TESTING 1, 2, 3...
I appreciated your honest comments about how taking the Marsden quiz and the assessment pre-test made you feel. Somehow, since I became a teacher I forgot how it feels to be frustrated and unable to "get the right answers." Going through the test-taking scenario again reminded me how so many of my students feel when they just don't know or understand what I want them to do.
In our reading for next class Haycock makes a point to empower teachers by revealing the findings of her study on teacher quality and student achievment. "We now know that what schools do matters and what teachers do may matter most of all." (p.36)
As you are reading "What We Know about the Achievement Gap," please think about the questions that the author poses in each section. Please tell us what you think about the chapter. Did you have any "new discoveries" about your teaching or our school?
Yesterday's class ranks among my most eventful ever. From spewing sodas to technology malfunctions and then a fire alarm...what a class! Thank you all for hanging in there.
7 comments:
In response to the article about achievement gaps, I see how this gap exists. The article states: "the gaps persist regardless of economic status." I'm aware of the gap as a larger problem, but not so much in my classes. My minority students who do well do so based on ability instead of economic status. The author notes that students receive labels in the elementary school, which follow them throughout their education. I agree that labeling is a mistake. Another important point made in this article is that the misconception that poverty equates low academic achievement. This belief is not true. Over the years, some of my best students have come from poverty. I like the suggestions for schools to "mediate poverty". The school would serve more as a tool to the community if involved in the families' success. Other ways to decrease achievement gap is to encourage minority students to take challenging courses.
During my time at Polo Road Elementary, which is an ITI school, we spent a lot of time focusing on brain-based learning and ways to close the achievement gap. One of the main focuses was tying new concepts to experiences. Because so many students come to school with a variety of experiences, we were encouraged to level the "playing field" and take the field trip or field study first. If the field trip wasn't possible, then we would find alternate ways to immerse the students in concept they were learning. I was so surprised when I was first told this. When I was growing up, we always had the “field study” at the end of a unit. This new way makes so much sense, though. By exposing every child to the same experience up front, they were all able to make the connections and were all at the same place when you started teaching. Just like the article talks about they had the experience and were able to grow from that point. I would also think that this would also encourage students to try the more challenging and rigorous courses later and definitely helped with classroom management.
I have noticed the achievement gap in my classes. I deal with a diverse group of students and sometimes it is hard to make it through the day. I have a lot of minority students who need special help with basic studies. Sometimes I have tried to figure out for myself if some students aren’t college material. College isn’t for everyone. A student can be successful in life if they are prepared properly but…I think this is a really raw issue for me because I find it hard to believe that so many students are satisfied with just passing. I always set my expectations high. Can it be that I am setting them to high for my students? I want my students to take personal responsibility of their actions but can they when articles and high ranking people are always making excuses for students’ failures?
Blog 2 due October 6 What We Know About The Achievement Gap
Jane Gregory
Haycock’s Quote “ We now know that what schools do matters and that what teachers do may matter most of all. “
I definitely agree with Haycock’s statement, or I wouldn’t be a teacher. I expect success from each student! I firmly believe that students who follow my “ Homework Plan “ can achieve success in my course regardless of their ethnicity or socio-economic level. My problem is that I cannot get these ninth graders to strive on a daily basis for algebraic competence. It takes practice and patience and some are so used to giving up that they do not reach their level of success. I find myself being the constant cheerleader. It is easier for the students not to do each problem to the best of their ability, and then come the next day ready to tackle the difficult problems with the help of their group. Many expect to do nothing from their homework and arrive in class the next day to begin what should have been tried the previous night. They seem to always be “a day late and a dollar short.” On the other hand, students who follow my homework plan just become stronger and stronger students, regardless of ethnicity, poverty, and intelligence level. Most of these students succeed because of their perseverance. It is all about how hard the students are willing to work. I certainly wish I had the magic motivation key!
“She now understood that her blanket assumption that some kids don’t have the ability to go to college was dangerous and potentially limiting to the students in her care, young elementary children, ages 6 to 11, who were in their early years of academic development.” (pg. 25)
When we come across a struggling student, it may be difficult to maintain high expectations—despite that, it is vital we treat all students as potentially college-bound—especially at an early age. Encouragement a student gets from his teachers may be the only encouragement he hears all day.
I found a connection to the third experience David discussed on pg. 26:
“They matured cognitively at a slower rate than other students placed in freshman honors English. However, had they been judged by their seventh-grade English performance and retained in the average track, their potential to do honors work would have been overlooked.”
This was me! I did better in my high school English classes than most of my Honor/AP peers. However, because I did not test for the AP/Honors/Gifted track in 2nd grade and was never tested beyond, I was not able to reach my potential. My ability was never re-evaluated. I took initiative later though and signed up for an AP History class. Because I was not on the Honors track, the teacher had some reservations for allowing me to take the class. I took it anyways. While I didn’t ace the class, it was a good trial run for my History classes in college—in which I made all A’s.
Blog 9/22/08
What we know about the achievement gap.
The 5 areas listed are areas that we and the school system can and should work on to improve the achievement gap. Teacher expectation is certainly one big area that I think is extremely important. But parent and student expectation, I think, is even more important. If parents and students do not expect to succeed in school, it is hard for me to overcome their expectations in just one semester. An even bigger problem relates to the problem of the misbehavior of a few students in a class. When I have to spend time and energy dealing with the problems, other students get less help. They are also influenced by seeing others not doing what they should and may decide to play around. Perhaps if I was a better teacher this would not be much of a problem. I know my subject matter, but it is draining to have to spend time handling discipline.
Robin
September 22, 2008
BCSCRI
What We Know About the Achievement Gap
I want to start my comments with a heartfelt thanks to Sadie Rueger for her strategy share on multigenre research papers. One thing I seem to be learning over and over again is that we have to teach and assess a new way. The traditional ways cannot be abandoned totally, but we can’t fairly assess our students without considering that a new way could possibly be a better way to truly asses what a person has learned. Of course the traditional term paper process must be taught to every student who plans to attend college, but even colleges and universities are looking at portfolios and multigenre projects with much interest.
The achievement gap article really got me to thinking. I agreed with much of it and was elated to find that it offered “five opportunities for mediation and change.” As educators we can do nothing to help students who live in poverty because most of us are just a paycheck or two from being homeless ourselves. What we can do is give those students the extra support they need in order to succeed. It may mean something as simple as giving those students time at the end of the school year to complete the next years’ summer reading assignment so that they don’t start the next school year with a zero. Academic course work is another area that needs greatest attention. Many students get placed in a track of course work based on one test in 7th or 8 th grade. That coupled with some behavior problems places them in classes that may be well below their potential. All of the strategies listed for encouraging students to take academically
challenging courses are worth a try and fairly easy to implement.
When it comes to test bias, I am like a fish out of water. The only way to help any student who freezes on standardized tests or simply does not take them well, is to have them practice, practice, practice. Read the question first and then go back to read the passage with purpose. There is probably no way to take out all biases when creating tests.
Teacher expectations go along with teacher quality. I can be a great teacher as far as methodology, and degrees go, but if I don’t expect my students to ever do well, then chances are they won’t. If you start to tell a child at an early age that they will never amount to anything, and that they cannot learn, by the time they get to high school, they believe it! Quality teachers motivate their students to learn at any level. Our goal as quality teachers is to expect our children to grow in knowledge. I agree with Haycock’s findings that all students can achieve at high levels if they are taught at high levels. The problem is often found in our delivery. Our “not so smart football players” have many plays to memorize and execute on Friday nights. We should expect those same students to execute in our classrooms. Our students become bored with lectures and worksheets. They need some action. I don’t mean send them all out in groups with camcorders every day. But do provide some interaction among peers or even adults. Give students some choices sometimes in how their information is presented. Give them a rubric and tell them all of the components that are expected, then let them go be creative.
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