Should higher test scores be our only end goal? Myth information

 Screen Shot 2015-12-03 at 11.25.55 amMost of us in education who have been around for a while have seen many things come and go, come and go, and come and go again. My friend and colleague, Art Costa said that if you do nothing new in education, you will go through the same movement three times in your career. I agree; we keep going through back to the basics.

To read the full article, members please log in here. To subscribe please click here.

I also agree with the back to the basics movement. What are the basics of the 22nd century? I am your guy. What was good enough for me was not good enough for my kids. Now, as a grandfather, what was good enough for me and good enough for my kids will not be good enough for my grandson.

He will live in another world.

Recently I attended a conference sponsored by Learning Omnivores in Phoenix, Arizona. The lead learners were Dr. David Berliner and Dr. Gene Glass who wrote the book The 50 Myths and Lies That Threaten America’s Public Schools. What impressed me about the book was the authors had research to support their myth busting challenges to conventional thinking.

There are five themes in the book which are: Charter Schools, Funding Issues, Theories Making Schools Better, Getting Results and Career & College Ready. I will touch on a few of these.

In the U.S. less than 20% of charter schools are doing better than the public schools, yet we hear that charters are the way to go. Politicians and policy makers keep promoting charters that will create competition. Competition is supposed to make public schools better. Hmmmm. It seems that some charter and private schools cherry-pick students which eliminates high poverty, special needs and ELL students.

Most countries, if you correct for poverty, are equal to the top test scores. George Lakoff, the master of metaphor said that if your opposition gets you talking in terms of their metaphor, you will lose the argument. Think about how we spend most of our time debating how to raise test scores. Has anyone stopped to think whether or not that should be the goal? High test scores, really?

Yong Zhao told our Learning Omnivore groups in January that we will never win the race for top test scores with China. He is a product of China’s educational system. He said that their schools are basically test- prep. He also said that only 10% of Chinese students can work for multi-national firms because they can only work within a structure and do not have enough efficacy and creativity required to be working for innovative companies.

On the subject of competition, most business literature I read desires collaborative work environments. Yes, there is competition for goods and services. Working within a business or school requires working together for common goals. Could a common goal for education be developing capable young people who will contribute positively to the world?Screen Shot 2015-12-03 at 11.26.10 am

There is an African Proverb which says, “If you want to go quick, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” Maybe we should re-examine what we want for our world and our kids. Maybe there is a different end game other than higher test scores. Yes, we want kids to know things. I also want ethical, compassionate people inheriting this planet, not just high test scores.

I highly recommend the book, 50 Myths and Lies. It helped me get clear about what business, government, and some educators tout as the answer and what might be underlying assumptions which may not be the best for the long run.

Related Posts

Fostering Wonderment and Awe in the Classroom

Fostering Wonderment and Awe in the Classroom

Back to School

Back to School

How Artificial Intelligence Augments Biological Intelligence

How Artificial Intelligence Augments Biological Intelligence

Making Learning Real

Making Learning Real

Karen