A Better Approach to Student Evaluation

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Here is the full text of the letter I sent in to the globe. Their edited version is in the post below and can be found here.

The letter is responding in part to a Globe editorial from last week "Obama's Education Plan Errs in Abandoning Proficiency Goal", which praises standardized testing and criticizes a new Obama initiative that is seeking to modify the emphasis on high stakes testing with a more holistic approach to education. The letter is also a response to a series of editorials which routinely demonizes unions and pins all the eductional ills in this country on teachers. Enjoy!

In your February 3rd editorial, “Obama’s Education Plan …”, you compel me to ask – What bad experience did the editors of the globe have with teachers when they were younger?

What else could explain the way you so demonize teachers, unions, and praise the standardized testing that most progressives disagree with? In this editorial, you explain that “teachers work harder” knowing what is at stake for the students. As a former classroom teacher who has seen both the good and the bad in schools, it is remarkable how little you understand about schools and teachers. Teachers do not need high stakes testing to know what is of vital importance to their students.

In many schools, what happens within the walls of the classroom between the teacher and his or her students is the best part of our educational system. A lack of quality school-wide and system wide leadership, poor prioritization of resources, and societal forces always seem to be ignored by your commentary. Obama’s plan would move us away from the high stakes testing “gotcha” game and toward a more holistic approach to assessment. This approach is not quite as easy to understand as looking at a test score, but it is exactly what progressive educators and honest politicians have been seeking for years.

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