As we work together to implement all of the new mandates from the New York State Education Department, I have done so with diligence and optimism. Except on one point in particular. Teacher accountability through student testing is now mandated in a bizarre, hard to understand, impossible to implement and what seems to me at this point to be a useless waste of our teaching and learning time with students called “Student Learning Objectives”. I’ve purposely neglected to write about it here because I thought perhaps with time, I would come to better understand the usefulness, have an attitude adjustment and present a better leadership stance on the topic.
Then today I read an article in the Washington Post, written by Carol Corbett Burris, principal of South Side High School in New York. Carol was named the 2010 NYS Outstanding Educator by the School Administrators Association of New York State. Ms. Burris did such a fabulous job of describing the SLOs that I would like to share her article from the Washington Post here.
Let’s just hope that the leadership at NYSED can consider the great strides we’re making in useful ways with teacher and principal evaluation, data inquiry teams with interim assessments, and implementing the common core as they reconsider this act of compliance clearly designed to make every teacher accountable in some way, practical or not.
Great article. It really sums up the issue!!! Ms. Burris spells it out in every day terms . It was a great read. Thanks for sharing!!!!