there should be some middle ground. Homework, to them, should be more practice on the things already learned in class, rather than on new concepts. Some students felt that (can you believe it) their teachers did not give enough practice homework and that some concepts that were taught once or twice were passed by and never touched on again. This could be due to a couple reasons. Reason One, that the teacher failed to use prior concepts throughout the school year; or Reason Two, that the teacher ran out of time and had other concepts to teach before the end of the semester/year. Reason Two could connect to the ever-shortening of the class time available for teaching. In my first full year of teaching, teachers taught five classes, six periods a day, about an hour per period. This meant that we saw our students on a regular basis and that we had around five hours of teaching time with each class per week. However, due to budget cuts and our bleeding hearts, we agreed to change to a block schedule, teaching six classes, three per day, for about an hour and a half a class. This does not include those weeks where a Monday or a Friday is a holiday. That would cut down the time with each student even more. Therefore, at the most, we would see one class three times a week for a total of four and a half hours. Not only did we then have more students to teach, but less time to teach them. The effects of such a crunching of our time together could be seen, possibly, through the amount of homework vs. classwork.
Teaching at a block schedule school isn’t all that bad, unless the valuable time is not used wisely. Every minute that teachers have in that classroom with students should be filled. My BTSA support provider used to tell me all the time to plan for more than what I thought I could cover, just in case I could actually get to it. This also helped with leaving lesson plans for substitutes. As a teacher and as a substitute, I cannot stand having the last ten or so minutes of class left to do nothing but stand, talk, and wait for that bell to release the students.

Addressing Suggestion I from Student Feedback

I. Focus on Teachers with the least amount of (legitimate) parent complaints
Point I is interesting because it makes a connection to parents. I actually feel like the students somewhat ignored the fact that parent’s should also have a say regarding their child’s education/teacher/etc.. Yes, as a teacher it is good to avoid complaints from parents. I have heard horror stories about things that teachers have said to students and got away with due to tenure. This doesn’t include those phone calls parents make asking what they can do to bring their child’s grade up. Some complaints aren’t as severe as others. Let’s face it, there are parents out there that believe that their child is god’s gift. They have a hard time accepting that homework was not complete, that projects were not turned in, or that Sally Student was talking in class today. It’s something that all teachers deal with at some point.
To add to what the students said, I think that the parents should be consulted regarding what they think about the teachers their children have. Perhaps they reveal that the teacher does not return their calls or emails. Perhaps the parent feels like there is not enough homework sent home or that there is too much. Maybe their child struggles with the work and the teacher is not available for help before school, at lunch, or after school and does not give alternative tutor names and/or places on campus. If the parent feels that the teacher is not concerned for their childs’ wellbeing, then the administrators should know that. What I would suggest would be some sort of survey sent home to parents. I feel that parents would be more likely to respond if they had problems with a teacher. Also, if they were asked to write, they, unlike the students, would be less likely to ignore the “assignment.” One major factor in this, however, has to do with whether or not the parents (and studenets) feel like their voice means something. If they don’t think their opinion matters, they are less likely to put forth the effort.

A Tip Regarding Sub Notes

One way to see what the teacher does with the precious learning time is to take a gander at the sub plans they leave when they are sick, on vacation, or at a meeting. I am not talking about plans for the last day before a long holiday where the only assignment is to turn in a project that students have been working on for months. I mean, just a regular old day where they leave their plans for the sub.
Since I have been subbing again, I notice that there are things you can pick up from the notes on a lesson plan.
First, if they teach both regular CP and AP classes, the curriculum should be different (in my opinion). There is no reason that only the expectations should differ!
Second, if all their note says is show a movie, then clearly, that is a wasted day. This has happened to me a few times and I loath it! I understand that teachers sometimes get horrible subs that do not follow plans, but to predetermine that the day is a waste, is.......well..... a waste.

Student Feedback

Now that I have started this blog and happen to be subbing at the same time, I figured I should take advantage of my connections and hear what some of the students have to say on the matters of school reform. I subbed for an leadership class yesterday. The plans left behind were full of activities that the students were to lead each other in. When the activities were finished, I had them do one more just for me. I asked them what they knew about the education system and then asked them if they agreed with tenure. When the majority of students said that they were against tenure, I asked them to work with the students at their tables to come up with ideas regarding how administrators were to evaluate teachers in the best possible way.
Here are some of the suggestions that I received:

I. Focus on Teachers with the least amount of (legitimate) parent complaints
II. Look at the workload that students are sent home with
III. Look at class grades and test scores
IV. Ask the students
V. Visit the classroom more often

Although I do not necessarily agree with some of the suggestions, they are pretty darn good!

One of the first steps to education reform should be......

GET RID OF TENURE!!!!

I realize that I suggested not complaining, but some is bound to occur.

I find it interesting that the year I was granted tenure was the same year that I was laid off. Although I enjoy irony, this particular case was personal. It was at this time that I discovered what I loathed most about our education system. It wasn’t just that teachers could not be saved during economic hardship, but that the teachers who could not be saved were more likely to be those teachers with fresh ideas and the most recent educational research regarding what works and what does not. Not to mention the energy and love of their subject that the students could grasp on to. What, then, was it that tenure did for teachers? Was it just a tool to keep old ideals in place? Old teaching methods that were failing our students more and more often? Personally, I would rather have my teaching abilities determine my place in the school system through accountability than the ancient belief that those who came first are safe, no matter how poor an instructor they may be.

Tenure can be used as a tool to get away with no longer caring for one’s craft. Imagine you bought a house, and because the house had been inspected years ago, there was no need for another. Perhaps you move in to your new home and find that what was once a perfectly working roof had become a leaking nightmare. What then? Can you, the student, do anything but try to cope with your new issue? Must you try to figure out a way to change your own habits to fix the problem? This is what students must do; either change their habits and conform to the new way of learning, or choose not to change and fail.

And that is where the real pain comes to play. I feel for those students who will not benefit from the newly educated, highly motivated, eager teachers. I feel for them and fear for them. And really, you should too. Because it isn’t just our jobs that are gone, but soon, as we will see in this next generation, the desire to learn and challenge themselves will also evaporate due to the need to conform to those old-school method teachers in today and tomorrow’s education system.

An Introduction

Like many other teachers in the United States, I have recently been laid off from my teaching position. This sour note has left me with time to contemplate my feelings and to ponder the reasons for our current education malfunction.

I am curious to see what other people have to say on the subject since it is something that I cannot separate myself from. I also like to think that if enough people talked about reform, including "how to" suggestions, then it could actually make a difference. That is my hope for this blog. Not just to complain about how bad our schools are or how under-appreciated us teachers are, but how to fix problems.

Let the fixing begin!