At the end of the day, one can make the argument that education is all about student success and academic performance. We've obviously come a long way from this notion however, it's still very important to take a look at the history of standardized testing and accountability, both of which are aspects educators still think about today.
Diane Ravitch's article does an excellent job examining this history within the framework of the American public education system. Please enjoy reading my summary and take on her work below!
2 comments:
Hi Clarisa,
How interesting is it that accountability in North American education shifted from student to teacher over a century? While this may have taken a bit longer to catch on with (most parents) - "what did he/she do?" to "what did you [the teacher] do?" - it seems like a great many in our society and government truly only hold the teacher accountable to make a student successful. Why is it not a partnership? Of course the argument could be that teachers are the professionals and the adults while most (sauf adult ed students like those at Thomas Merton) are children and teenagers; however, especially at the secondary level, students should be learning responsibility and being held accountable for their actions. Otherwise, how will they truly be successful in the "real world"? Good marks can only get anyone so far in life. My whole point is that, Ravitch's brief history implies, in the midst of this struggle between professionals and policymakers ("on behalf of the public"), they seem to forget about students along the way. Aren't they the reason we do this job in the first place? Why we take up this call and profession? The students? Would be nice if instead of using students as a pawn, they were thought of appropriately and advocated for correctly.
OK, rant over. Thanks for the summary!
- Heidi
Partnership is such a great way to frame our understanding of testing and accountability and it's totally something that's been forgotten over time! I completely agree with your remark about marks only getting us so far in life. Students are much more than just a number or another seat in a chair - they are human beings who are going to run our world one day, shouldn't we be fostering the human being rather than the data they provide?
-Clarisa
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