This inquiry project gave us some insight into the Newark Public School system and the numerous challenges and difficulties faced by teachers, students and administrators. Some of the hurdles we encountered while undertaking this research included not getting access to “walk through” some of our target schools and as such had to observe the schools from the outside. Our efforts to meet with a few principals who have been in office for over 20 years proved futile and as such we were not able to get a cleared picture of the situation which existed prior to the implementation of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) policy and in what ways standardized tests may have changed over the years. We also found it difficult to have a detailed interview with some of the teachers since they were either in the process of completing the preparation of their students for the NJ ASK test or in the process of reviewing before the test - another testimony that the lives of the teachers and the students are “governed” by test taking and not necessarily learning life skills.
Notwithstanding the aforementioned difficulties, we were able to deduce that there is an overwhelming attitude and mentality of despair hovering above and surrounding participants of the NPS system. There is a strong desire for the “powers that be” to realize that the current curriculum does not adequately prepare the New Jersey child for future success. Many of the respondents believed that the state can achieve a great deal by simply tweaking the current curriculum and test system to include areas such as etiquette, critical thinking, data analysis. Criticisms were also levied against the decision to “focus” on two subjects, math and literacy, in that, students and teachers tend to neglect other subject areas in favor of those being tested. There was also a call for a more comprehensive evaluation of students which takes into account the inability of some students to do well on structured tests.
We believe that there is hope for the Newark Public School system but it will take some bold initiatives on the part of the administration to deviate from the norm and implement new strategies that will make Newark students stand out from amidst the rest of the nation. There needs to be a direct reversal in the trends of test scores in the four target schools identified but there is also need for modifications to be made in order to improve those tests and make them more meaningful and representative of a complete evaluation.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Results and Discussion of Inquiry Project
http://sites.google.com/a/mail.montclair.edu/think-education-think-life/Home/community-inquiry-project/results
Discussions with past and current students yielded a variety of opinions as it pertains to the value of standardized tests. A majority of the students interviewed didn’t have a clear definition of what a standardized test was but was knowledgeable about the existence of such a test. Some students especially in the middle school, regarded school as something they had to do until they were 16 yrs old and had no control over that. As such, they did not have an opinion as to whether what they were learning in school was important to their future life or just a means to an end. While some students (about 25% of those interviewed) thought that the standardized test were helpful in their efforts to get good grades and ultimately shape a career, the majority (about 75%) thought that standardized test only serve to limit the amount of knowledge they can acquire during their elementary and high school years. Most of the students contend that their teachers teach to the tests and find very little time to help students in developing social or life skills. This was in keeping with the notion put forward by Madus (1988) that tests are losing their legitimacy on evaluating students on their learned knowledge due to the “teaching of the test.” This corrupts the information that the students have learned and therefore know because instead of retrieving the information from long-term memory, they are memorizing test material and format. Additionally, some find that the lessons are usually scripted with very little room for impromptu modifications on the part of the teacher or students. School was also referred to as boring and useless by many of the students interviewed. The administrators spoken to were generally of the view that the standardized tests are not the quick fix to the numerous problems being encountered in the NPS system. One contends that the standardized test system is “what we have now and what we have to work with”. A discussion ensued about the need for alternatives to the much dreaded standardized test and some of those already being tried out in districts outside Newark. Some of those alternatives have included criterion-referenced tests, teacher-made tests, contract grading, interviews with students and their parents, and detailed documentation of a student's accomplishments (Wildemuth, 1984). Other administrators were a bit more blunt in their criticisms of the current situation and expressed that the current curriculum “focuses too much on subject content and leaves little time to engage in the overall development of the students”. The curriculum was seen as being “too tightly fit into the 180 teaching days which exists in the NPS System – resulting in some teachers being unable to complete the curriculum content”.
The teachers spoken to were equally critical as their students in condemning the current educational system and curriculum taught in schools. One recurring theme was the notion that the curriculum in use in schools in the Newark Public Schools does not include any aspect that deals with nurturing interpersonal skills or promoting other skills which should go hand in hand with education in the various subject areas. The curriculum was regarded as being one that does not teach or encourage students to think critically, be innovative or develop new ideas. Students who are able to think critically are able to solve problems effectively. Having knowledge is simply not enough in today’s world. To be effective in the work place and in personal lives, students must be able to solve problems and make effective decisions; they must be able to think critically (Synder and Snyder, 2008). There were suggestions to modify the current curriculum to address those deficiencies and aim to produce wholly developed individuals rather than book smart or content savvy individuals. The general impression from the respondents was that the current curriculum is failing the students and isn’t geared towards personal development. Students need to learn more about the world, think outside of the box, become smarter about new sources of information, develop good people skills and redefine how they learn. The curriculum needs to be adjusted to incorporate a balance between core knowledge and portable skills such as critical thinking, making connections between ideas and knowing how to learn (Wallis and Steptoe, 2006). Information technology was regarded as one of the areas that needed more attention and greater inclusion in the district’s curriculum.
Discussions with past and current students yielded a variety of opinions as it pertains to the value of standardized tests. A majority of the students interviewed didn’t have a clear definition of what a standardized test was but was knowledgeable about the existence of such a test. Some students especially in the middle school, regarded school as something they had to do until they were 16 yrs old and had no control over that. As such, they did not have an opinion as to whether what they were learning in school was important to their future life or just a means to an end. While some students (about 25% of those interviewed) thought that the standardized test were helpful in their efforts to get good grades and ultimately shape a career, the majority (about 75%) thought that standardized test only serve to limit the amount of knowledge they can acquire during their elementary and high school years. Most of the students contend that their teachers teach to the tests and find very little time to help students in developing social or life skills. This was in keeping with the notion put forward by Madus (1988) that tests are losing their legitimacy on evaluating students on their learned knowledge due to the “teaching of the test.” This corrupts the information that the students have learned and therefore know because instead of retrieving the information from long-term memory, they are memorizing test material and format. Additionally, some find that the lessons are usually scripted with very little room for impromptu modifications on the part of the teacher or students. School was also referred to as boring and useless by many of the students interviewed. The administrators spoken to were generally of the view that the standardized tests are not the quick fix to the numerous problems being encountered in the NPS system. One contends that the standardized test system is “what we have now and what we have to work with”. A discussion ensued about the need for alternatives to the much dreaded standardized test and some of those already being tried out in districts outside Newark. Some of those alternatives have included criterion-referenced tests, teacher-made tests, contract grading, interviews with students and their parents, and detailed documentation of a student's accomplishments (Wildemuth, 1984). Other administrators were a bit more blunt in their criticisms of the current situation and expressed that the current curriculum “focuses too much on subject content and leaves little time to engage in the overall development of the students”. The curriculum was seen as being “too tightly fit into the 180 teaching days which exists in the NPS System – resulting in some teachers being unable to complete the curriculum content”.
The teachers spoken to were equally critical as their students in condemning the current educational system and curriculum taught in schools. One recurring theme was the notion that the curriculum in use in schools in the Newark Public Schools does not include any aspect that deals with nurturing interpersonal skills or promoting other skills which should go hand in hand with education in the various subject areas. The curriculum was regarded as being one that does not teach or encourage students to think critically, be innovative or develop new ideas. Students who are able to think critically are able to solve problems effectively. Having knowledge is simply not enough in today’s world. To be effective in the work place and in personal lives, students must be able to solve problems and make effective decisions; they must be able to think critically (Synder and Snyder, 2008). There were suggestions to modify the current curriculum to address those deficiencies and aim to produce wholly developed individuals rather than book smart or content savvy individuals. The general impression from the respondents was that the current curriculum is failing the students and isn’t geared towards personal development. Students need to learn more about the world, think outside of the box, become smarter about new sources of information, develop good people skills and redefine how they learn. The curriculum needs to be adjusted to incorporate a balance between core knowledge and portable skills such as critical thinking, making connections between ideas and knowing how to learn (Wallis and Steptoe, 2006). Information technology was regarded as one of the areas that needed more attention and greater inclusion in the district’s curriculum.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Connecting Unequal Childhoods to Essex County
2. It is very expensive to live in Essex County, New Jersey. Life for the working class/poor families (Taylor’s, Brindle’s, and McAllister’s) would be very difficult. The key here is to examine the self sufficiency wage. This will give us an idea of just how tough a time that these families are going to have. First let’s look at the Taylor family. Celeste is the sole provider for this family. She works as a secretary and makes $20,000 a year. If you take a look at table 2 you can see how scary this is. For one adult, one preschooler and one school aged child the annually salary for the self-sufficiency wage is $46,686. So this is about three times what Celeste makes and she has three children. The fact is that she would not make even close to enough money to live comfortably in Essex County. A similar case will be the Brindle’s because once again there is one adult that is the sole provider for the family. She has three children also and is currently unemployed. So there is no way that she would be near the $46,686 annual salary. This will lead to a day to day struggle just to put food on the table. The sad part is that besides not having enough money for necessities, they certainly do not have money for unexpected things such as car repairs, or maintenance for the house. They mention in the book that their toilet is constantly running. This would be a problem in a middle class home and be fixed immediately. But for this family it is very low ion the priority list each and every day. Lastly we can look at the effect it will have on the McAllister’s. It is hard to gauge what money this family has coming in because Jane is on public assistance, Hank is a mechanic and only chips in somewhat, and Keith is a truck-driver. So all in all they have some money coming in but no way can this be near the self-sufficiency wage. On top of this they can have up to 11 people in the house at a time. It will be a struggle everyday to take care of this many people on such a limited income.
3. According the LSNJ the Brindle’s would qualify for public assistance in Essex County. The McAllisters would most likely qualify. The scary thing is that the Taylor’s would not. Celeste Taylor makes $20,000 annually, which is the median salary for people in New Jersey that do not fall below the poverty line and fall below the standard. This is going to make things very difficult in a very expensive county to live in. The situations that these families are in can be very stressful. Besides the major problems such as putting food on the table or having heat in the winter, little things to a middle class family become huge things for these families. An example of this would be laundry. In a middle class family this is just a chore that needs to be done and can be done right inside the home. But for these families it costs a lot of money to go to a Laundromat each week with a full families worth of clothes. Also sometimes it may be a bus ride to the Laundromat. This is just one of the many things that can cause stress to a family living below the standard in Essex County.
4. This information is going to greatly affect who I am as an educator. It is very important to understand the community in which you teach in. Understanding where the students come from and where they go outside of school can be very useful in the classroom. I plan to teach in a high school and this information tells me that I may have many students that are working in order to help their family put food on the table. If a student does not do their homework I should find out why they did not do it rather than just giving them a zero and moving on. They cannot just quit their job if their grades slip. I think just getting to know the students on a more personal level would help. Showing them that I care about what they do outside of school will could also help. I think that knowing what they may be going through will help me to have thicker skin. What I mean by this is that if students are tired or they do not care about my class then I should not take this personally. Maybe they are just hungry, tired from a long night of work, possibly they did not get a good night sleep because their heat was shut off, or they just have more important things to worry about than Algebra. These are certainly things that I did not realize would be issues but now that I do it is my job to use this knowledge to make me a better educator.
3. According the LSNJ the Brindle’s would qualify for public assistance in Essex County. The McAllisters would most likely qualify. The scary thing is that the Taylor’s would not. Celeste Taylor makes $20,000 annually, which is the median salary for people in New Jersey that do not fall below the poverty line and fall below the standard. This is going to make things very difficult in a very expensive county to live in. The situations that these families are in can be very stressful. Besides the major problems such as putting food on the table or having heat in the winter, little things to a middle class family become huge things for these families. An example of this would be laundry. In a middle class family this is just a chore that needs to be done and can be done right inside the home. But for these families it costs a lot of money to go to a Laundromat each week with a full families worth of clothes. Also sometimes it may be a bus ride to the Laundromat. This is just one of the many things that can cause stress to a family living below the standard in Essex County.
4. This information is going to greatly affect who I am as an educator. It is very important to understand the community in which you teach in. Understanding where the students come from and where they go outside of school can be very useful in the classroom. I plan to teach in a high school and this information tells me that I may have many students that are working in order to help their family put food on the table. If a student does not do their homework I should find out why they did not do it rather than just giving them a zero and moving on. They cannot just quit their job if their grades slip. I think just getting to know the students on a more personal level would help. Showing them that I care about what they do outside of school will could also help. I think that knowing what they may be going through will help me to have thicker skin. What I mean by this is that if students are tired or they do not care about my class then I should not take this personally. Maybe they are just hungry, tired from a long night of work, possibly they did not get a good night sleep because their heat was shut off, or they just have more important things to worry about than Algebra. These are certainly things that I did not realize would be issues but now that I do it is my job to use this knowledge to make me a better educator.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Introduction
“When will I ever use this in my life?” and “Why do I have to learn this?” are two very common questions that school aged children ask everyday. These questions can easily be answered by telling them that they need to do well on their next test and if they do well in school that they will get into a good college. From a very early age students are encouraged to take their schooling seriously and obtain an education, for one’s future success is almost always inextricably linked to a sound formal education. History has taught us that the ideal situation for an individual involves obtaining a formal education, being successful at exams, graduating with honors and finding a stable job or building a prosperous career. However, some students, especially in urban areas like Newark, New Jersey are not getting the education needed to become competent and successful members of society. The matter of changing school and curriculum (educational reform) to compensate for the rapidly changing world in which these schools and it student’s exist has been an ongoing battle of both failure and success in particularly urban areas. For instance, most of the students in and around the Hawthorne Avenue area in Newark come from lower income, working class families that are just barely making ends meet. Many of the parent(s) in these families have low educational backgrounds and this lower education is correlated to the lower income status that they presently possess.
President George Bush, in an effort to raise failing schools (classified by students who are falling behind), in primarily urban areas, proposed No Child Left Behind (NCLB); a series of standardized tests and guidelines for meeting an Annual Yearly Percentage (AYP) for various subject areas or the school in concern receives less funding or ultimately is closed down. There are a number of perceived inherent problems of the NCLB act and its implementation which currently dictates and drives the focus of teaching at both public and private schools across the country. Numerous reports have emerged showing the achievement gaps which exist between different components of society, be it against racial, cultural, religious or social divides. However, the fundamental underlying common denominator remains what is taught in schools. What is the role of the curriculum in future success? The reality remains that the focus of those standardized tests as currently employed may very well serve as a contributing factor to performance gaps which exist.
Students are very different and each will take very different paths in their lives. Thus, each student will need very different tools for their lives. At a young age students learn all sorts of different tools that will be useful. They learn basic math skills, geography, reading and writing, how to paint and play music. These are most certainly skills that will be useful in their later schooling. They are building blocks that are necessary to their future learning. The problem seems to arise in later grades when the focus is much more on Math and English. In order to see what the students are learning we must take a look at the curriculum that is being taught. It does not take long to see that curriculum in our schools are driven by standardized tests. These standardized tests are what we use to measure the students, teachers, schools and school districts. The focus of school is now on finding ways to raise test scores rather than the practicality of what the students are learning. In fact, we believe this idea of standardizing curriculum and learning goes against nature; fundamentally, it defies our societal structure. There needs to be more than one solution to assessing schools and its students and this concept of more than one answer is a vital component educators should be instilling in students today. The current policies in place assume that teachers can be led to perform better if they are made much more accountable for test score gains. Standardized testing seems to be the “solve-all” solution and there is evidence to support its prosperity and its failure. Both prosperity and failure are limited to the view of test scores. Students are not being assessed in the many ways they learn limiting the validity in the assessment of the student’s learned knowledge. In addition, the curriculum and teaching styles of educators is changing due to high-stakes testing. Educators are now teaching to the test, which in turn invalidates their reliability and validity. A major issue that we want to take a look at is how the standardized tests in New Jersey change as students advance through school. In elementary school students take the NJ Ask, where they are tested in seven different content areas. Later when students prepare for the HSPA, which they take junior year of high school in order to graduate, they are only tested on two content areas. Narrowing down our focus to two major areas, Math and English, has a great impact on their curriculum. As a result, students are being assessed on how much test content and information they can memorize in regard to passing the test instead of assessing the depth of understanding and reasoning, along with the critical thinking that goes into making the decisions.
Goals and Objectives:
This research aims to investigate the curriculum being used in the Newark Public Schools system, particularly the Hawthorne Ave School and assess the role of standardized test in preparing the nation’s youth for the 21st century. A brief comparative analysis against countries such as Belgium and Sweden and Singapore which employ standardized testing as a means of assessment with more positive results in an effort to determine why students in these countries regularly out perform the United States on Math and Science high-stakes tests and have higher success rates. Finally, the research will suggest alternative ways by which assessment can be done without taking away from the ability to teach students life skills that will be important for future success.
President George Bush, in an effort to raise failing schools (classified by students who are falling behind), in primarily urban areas, proposed No Child Left Behind (NCLB); a series of standardized tests and guidelines for meeting an Annual Yearly Percentage (AYP) for various subject areas or the school in concern receives less funding or ultimately is closed down. There are a number of perceived inherent problems of the NCLB act and its implementation which currently dictates and drives the focus of teaching at both public and private schools across the country. Numerous reports have emerged showing the achievement gaps which exist between different components of society, be it against racial, cultural, religious or social divides. However, the fundamental underlying common denominator remains what is taught in schools. What is the role of the curriculum in future success? The reality remains that the focus of those standardized tests as currently employed may very well serve as a contributing factor to performance gaps which exist.
Students are very different and each will take very different paths in their lives. Thus, each student will need very different tools for their lives. At a young age students learn all sorts of different tools that will be useful. They learn basic math skills, geography, reading and writing, how to paint and play music. These are most certainly skills that will be useful in their later schooling. They are building blocks that are necessary to their future learning. The problem seems to arise in later grades when the focus is much more on Math and English. In order to see what the students are learning we must take a look at the curriculum that is being taught. It does not take long to see that curriculum in our schools are driven by standardized tests. These standardized tests are what we use to measure the students, teachers, schools and school districts. The focus of school is now on finding ways to raise test scores rather than the practicality of what the students are learning. In fact, we believe this idea of standardizing curriculum and learning goes against nature; fundamentally, it defies our societal structure. There needs to be more than one solution to assessing schools and its students and this concept of more than one answer is a vital component educators should be instilling in students today. The current policies in place assume that teachers can be led to perform better if they are made much more accountable for test score gains. Standardized testing seems to be the “solve-all” solution and there is evidence to support its prosperity and its failure. Both prosperity and failure are limited to the view of test scores. Students are not being assessed in the many ways they learn limiting the validity in the assessment of the student’s learned knowledge. In addition, the curriculum and teaching styles of educators is changing due to high-stakes testing. Educators are now teaching to the test, which in turn invalidates their reliability and validity. A major issue that we want to take a look at is how the standardized tests in New Jersey change as students advance through school. In elementary school students take the NJ Ask, where they are tested in seven different content areas. Later when students prepare for the HSPA, which they take junior year of high school in order to graduate, they are only tested on two content areas. Narrowing down our focus to two major areas, Math and English, has a great impact on their curriculum. As a result, students are being assessed on how much test content and information they can memorize in regard to passing the test instead of assessing the depth of understanding and reasoning, along with the critical thinking that goes into making the decisions.
Goals and Objectives:
This research aims to investigate the curriculum being used in the Newark Public Schools system, particularly the Hawthorne Ave School and assess the role of standardized test in preparing the nation’s youth for the 21st century. A brief comparative analysis against countries such as Belgium and Sweden and Singapore which employ standardized testing as a means of assessment with more positive results in an effort to determine why students in these countries regularly out perform the United States on Math and Science high-stakes tests and have higher success rates. Finally, the research will suggest alternative ways by which assessment can be done without taking away from the ability to teach students life skills that will be important for future success.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
My take on the Community Inquiry Project
As a group we are trying to figure out how standardized testing ultimately prepares students for their future. We have broken the prioject down into four major parts.
1) Test taking and life skills
2) Newark schools
3) Other schools as a measure(including in state suburban schools and other countries)
4) State required standardized tests and the effect on curriculum
I am gathering information on state standardized tests and the effect it has on curriculum. It has become very apparent that all of the standardized tests have a great impact on curriculum. At a young age students are required to take the NJ Ask. This starts in grade 3 and goes up to grade 8. Then in high school students take the HSPA as juniors. A major problem that I am seeing is that there is such a focus to pass these tests that students are spending a lot of classroom time just preparing for them. This has led to many test prep companies capitalizing on this and publishing many books about these tests. The students seem to be focusing on how to pass a specific test rather than gaining knowledge for future success.
Another issue that I plan to focus on is that although all these standardized tests come from the Core Curriculum Content Standards, the test given to third graders is vastly different than that given to juniors. The NJ Ask for third graders tests seven areas:
1. Language Arts Literacy
2. Mathematics
3. Science
4. Visual and Performing Arts
5. Social Studies
6. Health and Physical Education
7. World Languages
(The New Jersey Department of Education http://www.nj.gov/education/assessment/es/njask_info_guide.pdf)
The HSPA tests just these two:
1. Mathematics
2. Language Arts Literacy
(The New Jersey Department of Education
http://www.state.nj.us/education/assessment/hs/hspa_guide_english.pdf)
It seems that by testing in the seven areas that students at a young age are given many opportunities to succeed and to find out what they are good at. Then as they get older they are only tested on two major subjects. Why does this happen? I plan to investigate this further and I think this will help lead our group in the right direction toward ultimately answering our question. Actually, I think it will just lead to many more questions.
1) Test taking and life skills
2) Newark schools
3) Other schools as a measure(including in state suburban schools and other countries)
4) State required standardized tests and the effect on curriculum
I am gathering information on state standardized tests and the effect it has on curriculum. It has become very apparent that all of the standardized tests have a great impact on curriculum. At a young age students are required to take the NJ Ask. This starts in grade 3 and goes up to grade 8. Then in high school students take the HSPA as juniors. A major problem that I am seeing is that there is such a focus to pass these tests that students are spending a lot of classroom time just preparing for them. This has led to many test prep companies capitalizing on this and publishing many books about these tests. The students seem to be focusing on how to pass a specific test rather than gaining knowledge for future success.
Another issue that I plan to focus on is that although all these standardized tests come from the Core Curriculum Content Standards, the test given to third graders is vastly different than that given to juniors. The NJ Ask for third graders tests seven areas:
1. Language Arts Literacy
2. Mathematics
3. Science
4. Visual and Performing Arts
5. Social Studies
6. Health and Physical Education
7. World Languages
(The New Jersey Department of Education http://www.nj.gov/education/assessment/es/njask_info_guide.pdf)
The HSPA tests just these two:
1. Mathematics
2. Language Arts Literacy
(The New Jersey Department of Education
http://www.state.nj.us/education/assessment/hs/hspa_guide_english.pdf)
It seems that by testing in the seven areas that students at a young age are given many opportunities to succeed and to find out what they are good at. Then as they get older they are only tested on two major subjects. Why does this happen? I plan to investigate this further and I think this will help lead our group in the right direction toward ultimately answering our question. Actually, I think it will just lead to many more questions.
Community Inquiry Project Details
Topic:
How much of what students are learning in school today applies to everyday life skills for future success?
Data Type:
Qualitative
Interview
a. Students- Current, Dropouts, Graduates
b. Teachers
c. Administration- Superintendent/Principal (+20 years exp.)
d. Janitors
Observation
a. Facility- Inside and Out
b. Area/People Around the Facility- Few Block Radius
c. Student/Teacher Interaction- During and Outside of Class
d. Student/Student Interaction- During and Outside of Class
e. Teacher/Teacher Interaction
Interview Questions:
Teachers
1. Are you required to
a. Show or submit lesson plans of your curriculum?
b. Prove by documentation the use of the NJCCS within your curriculum plans?
c. If yes, how is the proof documented; on the lesson plans themselves or written on the board during the lesson.
d. If no, why is there lack of connection between the teachers, state curriculum and the school? Do you think that this connection is beneficial to the students and the school?
2. Do you feel that through your curriculum you are teaching your students the necessary life skills they need for future success post schooling? ie- Critical thinking skills, collaborative skills, reasoning skills, lifelong learning skills?
3. Have the standardized tests changed anything specifically about your curriculum and/or teaching style? If so, what has changed?
4. How important are standardized testing to you? Do you think it is beneficial to the students learning?
5. Have content area class been cut as a result of standardized testing? If so, what classes? Do you feel that these classes are important to the student’s well-rounded development?
6. What skills besides literacy and mathematical competence do you feel your students will need after graduation?
Administration-Superintendent
7. How has the budget been affected, if at all, by standardized testing?
8. Do you find yourself in Trenton trying to collect funding for your schools?
9. How important do you feel standardized testing is for the success of your schools and students?
10. Have you felt a true change in your schools, perhaps more pressure or stresses on yourself or the faculty due to standardized testing?
11.What steps are you taking to ensure that your schools meet their AYP?
Students
12. What is a standardized test?
13. How important are the tests to you?
14. How do the tests make you feel? Do you like them? Do you think that they will help you for your future? If so, in what ways?
15. Have you had any other experiences with tests? If so, what type of tests? Do you like those tests better?
16. Do you think that standardized testing really tests your true abilities and strengths?
17. Do you feel any changes in your classes as you have moved up through the grades about what you are learning?
18. Do you think what you are learning is going to be useful in the real world after you graduate?
19. What skills do you think will be important for you after you graduate?
20. What do you want to be when you grow up?
21. Do you feel that after receiving your diploma, you will have all that you need for success in the future?
22. What are you plans after graduation? Will you pursue further education (where to) or join the work force (in what line of work)?
23. How would you change school if you could?
Data Charts
1. Pie Chart representative of the races/ethnicity of the students and faculty of the school.
2. Pie Chart representative of the social classes and family make up of the school.
3. Bar Graphs representative of the performance of standardized testing broken up into the years, content being assessed, and scores.
How much of what students are learning in school today applies to everyday life skills for future success?
Data Type:
Qualitative
Interview
a. Students- Current, Dropouts, Graduates
b. Teachers
c. Administration- Superintendent/Principal (+20 years exp.)
d. Janitors
Observation
a. Facility- Inside and Out
b. Area/People Around the Facility- Few Block Radius
c. Student/Teacher Interaction- During and Outside of Class
d. Student/Student Interaction- During and Outside of Class
e. Teacher/Teacher Interaction
Interview Questions:
Teachers
1. Are you required to
a. Show or submit lesson plans of your curriculum?
b. Prove by documentation the use of the NJCCS within your curriculum plans?
c. If yes, how is the proof documented; on the lesson plans themselves or written on the board during the lesson.
d. If no, why is there lack of connection between the teachers, state curriculum and the school? Do you think that this connection is beneficial to the students and the school?
2. Do you feel that through your curriculum you are teaching your students the necessary life skills they need for future success post schooling? ie- Critical thinking skills, collaborative skills, reasoning skills, lifelong learning skills?
3. Have the standardized tests changed anything specifically about your curriculum and/or teaching style? If so, what has changed?
4. How important are standardized testing to you? Do you think it is beneficial to the students learning?
5. Have content area class been cut as a result of standardized testing? If so, what classes? Do you feel that these classes are important to the student’s well-rounded development?
6. What skills besides literacy and mathematical competence do you feel your students will need after graduation?
Administration-Superintendent
7. How has the budget been affected, if at all, by standardized testing?
8. Do you find yourself in Trenton trying to collect funding for your schools?
9. How important do you feel standardized testing is for the success of your schools and students?
10. Have you felt a true change in your schools, perhaps more pressure or stresses on yourself or the faculty due to standardized testing?
11.What steps are you taking to ensure that your schools meet their AYP?
Students
12. What is a standardized test?
13. How important are the tests to you?
14. How do the tests make you feel? Do you like them? Do you think that they will help you for your future? If so, in what ways?
15. Have you had any other experiences with tests? If so, what type of tests? Do you like those tests better?
16. Do you think that standardized testing really tests your true abilities and strengths?
17. Do you feel any changes in your classes as you have moved up through the grades about what you are learning?
18. Do you think what you are learning is going to be useful in the real world after you graduate?
19. What skills do you think will be important for you after you graduate?
20. What do you want to be when you grow up?
21. Do you feel that after receiving your diploma, you will have all that you need for success in the future?
22. What are you plans after graduation? Will you pursue further education (where to) or join the work force (in what line of work)?
23. How would you change school if you could?
Data Charts
1. Pie Chart representative of the races/ethnicity of the students and faculty of the school.
2. Pie Chart representative of the social classes and family make up of the school.
3. Bar Graphs representative of the performance of standardized testing broken up into the years, content being assessed, and scores.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Annotated Bibliography
Darling-Hammond, Linda (1998) Unequal Opportunity: Race and Education
The Brookings Institution
http://www.brookings.edu/articles/1998/spring_education_darling-hammond.aspx
There is a presumption now that equal opportunity exists in schools among all races. This view attributes low achievement levels on standardized tests as a function of genes, culture and a lack of effort on the part of minority students. This view does not take in to account the fact that the U.S. educational system is one of the most unequal in the industrialized world. The reality is that these educational outcomes are much more a function of their unequal access to necessary educational resources, including skilled teachers and quality curriculum. In order to make assumptions based on culture and effort the students must be operating on a level playing field. This is clearly not the case in our country. Recent analysis of data has shown that in many states on every tangible measure, from qualified teachers to curriculum offering, that schools dominated by students of color had considerably less resources that schools dominated by white students. These are the same areas that fare the worst in educational expenditures. It is very easy to see these test scores and just blame it on lack of effort. In order to make these scores relevant at all we need to look into ways to make educational opportunities more fair. When given the same educational resources studies have shown that students of color achieve at the same level as white students. Some states have already taken a step in the right direction. They have equalized educational spending, enforced higher teaching standards, and reduced teacher shortages. The most important thing in education is that every student deserves and opportunity at a good education. Until this happens we cannot blame the students for the gap in test scores.
Ravitch, Diane (2007) Get Congress Out of the Classroom
The Brookings Institution
http://www.brookings.edu/opinions/2007/1003education_ravitch.aspx
This article talks about the negative effect that No Child Left Behind has had on our classrooms. This has created an unhealthy obsession of standardized testing and has diminished time in the classroom for teaching other important subjects. Another important issue is the choice to move to another school if your school is not meeting the standards. This seems great except that it is not that easy in the inner cities. Most schools in the inner city do not have seats available to accommodate other students. This makes it very unequal, especially in the areas that need the most help.
Berliner, David (2008) Why Rising Test Scores May Not Equal Increased Student Learning
Harvard Ed Review
http://www.hepg.org/news/23
A big problem with standardized testing is the idea that test scores must go up or else. This forces the schools to teach toward the test. They hold test prep classes and teach exactly what is on the test. This will result in rising scores but it may not result in a higher level of learning. The students can spend up to 60 days a year preparing for these tests. But this is not education, this is training. So the result is student being very well prepared for one specific test but this does not mean that they are prepared for life after the test.
Miller, Virginia (2001) The New Definition of Standards in American Education
The Heritage Foundation
http://www.heritage.org/Research/Education/BG1427.cfm
In order to improve quality of education, policy makers at the federal, state and local levels are pressing for higher standards in education. So far they have only implemented standards and have paid little attention to their content. The Secretary’s Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS) has been trying to identify the skills need in the workplace and how we can implement these in our curriculums. This is an effort to have our education in the classroom better prepare our students for the workplace.
Geier, Robert; Blumenfeld, Phyllis C.; Marx, Ronald W.; Krajcik, Joseph S.; Fishman, Barry; Soloway, Elliot; Clay-Chambers, Juanita (2008) Standardized Test Outcomes for Students Engaged in Inquiry Based Science Curricula in the Context of Urban Reform
Educational Resources Information center
http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/Home.portal?_nfpb=true&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=standardized+test&searchtype=keyword&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=kw&_pageLabel=RecordDetails&objectId=0900019b8035620b&accno=EJ813446&_nfls=false
This article takes a look at a different way of teaching called inquiry based teaching. It took a group of 7th and 8th graders from Detroit and used inquiry based teaching in their science curriculum. Then they compared their test results to all the other 7th and 8th graders in the same school. Their findings showed that the experimental group of students out performed the other students on the standardized science tests. Although a small sample size it shows that teaching for understanding can actually help standardized test scores. This is very different from the usual teaching toward the test method.
The Brookings Institution
http://www.brookings.edu/articles/1998/spring_education_darling-hammond.aspx
There is a presumption now that equal opportunity exists in schools among all races. This view attributes low achievement levels on standardized tests as a function of genes, culture and a lack of effort on the part of minority students. This view does not take in to account the fact that the U.S. educational system is one of the most unequal in the industrialized world. The reality is that these educational outcomes are much more a function of their unequal access to necessary educational resources, including skilled teachers and quality curriculum. In order to make assumptions based on culture and effort the students must be operating on a level playing field. This is clearly not the case in our country. Recent analysis of data has shown that in many states on every tangible measure, from qualified teachers to curriculum offering, that schools dominated by students of color had considerably less resources that schools dominated by white students. These are the same areas that fare the worst in educational expenditures. It is very easy to see these test scores and just blame it on lack of effort. In order to make these scores relevant at all we need to look into ways to make educational opportunities more fair. When given the same educational resources studies have shown that students of color achieve at the same level as white students. Some states have already taken a step in the right direction. They have equalized educational spending, enforced higher teaching standards, and reduced teacher shortages. The most important thing in education is that every student deserves and opportunity at a good education. Until this happens we cannot blame the students for the gap in test scores.
Ravitch, Diane (2007) Get Congress Out of the Classroom
The Brookings Institution
http://www.brookings.edu/opinions/2007/1003education_ravitch.aspx
This article talks about the negative effect that No Child Left Behind has had on our classrooms. This has created an unhealthy obsession of standardized testing and has diminished time in the classroom for teaching other important subjects. Another important issue is the choice to move to another school if your school is not meeting the standards. This seems great except that it is not that easy in the inner cities. Most schools in the inner city do not have seats available to accommodate other students. This makes it very unequal, especially in the areas that need the most help.
Berliner, David (2008) Why Rising Test Scores May Not Equal Increased Student Learning
Harvard Ed Review
http://www.hepg.org/news/23
A big problem with standardized testing is the idea that test scores must go up or else. This forces the schools to teach toward the test. They hold test prep classes and teach exactly what is on the test. This will result in rising scores but it may not result in a higher level of learning. The students can spend up to 60 days a year preparing for these tests. But this is not education, this is training. So the result is student being very well prepared for one specific test but this does not mean that they are prepared for life after the test.
Miller, Virginia (2001) The New Definition of Standards in American Education
The Heritage Foundation
http://www.heritage.org/Research/Education/BG1427.cfm
In order to improve quality of education, policy makers at the federal, state and local levels are pressing for higher standards in education. So far they have only implemented standards and have paid little attention to their content. The Secretary’s Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS) has been trying to identify the skills need in the workplace and how we can implement these in our curriculums. This is an effort to have our education in the classroom better prepare our students for the workplace.
Geier, Robert; Blumenfeld, Phyllis C.; Marx, Ronald W.; Krajcik, Joseph S.; Fishman, Barry; Soloway, Elliot; Clay-Chambers, Juanita (2008) Standardized Test Outcomes for Students Engaged in Inquiry Based Science Curricula in the Context of Urban Reform
Educational Resources Information center
http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/Home.portal?_nfpb=true&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=standardized+test&searchtype=keyword&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=kw&_pageLabel=RecordDetails&objectId=0900019b8035620b&accno=EJ813446&_nfls=false
This article takes a look at a different way of teaching called inquiry based teaching. It took a group of 7th and 8th graders from Detroit and used inquiry based teaching in their science curriculum. Then they compared their test results to all the other 7th and 8th graders in the same school. Their findings showed that the experimental group of students out performed the other students on the standardized science tests. Although a small sample size it shows that teaching for understanding can actually help standardized test scores. This is very different from the usual teaching toward the test method.
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